$110M-worth Kevin Harvick recalls plane chat with Max Papis on early race aggression, claims Next Gen drivers are more reckless

Kevin Harvick recently touched upon how he once indulged in a conversation with Max Papis about the latter's early race aggression. The former NASCAR driver was traveling in an airplane when he met Papis, another former NASCAR driver, and the two discussed Papis' lap Zero aggression.

Kevin Harvick and Max Papis raced together in the NASCAR Cup Series in the early 2010s. The latter, an Italian former driver was renowned for his stints in motorsport, namely in Formula 1, IndyCar, and NASCAR. He has 36 Cup Series entries to his name in four years.

During one of the races, Papis was driving as a substitute for Tony Stewart after the latter suffered a broken leg during a Sprint car accident. During this race, Harvick recalled that Papis was driving aggressively from Lap Zero.

In a recent episode of Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour, Harvick, who has a net worth of $110 million (as per Celebrity Net Worth) opened up about how he discussed the matter with the Italian former driver and compared his driving to Next Gen drivers who are equally aggressive from Lap Zero (citing Corey Lajoie's wreck at Watkins Glen).

"Way way back in the day, Max Papis was driving Tony Stewart's car and we were on airplanes together," Harvick said in the Happy Hour podcast, "We smashed into each other during the race and I said, 'Max, you understand that you pass everybody on lap zero and because nobody wants to wreck their car on lap zero in turn 1," Kevin Harvick said (at 05:59)

"I think you're being a hero but passing all those people isn't as easy at the end because everybody is trying not to tear their car up. It's not the case anymore. But Lap Zero, Corey LaJoie bounced it off the curve, into the side of Kyle Busch and next thing you know Kyle Busch is wrecked, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney's in the wall," he added.

Kevin Harvick retired from NASCAR at the end of 2023 after raking up 826 races in 23 years. He has a Cup Series Championship, a regular season title, and 60 race wins.

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Kevin Harvick criticized Denny Hamlin's recent NASCAR Cup Series performance

Denny Hamlin (11) drives during the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

While Kevin Harvick was vocal about how the Next Gen drivers are very aggressive and "mad" at each other, the former NASCAR star picked one driver who disappointed the fans with his performances. Naming Denny Hamlin, Harvick mentioned how he was surprised to see Hamlin below the elimination cutline. He said (during the same episode of Happy Hour):

"Look at the points, who would have thought Denny Hamlin would be minus six going into the last race of Round 1!" Harvick remarked (at 07:23).

However, Kevin Harvick was optimistic for Hamlin ahead of the Bristol race and said:

"Going to Bristol, obviously, Denny Hamlin is very good there. Bristol is going to be interesting. If you're Hamlin, you can point your way in, but I think it'd be a lot easier if you won your way in," Harvick said (at 8:58).

Denny Hamlin picked three victories this season, with one of them being in Bristol. Although NASCAR stripped him of the victory due to a technical discrepancy, one can expect him to repeat his valiance at the same track this weekend.