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Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano diplomatic after late-race contact at Texas

Duck Commander 500

Duck Commander 500

NASCAR via Getty Images

FORT WORTH - When it comes to executing a maneuver that keeps the opposition behind you, Kevin Harvick has a firm opinion.

“I don’t really like blocking,” the Stewart-Haas Racing driver said after finishing second in the Duck Commander 500 for his sixth top-2 finish in seven races this season.

Harvick addressed the topic after he booted Joey Logano toward the Turn 1 wall a lap after the race’s final restart with 21 to go.

“He blocked, and I knocked him out of the way,” Harvick stated. “I’m tired of him blocking.”

Harvick’s retaliation sent Logano back to eighth before he recovered for a fourth-place finish.

“I felt that if he got by me I wouldn’t have the opportunity to get back by him,” Logano said. “It’s the end of the race, I blocked him, and I get it. Early in the race, it’s not acceptable. At the end of the race, we’re racing for the win. I would do the same thing.”

Harvick and Logano have had their share of run-ins. They got into it in February during the Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway when Harvick hit the wall after making contact with Logano. That escalated to a pit road confrontation after Harvick slammed Logano on the cooldown lap.

Harvick also took issue with Logano’s blocking last October at Talladega Superspeedway, calling the Team Penske star a “moving chicane” in the championship contenders news conference a month later before the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“He’s just Kevin,” Logano said at the time. “He’s an instigator, right? It’s the same thing he does every other time he talks to someone. It’s the same old crap. It just happens all the time. It’s no big deal.”

It could happen more often during the course of 19 races remaining in the regular season with both drivers already virtually qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup (Logano via the Daytona 500 win; Harvick with wins at Phoenix and Las Vegas Motor Speedway).

Follow @DanielMcFadin