Jimmie Johnson uncertain whether Kevin Harvick will retaliate

If Kevin Harvick is upset with Jimmie Johnson stemming from an incident last week, the defending Sprint Cup champion wasn’t saying Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“I don’t look back,” Harvick said. “I just do what we have to do to focus on what we need to do looking forward. We are not going to use (the media) to make threats. I can do that myself.”

Harvick was leading with Johnson directly behind him on a restart Sunday at Chicagoland when Johnson got into the side of Harvick, who suffered body damage and subsequently cut a tire and crashed three laps later.

Harvick finished 42nd in the opening race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship playoff and will likely need a win either Sunday or the next week at Dover to avoid elimination. The 16-driver Chase field sees four drivers cut every three races, with a victory guaranteeing advancement to the next round.

While knowing full well Harvick would be angry by what had transpired, Johnson nonetheless sought him out to explain his side in the drivers’ motor coach lot post-race. An upset Harvick then struck Johnson with a closed fist before being restrained by his business manager. NASCAR did not penalize Harvick

“I’ve been on the flip side of that before and although I wasn’t happy to see whoever it was, it meant something to me and I appreciated the fact that they came to my bus to see me,” Johnson said after qualifying fifth Friday. “That is all I was trying to do there.

“Believe me, I knew good and well going over there that he wasn’t going to be in the best mood. It was just important to me to try and make contact with him and try to talk to him. ... I was expecting anything and everything. I didn’t go over there to fight.”

Harvick (a driver for Stewart-Haas Racing) and Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports) are pseudo-teammates with Hendrick supplying SHR with engines, chassis and technical data. When Hendrick won the 2014 championship he credited Johnson with helping him.

Whether Harvick will seek further retaliation Johnson did not know, as he has not communicated with Harvick since the altercation.

“I truthfully don’t know what to expect,” Johnson said. “I certainly know what I hope for, but there is no telling what will end up taking place. I think that is the exciting part about this Chase and the way you can advance, the way you can win to carry on and the intensity that it brings.

“It’s definitely going to be an exciting Chase for everyone and right now everybody is focused on us. But who is to know after this weekend what conflict on track is going to be the next story.”

Dodging all questions throughout the morning and afternoon Friday, Harvick only met with the media after qualifying second for Sunday’s Sylvania 300, as required by NASCAR.

“I’m just here so I don’t get fined,” Harvick said. “I don’t have a lot to say about any of it. I’m here to race and do what I have to do to do what I need to do in the next two weeks.”