Earlier this week, Kevin Harvick claimed Dale Earnhardt Jr. had “stunted” the growth of NASCAR.

On Friday, Clint Bowyer, who drives with Harvick at Stewart-Haas Racing, talked positively about the legacy Earnhardt would leave behind when he retires as a Monster Energy Cup Series competitor at the end of the season.

Bowyer answered questions on Junior, NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver for the past 14 years, at Michigan International Speedway in advance of Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400.

“I think the legacy started long before him,” said Bowyer of Junior. “And he carried the flag for that legacy for a long time -- kept the fan base alive. That’s not on his shoulders to be able to do that. I felt it’s always been a little bit unfair for him to have that workload on him, but he’s done a good job with that and it’s time for us to hold up our end of the deal and capitalize on that.”

Bowyer said it's the product -- on and off the racetrack -- that would drive NASCAR’s future success. “There’s no one person.”

“I believe in products,” said Bowyer, who drives the No. 14 Ford Fusion. “If you have a good product, they’ll come. If you put a good product on that racetrack, and not only the racetrack, a good product in the infield, a good environment in the grandstands, take care of the kids, the families and all the demographics -- take care of all of that -- you’re always going to have fans flock to the track.”

Speaking on his weekly “Happy Hours” show on SiriusXM’s NASCAR channel on Tuesday, Harvick took aim at Earnhardt, the veteran Hendrick Motorsports driver.

“For me, I believe Dale Jr. has had a big part in kind of stunting the growth of NASCAR because he’s got these legions of fans and his huge outreach of being able to reach different places that none of us have a possibility to reach, but he’s won nine races in 10 years at Hendrick and hasn’t been able to reach outside of that,” said Harvick, 41, who drives the No. 4 Ford.

Harvick, who is fourth in Cup points, captured the Cup Series championship in 2014 for SHR. He has competed in Cup for 17 years and has 36 career victories.

Earnhardt, a two-time Daytona 500 winner, has never won the Cup title, driving in the series for 19 years for 26 career wins.

In replying to Harvick in Detroit on Thursday, Earnhardt, who runs the No. 88 Chevrolet, took the high road.

“I have an incredible amount of respect for him (Harvick),” said Earnhardt, 42, at the unveiling of the 2018 NASCAR Chevy Camaro XL1 Cup car in the Motor City. “But I found some of those comments hurtful. I still respect him as a champion and ambassador for the sport. That’s just the way it is, I guess. I hate that’s how he feels.”

Earnhardt, who in many ways has had to live in the shadow of his seven-time Cup championship-winning father Dale Earnhardt, said he could hold up his head despite the title eluding him.

“I know I have not met everyone’s expectations … but I certainly exceeded my own,” said Earnhardt, who is 23rd in Cup points, on Thursday. “And I’m super proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish. I brought something to the table and left a good impact.”

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