FORT WORTH, Texas -- Every week, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson seem to be the favorites in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The two champions consistently are linked together for their California ties and their ability to run up front. That is especially the case when the series hits an intermediate track, as the two drivers have combined for 10 wins at intermediate venues since 2014.
Yet, Texas Motor Speedway, site of Saturday night's Duck Commander 500 (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is the rare track Harvick has not won at in the sport's top series. On the opposite end, Johnson has won three straight at the 1.5-mile facility and five out of the last seven Cup races held here -- with no signs of slowing down.
"It's just this race track," Johnson said of his recent stranglehold at Texas. "I think tracks with an older surface -- the bumpier it is, the more tire wear -- it's just a condition that plays into our wheelhouse. And we've hit on some things here over the last few trips and it consistently works for us and it continues to put speed and longevity in the car.
"We weren't necessarily the best car in all those races, but we were in the top three, top five; and I truly believe if you run there long enough, you'll have opportunities to win. We've been able to win on speed and then being at the right place and being able to take advantage of things, too."
The three-race win streak has had wide disparities of dominance as Johnson led both more than half a race (fall of 2014) and just six laps (fall of 2015) to take the checkered flag.
Despite Johnson's dominance at Texas, the six-time series champion knows he will have a willing and able challenger in Harvick.
If he isn't chasing him, that is.
"Since he's sat in that No. 4 car, he's been at the top of everybody's conscious thought and radar," Johnson said. "They rolled out in December of 2013, I guess it was, at the Charlotte test session and I wasn't at that test session, but all I heard about was how much faster they were than the field. And they continue to do that. … We've all been essentially chasing the No. 4 in a lot of situations."
Currently, Harvick and Johnson are 1-2 in the point standings but Johnson got the best of Harvick at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February and Auto Club Speedway in March. Meanwhile, Harvick continued his mastery of Phoenix International Raceway with a win there last month.
For the 2014 series champion, the task of snapping an 0-for-26 drought at Texas and notching a win at one of the four tracks he has yet to win at (Kentucky, Pocono and Sonoma are the others) is plenty of motivation.
"Texas Motor Speedway in general has that little extra flair because of the fact that we haven't won here on the Cup side," Harvick said during a stop at Samuel Beck Elementary School in Trophy Club, Texas, on Thursday.
"For us, you are always looking for things to reach out and grab a hold of that motivate you and challenge you. This is definitely one of those places that has that motivation and challenge to it that are fun. Not that everywhere else (doesn't), just those are different challenges and different goals that you grab on to. This one is easy just for the fact that you have no wins and you want to get that first one."
Harvick has been gaining ground in his quest to win at Texas with Stewart-Haas Racing. In four races with SHR in the Lone Star State, the 2014 champion has three top-three finishes with two runner-up finishes (both to Johnson). In the last two races, Harvick has led a combined 107 laps at the track. In the 24 races at Texas before that, he led just eight laps (only five of those came during his 13-year tenure at Richard Childress Racing).
"As you look at the last couple years at SHR, it's been a track where we’ve run well," Harvick said. "We've run a lot better than what I had in the past. It was always one of my worst tracks as we've come here in the past. To see the performance level up, I know the guys always put a lot of effort into this race knowing that I haven't won here. They want to win here, too. It's a cool place to win. We've won a lot here in everything else. Just haven't cracked that first win in Cup. Hopefully this is the weekend.”