Harvick has finished in first or second place in six consecutive races, a streak that has been topped only six other times in the sport’s history — five times by Richard Petty and once by David Pearson.
In fact, Petty posted 11 straight first- or second-place finishes in 1975, so Harvick still has some work to do if he wants to match "The King." But whether or not Harvick’s streak lasts that long, the defending Sprint Cup Series champion is finding his name mentioned in elite company these days.
Yes, Kevin Harvick is hot.
So hot that if he wins this weekend’s CampingWorld.com 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX), he would become the first premier-series driver to take four consecutive checkered flags at PIR, breaking a tie with Jimmie Johnson, who won three straight at the mile track in 2007-08.
Harvick has reeled off three consecutive wins at Phoenix (leading 488 of 624 laps in the past two victories alone). He has won four out of the past five Cup events there dating back to late in the 2012 season.
One might ask why the flat desert track has been so bountiful for Harvick.
"I would definitely classify Phoenix as the race track that’s been the best to us over the last several years, especially last year with winning both races," Harvick said on Tuesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. "The track, for whatever reason, especially since they repaved it, has really fit what I like to do.
"It’s got a lot of the old characteristics in (Turns) 3 and 4 and some new ones in (Turns) 1 and 2. It’s always one you circle on the calendar that you think you should be competitive at and hopefully running up front for a chance to win."
While PIR has the feel of a perfectly worn baseball glove for Harvick, this isn’t the first time NASCAR fans have seen a driver mesh well with a particular track. NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip, a three-time Sprint Cup Series champion, knows a thing or two about getting on a hot streak at a certain venue.
He and Petty are tied for the longest such streak with seven consecutive wins apiece. Waltrip’s came at Bristol (1981-84) while Petty’s were at Richmond’s old fairgrounds layout (1970-73). Waltrip addressed Bristol in his book, "DW: A Lifetime Going Around in Circles."
"There are a lot of tough tracks on the circuit, but there’s something special about Bristol," Waltrip wrote. "For almost a decade, man, I could do no wrong there. I won for the first time in 1978, and from March 1981 until August 1984, no one else won a Winston Cup race there. I won seven straight races. Seven. That’s 3,500 laps around that tight little track. Even I have a hard time comprehending that: 3,500 laps without one crash, without one part failure, without anyone finishing ahead of me."
Johnson can relate to Waltrip’s wonderment at how these streaks unfold. The six-time champion, who holds streaks of four in a row at Charlotte and three in a row at three other tracks (Phoenix, Las Vegas and Martinsville), spoke before Sunday’s Kobalt 400 about whether a driver even knows when he’s in the zone.
"I guess streaks you are not really aware of because there is so much time between events," Johnson said. "Each year goes by and your last memory is the last time you were on track type of thing. … I see what Darrell Waltrip did at Bristol and such a big number winning there. We have been able to be the winningest driver at a few tracks, and I take a lot of pride in that and want to pad that if I can."
So, since Johnson says he wasn’t aware he was in the zone, what are the key elements to building such a streak?
Waltrip wrote that attitude was a big factor in his success at Bristol because he believed he could win and had swagger every time he drove at the track. But attitude wasn’t the only thing working in his favor.
"I talk like attitude was all it took, but I was prepared in many ways to do well at Bristol," Waltrip wrote. "It took attitude and aptitude. I had grown up racing at places like Salem and Winchester, both in Indiana, which were similar, high-banked, half-mile ovals. Even more important, it was like Nashville. So when I came to Bristol, I didn’t have to learn anything. I walked in and felt like I knew the track."
Harvick grew up racing on a flat surface similar to Phoenix at Mesa Marin Raceway in his hometown of Bakersfield, California. Perhaps that type of familiarity has helped spark his recent hot streak. Phoenix being somewhat close to his home also has given him special incentive to do well there.
"Personally this is a place that I love coming to race here," Harvick said after he won last November in Phoenix. "I love the fans. I’ve raced here since the mid-90s, early 90s, watching the Carellis — Rick Carelli and Chase — and Hornaday and all those guys come here and race when none of this shiny stuff was here. It was dirt in the infield and tumbleweeds. This is one of those places that for me as a kid, this was our Daytona 500."
But if Harvick is having another hot time in the old town this Sunday night, then it will take more than familiarity and special feelings. Things will have had to work out perfectly under challenging circumstances.
"When you go to Phoenix and somewhere that we’ve had past success in my career, and we had a great year obviously last year winning both races, you expect to go there and be competitive," Harvick said. "It can change so fast, though. … (A hot streak) is a great thought, but the way the sport evolves, you can’t be scared to come to the track with something different."
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