There are some places that when a driver straps into the car to begin the quest to victory, it’s not a matter of thinking, “Can I win?” but instead becomes, “I will win!”
In the mid-2000’s, that was the case with Jimmie Johnson and Charlotte, which at that time was named the Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
However, now there’s a new track, and a new driver, that is becoming dominant, and declaring that when the green flag waves, the other 42 drivers just walked into his yard, and they don’t want to be there.
Who is the driver? Where is this track?
It’s Kevin Harvick and Phoenix, as he is now the track’s winningest driver, and is on a streak where the only person that can keep him from victory at this speedway is himself. In 2013, he won the fall race at Phoenix. A year ago, he won the second race of the year at the track, then in the fall won again to put himself in the Championship 4 at the season finale, a race he would go on to win and clinch the 2014 championship.
On Sunday, he started the race on the pole, pretty much setting up how the day would go.
In the 312 laps that ensued, the No. 4 would be out front for 224 of them. Pit strategy put others out front for a time, but then would get overtaken when the opposing strategy began to pay off. Even a late restart put the possibility of him winning in jeopardy, but it was not enough to hold him off.
What it gave Harvick was his fourth consecutive win at Phoenix, along with his fourth consecutive top-two finish, sixth if including the final two races of last year, and pretty much guaranteed that he will be in the Chase to defend his championship.
NASCAR now knows that the next time Phoenix comes up on the schedule, he will be the only favorite to win. Everyone else is just trying to beat him.
Phoenix International Raceway is Harvick’s yard, and he’s the big dog in it.
RESULTS: 1-Harvick 2-McMurray 3-Newman 4-Kahne 5-Kurt Busch 6-Keselowski 7-Truex Jr. 8-Logano 9-Gordon 10-Larson
NOTABLE FINISHES: 11-Johnson 13-Edwards 23-Hamlin 39-Stewart 43-Earnhardt Jr.
CAUTIONS: 10 for 53 laps.
LEAD CHANGES: 8 among 4 drivers.
TIME OF RACE: 2 Hrs, 57 Mins, 1 Sec.
AVERAGE SPEED: 105.753 MPH
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.153 Seconds
POINT STANDINGS: 1. Harvick, 182 points*; 2. Logano, -22*; 3. Truex Jr, -27; 4. Kahne, -50; 5. Allmendinger, -55; 6. Earnhardt Jr, -56; 7. Johnson, -58*; 8. Newman, -59; 9. Keselowski, -66; 10. Kenseth, -69
*Chase Eligible