Pulling away early
Harvick’s hot start reminds him of championship year
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Kevin Harvick left everyone else behind the past two weeks. He figures to be even harder to beat today at ISM Raceway, the mile oval in the foothills outside Phoenix where he has a record eight victories.
Trying to become the first driver to win three straight NASCAR Cup Series races since Joey Logano in 2015, Harvick topped the speed charts for both practice sessions Saturday. Fittingly, the 2014 season champion’s Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford has a Jimmy John’s “Freaky Fast!” paint scheme.
“When things are going good, you need to hammer it home,” said Harvick, who won last Sunday in Las Vegas and the week before at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “Let’s just keep pushing things forward and try not to stumble along the way and screw up what’s going on. To me, it feels a lot like 2014, except now you’ve got a team with five years of experience, and that’s pretty scary.”
Yes, it is — for everyone else. Martin Truex Jr., the 2017 series champion, will start in pole position today with Kyle Larson also on the front row. Next are Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman — Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates — with Logano fifth. Harvick will start 10th, but considering his past results, he may not be even that far back for long.
“In Atlanta, we kind of chalked it up to Kevin being probably the best driver at Atlanta, and we just thought it was Atlanta and he is typically fast there,” said Logano, who won the fall race in Avondale in 2016, when the track was still known at Phoenix International Raceway.
“Vegas was one of those things where we all thought, ‘Wow, maybe it wasn’t just Atlanta.’ Phoenix has always been a good track for him as well. It takes a few weeks to realize where you stand. I think we are in good shape so far, but I do think that he is a solid step in front of everybody right now.”
Harvick’s most recent win was marred by penalties fueled in part by social media photos of his buckled rear windshield, and on Friday he lamented the prospect of NASCAR being influenced by fans when it comes to rule enforcement.
But NASCAR drivers also have seen the power of social media work in other ways.
Matt DiBenedetto added Zynga Poker as the primary sponsor of Go Fas Racing’s No. 32 Ford for the weekend through a social media posting — and Denny Hamlin’s retweet.
“We hate doing this, but we are UNSPONSORED as of right now for ISMRaceway this weekend!” DiBenedetto posted along with a video. “If you or anyone you know has the ability to help us connect with a business interested in coming on board this weekend please contact the GoFasRacing32 page ASAP!
Enlisted Nine Fight Company and Pit Stops for Hope also signed on.
“The power of social media can be crazy, and sure enough, it actually blew our minds,” DiBenedetto said. “Getting the support of Denny Hamlin starting the wave of tremendous support, and that led into it just spreading like wildfire.”
Hamlin, Harvick and NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip each donated $5,000.
“Those are some of the folks that I go to for any advice, because — Denny, Kevin, Darrell — those are guys that are going to tell you the way it is,” DiBenedetto said.
DiBenedetto, who qualified 30th for today’s race, finished 27th at Daytona, 31st at Atlanta and 22nd at Las Vegas.
Starting position will be key today because, as Larson noted, there’s little margin error in the 312-lap race.
“It’s a fairly short race for a Cup race, so you have to take advantage of your restarts,” Larson said. “It’s somewhat tough to pass here. You can’t make any mistakes on pit road or anything like that to set you back.
“All of our races are long, but relative to the rest of them, this is a short one. You’ve just got to be 100 percent every lap, and not make any mistakes, and have a good balance on your car throughout a fuel run.”