Harvick has chance for 10th victory at Phoenix
AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR veteran Kevin Harvick has had a big share of his best Cup Series moments at Phoenix Raceway.
While his dominance in the desert has faded slightly over the past five years, Sunday’s race will offer one of what should be two more chances for the Stewart-Haas Racing driver to get win No. 10 on the one-mile tri-oval and join some elite company before retirement. Harvick, 47, announced in January that this would be his final Cup Series season.
Every time he comes to Arizona, Harvick is reminded of how good he’s been at this track.
And pretty much every time, he deflects the praise.
“It feels somewhat arrogant and cocky to look at your own stats, especially when they’re good,” the 2014 Cup Series champion said. “I’m never going to tell you I’m impressed with anything of my stats, because I always feel like they could be better.”
Harvick, who has 60 career wins on NASCAR’s highest circcuit, is seeking to become just the sixth driver in Cup Series history to win 10 times at one track, an exclusive club that includes Dale Earnhardt, Jimmie Johnson, David Pearson, Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip.
Kyle Larson will start in pole position Sunday in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet. Denny Hamlin will join Larson in the front row in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota. The second row has Hendrick’s William Byron starting third — he’s coming off a win in the third race of the season last weekend in Las Vegas, where Larson was second and their teammate Alex Bowman was third — and RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski starts fourth in the best position for a Ford driver.
Harvick qualified 15th in his No. 4 Ford, and his competition Sunday will include Team Penske’s Joey Logano, whose three victories at Phoenix Raceway have all come since 2016 and include last year’s season finale to win his second Cup Series championship in Phoenix last November. Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch is also a three-time winner at Phoenix, most recently in 2019.
But no one has had a run at this track like Harvick. He was especially dominant from 2012 to 2016, winning six of 10 races, including a sweep in 2014 on his way to the season championship.