Why Kevin Harvick Is Ready to Deliver Under Pressure at Phoenix

Kevin Harvick has spent much of his Sprint Cup career as an underdog.

He had the massive task of filling the shoes of the late Dale Earnhardt when the latter was killed in the 2001 Daytona 500.

He struggled far too much during his 13-year tenure with Richard Childress Racing, never really coming close to the Sprint Cup championship he has coveted.

That’s one of the main reasons why he left RCR at the end of last season and moved to Stewart-Haas Racing, which has given him a legitimate shot at the title.

He’s ranked eighth (last) heading into the final race of the Eliminator Round, an underdog if there ever was one.

But you know what? Harvick may have us all fooled. He may have the Chase right where he wants it to be heading into Sunday’s race at Phoenix International Raceway.

If anyone is a favorite at PIR, it’s Harvick. Forget that he’s last in the standings. Forget any preconceived notions you may hold that Harvick just doesn’t have it in him to become a champ.

Regardless of what Harvick may not have, he DOES have PIR. And that ultimately could be the biggest strength he has over everyone else in the Chase.

Harvick has made 23 career starts in the Sprint Cup Series at PIR. In that time, he has an incredible five wins, eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.

But perhaps the most overwhelming fact in Harvick’s favor is that he’s won three of the last four Cup races at PIR, dating back to the Chase race in 2012 (the same event that featured the infamous Jeff Gordon-Clint Bowyer post-race brawl).

Harvick’s history with PIR goes back a long way, far predating his Cup career.

“(PIR is) very special to me,” Harvick said in his weekly media release provided by Stewart-Haas Racing. “They used to have the Copper Classic and the 300-lapper at the end of the year for the Southwest Tour cars. It was our Daytona 500. So, to be able to go back and win races there and be successful means a lot to me.”

But Harvick isn’t just successful in Cup racing at PIR.

In the Nationwide Series, despite only one win in 22 starts at PIR, Harvick has an uncanny overall mark there: 16 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes.

And in 10 career starts at PIR in the Camping World Truck Series, Harvick has four wins and five top-five finishes.

Put all of that together and it’s hard to pick against Harvick to win Sunday.

“I’ve always liked racing on the flat tracks like Phoenix,” Harvick said. “It’s similar to the tracks that most of us grew up racing on. Phoenix is a very challenging race track. It has a very unique layout that is different at both ends.

“I feel like I’ve been racing at Phoenix my entire career, and I feel that what I’ve learned there has helped me be successful on the other flat tracks we race at.”

Granted, it’s almost mandatory that Harvick must win to advance to the final round of four drivers in the winner-take-all season finale and championship-deciding race Nov. 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

With the first two races of the Eliminator Round being won by now-eliminated Chase drivers (Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Martinsville and Jimmie Johnson this past Sunday at Texas), if one of the eight Chasers wins Sunday, he’s automatically in the championship race.

That’s what Harvick wants to do and where he wants to wind up.

Sure, mathematically, he could still end up in the top half of Sunday’s finishing order at Phoenix and still qualify for the championship race.

But math isn’t necessarily Harvick’s strong suit on the racetrack. If he’s going to make it to Homestead, he wants to make sure there’s no grey area or questioning or controversy.

Win it and Harvick is in it. Plain, simple and to the point.

Harvick has potentially been waiting for this moment all his life. Now that it’s here, there’s very few other drivers who can boast the kind of confidence, supremacy and success he’s had at PIR.

As Harvick said, he feels like he’s been racing at PIR his whole life. And while he’s certainly enjoyed some great moments in the past, I bet he’d trade all of that past success for a win Sunday and advancement to the final round.

Harvick has had a good Chase so far, including his win three weeks ago at Charlotte. And of the 1,819 laps he's led through the first 34 races, more than one-third of those (633) have come in the eight Chase races combined.

Honestly, while it may seem Harvick has tons of pressure on him, all he has to do is go out and run Sunday's race like he's done so many other times. Run HIS kind of race, one in which he is faster than everyone else, gets out in front of the pack early and holds on all the way to the checkered flag.

While that may be easier said than done, the point is the same: If Harvick does all of that, stays out of trouble and forgets about the other drivers he's competing against, he'll ultimately shift the pressure onto his peers, the other seven guys who are vying for the other three Homestead seeds—not the other way around.

With more bite than bark perhaps this year than he's ever had, it’s time for Harvick to finally shake off the championship underdog tag and become top dog going to Homestead.

Follow me on Twitter @JerryBonkowski