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 Harvick owns a series-best five wins at the one-mile tri-oval and
has taken the checkered flag in three of the last four races there,
including the past two.
Currently eighth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings,
Sunday's Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500 cutoff race at Phoenix (3
p.m. ET, ESPN) could not have come at a better time for the No. 4
Chevrolet. Harvick trails Jeff Gordon by just six points for the
coveted fourth -- and final -- spot needed for advancement to the
Championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Harvick can punch his ticket to Miami without having to rely on the
misfortune of others by winning for a third consecutive time at the
one-mile track.
"As (the season) gets closer to the end, the intensity ratchets up,"
Harvick said. "At this point of the year, everybody's just going for
broke trying to win a race, get the best finish they can to end the
season on a good note. It's hard racing. It's fun."
In 2011, PIR was repaved and remodeled for the fall race with
changes that included concrete pit stalls, progressive banking, and
degree alterations to the dogleg and turns. Since then, Harvick has
won three of the six events there and also posted a runner-up
finish. In his 18 Phoenix races prior to the repave, Harvick
averaged a finish of 13.8. In the six races since, he has an average
of just 6.2. With a victory on Sunday, he can sweep the track for
the second time in his career (2006).
"The track is still racy enough where you can make up time if your
car is good, but you need to stay focused on strategy," Harvick
said. "The track has definitely changed since the repave a couple of
years ago. The weather really helps wear the track. It's incredibly
hot in the summer and can get really cold in the winter, so there
are some pretty extreme temperatures that have helped to age the
asphalt."
Coming off a runner-up finish at Texas, Harvick travels to the
Sonoran Desert with some needed momentum after opening the
Eliminator Round with a 33rd-place finish at Martinsville. Equipped
with a fast Stewart-Haas racing Chevrolet, the 38-year-old has led
the most laps in the series this season (1,819) and has captured the
most Coors Light Pole Awards (8). Harvick boasts three wins this
year, the most recent coming at Charlotte on Oct. 11.
"Everything is just so intense right now," Harvick said. "Everybody
is just kind of throwing caution to the wind to do all they can for
their team. Everybody is racing as hard as they can. Just glad to be
in the mix."
Elliott "chasing" NASCAR history
Chase Elliott has the chance to cement his name into NASCAR's record
books this weekend.
At the conclusion of Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series DAV 200 at
Phoenix International Raceway (4 p.m. ET, ESPN), Elliott can become
the first rookie and youngest driver -- 18 years, 11 months and 18
days -- to win a NASCAR national series championship.
All he has to do is maintain his 48-point lead atop the NNS
standings over his JR Motorsports teammate Regan Smith. If Elliott
leaves Phoenix with a 48-point advantage over second, he'll clinch
the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship.
"It would be phenomenal," Elliott said when asked about potentially
winning the championship at Phoenix. "It would mean the world to me,
and not just me, but our team, our sponsors, NAPA and everybody that
makes it happen. We're going to give it our best shot to do so and
we'd still like to have another win or two before the year is out."
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The 18-year-old rides a streak of 12 top-10 finishes, including
seven top fives to the Avondale, Arizona track. He finished ninth in
his second career start at the rain-shortened March Phoenix race and
is fresh off a fourth-place showing at Texas.
"This is the type of performance and momentum you want late in any
season," Elliott said. "I am very excited about getting back out to
Phoenix. In the spring we had a decent run, but due to the rain-out
we never were able to get a full analysis of the weekend. I love
short-track racing, which is what Phoenix is all about, but I
certainly have a lot to learn about Phoenix and how to get around
there."
Two-man tussle for Trucks championship
It's down to the seasoned veteran versus the rising star in the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship battle.
With just two races left, defending champion Matt Crafton leads Ryan
Blaney by 23 points heading into Friday's Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix
International Raceway (8:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1).
No matter the outcome at Homestead, at least one championship record
will be set. Crafton would be the first back-to-back champion in the
20-year history of the NCWTS, while Blaney would be the series'
youngest title-winner at 20 years, 10 months and 14 days.
Before heading to Miami, the two drivers will have to tackle
Phoenix. Both have performed well at the one-mile tri-oval located
in the Sonoran Desert. Blaney boasts two top-10 finishes in as many
starts, while Crafton claims four top-five and nine top-10 showings
in 13 races at Phoenix. Neither has won there.
Blaney is confident he can catch Crafton even after losing ground on
him at Texas.
"We made a stop toward the end of the race under caution and I was
able to get back up to ninth which was good but we lost points,"
Blaney said. "Now we need to win at Phoenix and Homestead to have a
chance at the title and I think we can do that."
Though unlikely, there is a mathematical possibility that Crafton
clinches the championship at Phoenix. If he leaves there with a
48-point lead over Blaney, Crafton will lock up the 2014 NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series title.
"I'm not worried about points," said Crafton after his fifth-place
finish at Texas. "We're going for a win at Phoenix, it's kind of a
home track for me. We've been there a ton, and have a new truck so
we're really looking forward to it."
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