Double A Says: A California Quartet for Happy

Kevin Harvick has good reason to be happy in the early going this NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series season.

Not only does he lead the point standings after four weeks of racing, he also joined elite company after winning at his favorite Western playground, ISM Raceway (you know, Phoenix).

After winning three consecutive races in what is easily Happy Harvick’s strongest start ever in his Cup Series career, Harvick has the chance to join even more elite company should he win at Auto Club Speedway this Sunday.

While it’s been over a decade since the last time a driver won four consecutive races, there is good reason to say that drought could very well come to an end this weekend.

Harvick has visited victory lane at Auto Club before in 2011 and has finished in the top 10 in seven of his last 10 starts there. In the 2016 race, he led the most laps with 142 before finishing 2nd.

At Auto Club’s sister track, Michigan International Speedway, Harvick has finished in the top 5 in seven of his last 10 starts. It’s safe to say Harvick’s time on two-mile D-shaped oval tracks has been fruitful, even more reason to believe his chances Sunday should be high.

While Harvick has been Stewart-Haas Racing’s top driver since joining in 2014, you also have to look at his SHR teammates to see how strong and confident this team should be going into Sunday.

At Phoenix, SHR had a banner day with all four drivers finishing in the top 10. At Atlanta, all four drivers finished in the top 15.

I thought going into this season, SHR was on shaky ground with Kurt Busch’s pessimistic one-year deal, Clint Bowyer having a mediocre 2017 season and Aric Almirola being surprisingly chosen over better-established free agent drivers to pilot the No. 10 car. But so far, this version of SHR is proving me and other skeptics wrong.