NASCAR legend Kevin Harvick chasing historic record at Phoenix Speedway

Kevin Harvick has spent a significant amount of time in the Cup Series at Phoenix Raceway. The race in Phoenix tomorrow will conclude the Cup series' three-race west coast swing, and the "King of the Desert" is hoping to finish in style.

Harvick is due to retire later this season, but he has some unfinished business at his favorite racing site.

While his desert domination has waned significantly over the last five years, Sunday promises one of two more opportunities for him to win No. 10. It also provides a chance to join some exclusive company before retirement, which the Stewart-Haas Ford driver predicts would come at the conclusion of the season.

With nine victories, Kevin Harvick is by far the most successful driver at Phoenix. His run of top-10 finishes in the 1-mile oval is even more spectacular. Going into this race, the Stewart Haas Racing driver had 19 top-10 finishes in a row at Phoenix.

It is a NASCAR record, and Harvick would want to add to it. Every time the driver returns to Arizona, he is reminded of how good he has been since sweeping both races at the track 17 years ago. Most often, he just deflects praise.

“It feels somewhat arrogant and cocky to look at your own stats, especially when they’re good. 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 said.

Kevin Harvick has won nine races at the 1-mile tri-oval and is attempting to become only the sixth driver in Cup history to win 10 races at the same circuit. By doing so, he would be joining Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, and David Pearson.

Despite only one top-five finish and one lap lead in the last five races here, Happy Harvick should be exactly that when the green flag drops. He qualified his No. 4 Mustang 15th, precisely where he began when he won his first Cup race here in Phoenix Raceway in 2006.

Harvick, unlike his three Stewart Haas Racing teammates, has enjoyed a strong start to the season. He finished 12th, 5th, and 9th in his first three races.

Another top-10 finish would extend his record, but Harvick is determined to win. To win on Sunday, he must defeat Joey Logano, who won the Cup title at Phoenix in November and has three wins at the track since 2016. Kyle Busch has also won three races in Phoenix, the most recent in 2019.

Kevin Harvick is content to let everyone else speak about it, and he expects to give them even more stuff to talk about once the checkered flag waves in the desert.

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Kevin Harvick has a special connection with the Phoenix Raceway

Kevin Harvick recalls his grandfather's constant presence in Phoenix as he thinks back on his last Cup Series season. In the Cup Series there, he had nine victories. The NASCAR driver, though, competed in desert races before breaking it to the big time. That's because he always knew his grandfather would be there.

"When I started racing there, I guess 1994 was the first time, my grandpa would go there three weeks early, and he’d drive his motorhome there and he’d park it right in the same spot,” Harvick posted to Twitter.

In NASCAR, Harvick will reach rare air if he can take the 10th race of his career in Phoenix. Only five drivers have ever won more than 10 races at a single track in the history of the sport.