For Kevin Harvick, Texas is the new Phoenix.
Overcoming a pit-road penalty for a tire placed in his pit box too early, Harvick took control of the AAA Texas 500 as the sun set on Texas Motor Speedway and won his third straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at the 1.5-mile track in Cowtown.
Locked into the Championship 4 race two weeks hence at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick can now breathe easy heading into the final Round of 8 race at ISM Raceway in Phoenix, a track where Harvick has nine wins and a current streak of 12 top-10 finishes — but where Harvick struggled uncharacteristically in the spring while running ninth under the new 2019 rules package.
After leading a race-high 119 laps and finishing 1.594 seconds ahead of Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola, Harvick, the pole winner, won’t have to worry about the one-mile flat track in Arizona’s Sonoran desert.
“Texas has always been so great to us, and what a race track the last few years,” said Harvick, who won for the fourth time this season and the 49th time in his career, tying him with SHR co-owner Tony Stewart for 14th all-time. “It’s just been a lot of work put into this race. We knew this was a good race track for us. Felt like it fit the styles of our cars, and, man, did it.”
Harvick led an impressive contingent of SHR drivers, all of whom took turns at the front of the field before Harvick took control. Runner-up Almirola led 62 laps, Clint Bowyer led 36 and Daniel Suarez 25.
THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF THE GO FAST
This week we have a trio who will be sharing this prestigious weekly award! Those three players are Kilimanjaro Bobby, Lonna The Quilt Angel and Leon Your Most Humble Sheriff. This unlikely trio were all in with their support for Freaky Fast Kevin Harvick, and by doing so logged a vey timely 55 points this week!
THE MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Linda B. The Cookie Mom is making a very late charge towards some Redneck Fantasy League money. She racked up 43 points with her driver Alex Bowman The Showman!
Meanwhile, Kathy The Church Forecloser added a very timely 40 points to her 3rd segment bucket with her pick of Easy Money. Kyle Larson ran a very steady race at Texas hanging in the top ten all race long.
Also having a good day at the race track is our current points leader, Snoopy Dawn. Snoopy didn’t bust a huge number loose at Texas, but that Jones boy, Erik, laid a 10th place finish on Snoopy, and a nifty 36 points to keep her on top of the scoring pylon.
Rounding out the tip ten scorers this week is Amber The Extremely Lucky Cheddar Head and Bernie The Bay Area Bandit. The Cheddar Head and The Bay Area Bandit were vociferously supporting of the driver formally known as The Outlaw. Kurt Busch’s 9th place finish at TMS deposited a much a much needed 32 points into there scoring buckets.
One would think that, with the completion of 10 races in this 12 race segment, that the positions would start to be set in concrete. Perish that thought race fans! Twelve of the sixteen players changes zip codes this week. That bolsters just how tight the scores are this segment!
This week we have two ladies that lead the way in the movers column! Both Edie The Las Vegas Super Star and Linda B. The Cookie Mom moved five (5) positions. The Vegas Super Star was not too super this week, plummeting five places to land in 9th place. Conversely, The Cookie Mom rocketed up five to now sit in 10th place.
Another duo were brothers in arms this week and moved four (4) spots. That duo is made up of Carlton The Doorman and David The Mudslinging Throttle Jockey and both players dropped like a hot potato this week residing now in 13th and 15th, respectively.
Meanwhile, the mother-son twosome of Bobby Blue Crush and Lonna The Quilt Angel climbed up three (3) places when the checkered flag flew at Texas. Blue Crush and The Quilt Angel now sit in 2nd and 7th places, respectively.
Additionally, there is a quartet that moved two (2) spots. That foursome consists of Leon Your Most Humble Sheriff, Jim, aka Chiefy, Amber The Extremely Lucky Cheddar Head, as well as Dan the Numbers Cruncher. Your Most Humble Sheriff, Chiefy, and The Cheddar Head all moved up two spots to now reside in 5th, 11th, and 12th, respectively. However, The Numbers Dude didn’t fair so well, and continued his downward spiral to sit in 14th place.
Lastly, both Jeremy The Coach and Bernie The Bay Area Bandit fell off the to step of the porch and now rest in 4th and 5th, respectively.
STRAIGHT FROM THE CRAPPER
This week The Crappiest Pick of The Week does not have to shared between multiple winners. There is only has one winner. The lucky player who only scraped together one (1) myopic point, Edie The Las Vegas Super Star, is the unequivocal winner, hands down.
Likewise, it appears that Carole, aka Rudy, has settled into, and must be enjoying, her digs in The Outhouse. Scuttle has it that she has painted the walls and added a nice furry, fuzzy, heated seat cover! That is such a nice comfy addition!
Next week NASCAR comes out West one last time to Phoenix this season. I really look forward to heading over there and shooting the race. ISM Raceway provides some great great racing and some great racing photos!
Check out the results of the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Eight drivers, two races, one championship, ‘tell me when it’s over’!
TIL NEXT TIME, PULL YOUR BELTS TIGHT AND LET’S GO RACIN’!