Kevin Harvick’s Unprecedented Legacy at Phoenix Put in Perspective As the Phenom Enjoys the Other Side

Sunday’s Shriners Children 500 was a solid statement by the Toyotas who racked their first win of the season. The Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing drivers dismantled the HMS Chevys and Fords methodically. The 312-lap was in fact a clinical performance with Toyota-associated drivers winning all three stages of the race and dominating the field at the one-mile championship track. But there’s one other name that has done it all before Christopher Bell or Ty Gibbs. In the wake of Bell’s stellar triumph, NASCAR’s stat guy, Trey Ryan uncovered the astonishing statistics about Kevin “Happy” Harvick and his impressive track record at Phoenix.

The staggering legacy of Kevin Harvick at Phoenix revealed

Before we come to Harvick‘s impressive track record at Phoenix, let us look at why C. Bell’s victory at the one-mile track was impressive and what makes Harvick’s achievements even more spectacular. For one, passing at Phoenix is not a walk in the park and most hardcore NASCAR fans are a witness to this, especially in this current Next-Gen era.

23XI Racing driver and fellow Toyota driver Bubba Wallace had this to say about the Arizona track – “Whatever the hardest thing y’all done in life… It ain’t got sh*t on trying to pass here in Phoenix.” Now, that is how laborious it is to make passes at the desert track and, to make it worse, the Next-Gen platform that we have in NASCAR today makes it more demanding. This is what makes Bell’s run all the more glorious, being 20th after the final restart in lap 229, the #20 Toyota went on a blitzkrieg, passing car after car to win the race in the final leg of the race.

Now, Harvick’s legacy at the track eclipses this performance considering that the veteran maintained a finish in the Top-10 at Phoenix for 11 years straight! This is the first year, the driver couldn’t make it to the top standings owing to his retirement from the sport. In fact, he has nine wins at the venue, out of which five came under his tenure with Stewart-Haas Racing and four when he was with Richard Childress Racing.

What makes the Cup Series champion’s feat more spectacular is that, even during his worst days in SHR when the team was struggling with inconsistency, Harvick made it into the top 10 twice in March and November last year, finishing fifth and seventh in a track that is known to batter even the best.

Sharing this stat on his ‘X’ account, Ryan mentioned that Ty Gibbs was just 11 years old and his JGR teammate, Martin Truex Jr just had one win under his belt when Harvick was on top of his game back in 2013. But now that the veteran is no longer making iconic records on the track, he has assumed a role quite different. The retired driver can often be seen behind the mic, talking about races and extending his advice to those who could need it.

Gibbs’ Phoenix performance and Harvick’s advice for the JGR driver

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Starting from the front row beside Denny Hamlin who occupied the pole, was JGR’s youngest driver, 21-year-old Ty Gibbs. The young gun was super competitive from the get-go, overtaking veteran Hamlin in the very first lap of the race. The #54 Toyota was on a stellar run, dishing out impressive pace, leading 57 laps, almost winning stage 1 if it wasn’t for Tyler Reddick, who pulled off a decisive pass on the youngster to ace the first stage of the race.

Sunday’s race indicated one thing Harvick and most analysts of the sport constantly pointed out about Gibbs: “He’s going to win.” Reflecting on the race at Las Vegas where Gibbs again put out an impressive performance, Harvick said, “You guys know I’m on the Ty Gibbs train. … I think he’s going to win.” The veteran further added, “Ty, I think he’s got the speed and I think if he can just stay off the radio. I think it would do him a lot of favors if he could just learn to yell at himself, I think that would go a long way with him because then he wouldn’t have to answer all of the questions during the week about something he said. I think he’s got the speed, he’s got the racecraft, he’s just got to put it all together.”

Speaking on his Happy Hour podcast, the veteran then dropped a massive Ty Gibbs prediction, saying, “I think he’s going to knock that win off at some point this year,” strongly rallying behind the youngster’s talent, genuinely believing in his potential.

READ MORE: “Bottom Feeder” Bubba Wallace Dissects a New Tire Package “Changing” Phoenix and Tyler Reddick’s Struggle