Kevin Harvick Benefits From Lack Of Late Caution, Inches Closer To Points Lead

Crew chief Gil Martin came up to Kevin Harvick and wrapped an arm around him from behind, whispering words of encouragement in his ear.

The two men exchanged pleasantries, and Harvick turned back to face reporters.

He had ended the day in Phoenix closer to the points lead than when he arrived – 46 back instead of 59 – and was therefore somewhat relieved to have salvaged a day that could have been much worse.

“We’re getting closer,” Harvick said with a half-smile.

After his pit crew made a crucial mistake, leaving a loose lugnut on a pit stop that forced Harvick to fall from fifth to 19th, the driver all but gave up on the day.

“Gonna need a miracle today, boys,” he told his team over the radio.

Martin and team owner Richard Childress chimed in with a pep talk and words of encouragement, and eventually it turned out that the mistake could actually lead to a good points day.

Since he had to pit later than the others, Harvick could make it on fuel mileage if the race stayed green. And, as it turned out, it did.

“Gil and Richard just kind of kept harping at me, ‘Stay after it, stay after it,’” Harvick said. “I finally got over it after about 15 laps and started driving the car again. It all worked out in the end.

“I’m not going to lie to you, I was down. And they just kept harping at me, and I finally just kept at it. When I heard them say we were good on fuel, I knew we had a chance – just because the race had a lot of green-flag runs in it.”

Maybe this is how championships are ultimately won – a team needs to run well, but also get good breaks.

On Sunday, Harvick caught a break; points leader Denny Hamlin did not.

“Our mistake wound up being something that gained us more points than if we had not made the mistake,” Harvick said. “We just kept after it, and wound up getting an OK day.”