There is Kevin Harvick, then everyone else

Historic in scope and placing him in very select company, Kevin Harvick’s march into the NASCAR record book continued Sunday at Phoenix. Dating to last season, the defending Sprint Cup owns four victories and three second-place finishes over the past seven races.

Putting Harvick’s run in perspective, only Richard Petty eclipses Harvick’s current streak in the modern-era (1972-present). As Petty amassed six wins and five runner-ups over 11 consecutive races in his 1975 championship-winning season, which included a modern-era record 13 victories overall (later equaled by Jeff Gordon in 1998).

“When you said the Richard Petty part, that gives me chills,” said Harvick Sunday when informed of the statistic.

Can Harvick eventually pass NASCAR’s “King” and establish a new benchmark for high-level consistency? Considering the depth of competition, Harvick being able to maintain this excellence for another six races seems unlikely. Unlike Petty’s era -- he once placed second in a race where he finished a lap behind -- there are too many good drivers and teams Harvick must encounter weekly.

Eventually -- and soon -- the streak will end. Nevertheless, it is a remarkable achievement; a testament to a driver and the team surrounding him, raising its game to even greater heights than expected.

NASCAR Power Rankings

1. Kevin Harvick (Last week: 1)

What else can be said at this point? But if you’re looking to know why the defending champ is, in fact, better this season than last the reason is two-fold. First, the mistakes on pit road, which were frequent, were all but eliminated when the crews of Harvick and Tony Stewart were flipped prior to the Chase. Secondly, the No. 4 team was brand-new in 2014, hence why mechanical gremlins often sidelined Harvick and took away potential wins. Those, too, are a thing of the past.

2. Joey Logano (LW: 2)

The consensus going into Sunday was if anyone could vanquish Harvick it would be Joey Logano, who was fast throughout practice and qualifying. Oops. Because while he led the initial 25 laps, Logano was a nonfactor thereafter finishing eighth. A bit troubling, and something that’s occurred in every race but the Daytona 500, is the No. 22 team inability to keep up with changing track conditions.

3. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 5)

Only Harvick, Logano and Martin Truex Jr. have been 10th or better in every race this race. That Harvick and Logano have done so isn’t surprising. The same cannot be said of Truex, who now only has one fewer top-10 than he had all of last year. If you foresaw that coming go buy a lottery ticket and please share the winnings.

4. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 4)

Phoenix was the second race in a row where the No. 48 team fielded a top-five car, but didn’t have the result to show for it. At Las Vegas it was tire issues that undid Jimmie Johnson, whereas Sunday the culprit were a pair of run-ins, neither of which were his fault. The first came on Lap 3 when Brian Vickers, thinking he was clear, moved up and clipped the 48. After repairs, Johnson dropped to the rear but charged to the front when, during a pit stop, Carl Edwards swerved into traffic and caused a chain reaction incident. Another unscheduled stop and any chance Johnson had of leaving with a top-five vanished. He finished 11th.

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 5)

Thanks to a blown tire that sent him crashing into the wall, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished last Sunday, the first time he’s been worse than fourth all season. But even before the accident it was going to be a struggle to keep the top-10 streak alive with the No. 88 car far too loose all afternoon. A condition Earnhardt said directly contributed to the right-rear tire popping without warning. On the bright side, NASCAR’s most popular driver did get a new dog.

6. Brad Keselowski (LW: 8)

Although this team is still a smidge off, Phoenix provided encouraging signs. Brad Keselowski led 52 laps -- which considering Harvick’s dominance is saying something -- and ran the entire race up front. He doesn’t have a top-five yet, but Keselowski has finished in the top-10 the past three weeks and making obvious gains every week.

7. Ryan Newman (LW: 9)

Whatever mojo Ryan Newman and crew chief Luke Lambert found during last year’s Chase has carried over to this season. Newman has three top-10s in four races and for the second straight week he quietly finished third unlike the 2014 regular season.

8. Kasey Kahne (LW: 11)

Who would’ve thought Kasey Kasey would be the highest points ranked Hendrick Motorsports driver through four races? Besides, of course, his large number of female admirers. But fourth overall is where Kahne finds himself with a bevy of good tracks upcoming where winning is very much a possibility.

9. Matt Kenseth (LW: 6)

All the way around Phoenix felt like a lost weekend for Joe Gibbs Racing, as none of its four cars finished better than 13th. Matt Kenseth, who spent much the day in the top-10, might have been the exception were it not for a pit road speeding penalty. Instead, he placed 16th.

10. Denny Hamlin (LW: 7)

As opposed to his teammate, Denny Hamlin couldn’t blame finishing 23rd on a penalty -- his car just handled woefully. A fact he was quite vocal about afterward, telling NBC Sports: “All of our cars suck right now.” Okay, then. At least give Hamlin credit for honesty.

11. AJ Allmendinger (LW: 10)

A pre-race engine change relegated AJ Allmendinger from 22nd to the back of the starting grid. And on a tough Phoenix track where passing isn’t always easy, he made the best of it finishing 17th. Not a bad result all things considered, and indicative of the continued growth of a small team doing a lot with little.

12. Jeff Gordon (LW: Unranked)

In the first three races Jeff Gordon had speed, though not the result to show for it thanks to getting swept into on-track incidents each week. Sunday, there wasn’t much speed in the No. 24 car, and yet Gordon scored his first top-10 (ninth) of the season at Phoenix. Go figure.