Harvick... No Luck At All

      Given the number of good teams, drivers, and equipment at the Sprint Cup level of NASCAR, it is obvious that it takes a little 'luck' to be consistent in this sport. When King Richard Petty was accumulating those 200 victories, he was doing it at the expense of others who barely made the field. Maybe five or six cars had a chance out of the 40 cars starting the race. In present times it is just the opposite with 40 of the 43 cars in the race standing a chance of visiting 'Victory Lane.'
   Kevin Harvick has a victory already this season, having taken the checkered flag at Phoenix in the second race on the schedule.... but he could have had three or four more wins if equipment had not let him down.
   This weeks race at Fort Worth was the latest nightmare in Harvick's dream of winning a championship this year.

      The race was delayed from Sunday to Monday due to rain in North Texas all weekend. Kevin had his 'lucky charm' in his son with him before the race and you have to admit he looks pretty good in his cowboy hat.
     Harvick had a good starting spot in the race, having qualified  3rd for the Duck Commander 500 mile event.

      I had that feeling of doubt over his starting spot in this race. Usually Harvick does not qualify well but makes up for it with good driving and quick pit stops. The crew was almost giddy over how well the car was running and optimism was running high....BUT on lap 28 the engine let go..BANG! End of day ! Only a 43rd finish by Dale Jr was worse than Harvick's 42nd. 
   The bad luck with the car is starting to mount up.. A 41st finish in Las Vegas due to a burned up front hub... A 39th finish in Bristol due to a faulty oil line that caused a fire...and a 7th place finish at Martinsville when a tire chain holding up the rear end broke, causing lengthy pit stops. I guess you could throw in the 36th finish at Fontana,..but everyone was having tire problems at that place.

      Monday's let down was just the latest of problems that have to be overcome IF Harvick is to make the chase. That lone victory may not be a guarantee to put him in the field with different winners in each of the races thus far. With engines being supplied by Hendrick Motorsports, this was the farthest thing in the mind of crew chief Rodney Childers before the drop of the green flag Monday. He remains confident that the crew is supplying Harvick with a fast machine, but if things don't turn-around soon, everyone will be standing on the outside and just watching others compete for the Championship.

        UPDATE:  Harvick became the Sprint Cup series first two-time winner by taming the 'track too tough to tame.' Kevin's Budweiser #4 dominated the field to capture the Southern 500 at Darlington on Saturday (4-12-2014) night.

      Harvick became the first driver to win from the pole position at Darlington since Dale Jarrett did it in 1997. The second win of the season assures Harvick a place in the chase as long as he remains in the top 30 drivers in points. NASCAR's Sprint Cup drivers will take next weekend off before the Saturday night race at Richmond, Virginia on April 26th.