Harvick continues to own Phoenix

There have been dominant drivers in NASCAR before, seasons where Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson would reel off win after win to break the spirits of the rest of the garage.

Dale Earnhardt had stretches where he was unbeatable, Tony Stewart’s had his share of hot streaks, and Rusty Wallace had an unbelievable 1993 season that opened with four wins in eight races.

But it has been 41 years since NASCAR has seen a run like the one Kevin Harvick is making across the country.

The defending Sprint Cup champion won his fourth consecutive race at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday with yet another rout of the field. The 42 other drivers knew this was Harvick’s race to win, and he made it look easy.

He led more than 200 laps for the third straight time at Phoenix, where he has won five of the last six races and a record seven overall.

More important, he continued a streak of dominance that dates to last season. He has seven consecutive top-two finishes and has won four of the last six races, which includes the final two of last year’s championship season. Dating back to the Chase last season, Harvick has won five of the last 10 races.

He opened this season with two runner-up finishes, then won last week at Las Vegas and now Phoenix.

The last driver score seven consecutive top-two finishes? Hall of Famer Richard Petty in 1974.

“When you said the Richard Petty part, that gives me chills,” Harvick said after learning the Petty stat.

Two late cautions forced Harvick to sweat a little bit, as he twice had to hold off Jamie McMurray on restarts to preserve his victory.

He cleared McMurray on the final restart with 12 laps remaining and beat the Chip Ganassi Racing driver by 1.154 seconds.

Last lap

Lewis Hamilton beat teammate Nico Rosberg in a one-two finish for Mercedes at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne in the opening race of the Formula One season, with Sebastian Vettel finishing third in his first race for Ferrari. … Spencer Massey won the Top Fuel division at the Gatornationals in Gainsville, Florida, edging DSR teammate Tony Schumacher in the final. Ron Capps won the Funny Car division by beating surprising finalist John Hale, the No. 15 qualifier.