Kevin Harvick and Chevrolet Clinch 4th Victory at Phoenix International Raceway

Kevin Harvick, the defending NASCAR champion, clinched his fourth consecutive race title at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday. 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.

He opened the season with two runner-up finishes, won last week at Las Vegas and now Phoenix. He continued his dominant streak with seven consecutive top-two finishes and has won four of the last seven races, which includes the final two of last year's championship season.

Harvick commented on his No 4 Chevrolet saying "Man these things are incredible and they are just fun to drive. It's scary how well we get along with each other. I don't want to talk about it sometimes so I don't jinx it."

He dusted McMurray on the final restart with 12 laps remaining to clinch the title and clearly beat the Chip Ganassi Racing driver by 1.154 seconds.

Ryan Newman came third followed by Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch, all Chevrolet drivers taking all top five spots.

The last driver to have opened a season with four finishes of second or better was Richard Petty who achieved this feat in 1974.

Harvick won at Auto Club Speedway in 2011, and has been among the best drivers since 2009. He now heads to California hoping to clear NASCAR's three-race West Coast swing. 
Image: Lat Photographic