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Kevin Harvick has no Sprint Cup Series wins this season.

He's led just 33 of the 2,386 laps that he's raced. And in the past two races, he's battled ill-handling cars only to rally late for decent finishes.

So, what has all that gotten him? Quite a lot actually.

For the second consecutive week, Harvick remains second in the Cup points standings. He trails leader and Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton by 59 entering Saturday's Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Last season, despite winning the Daytona 500, Harvick had already dropped to 14th in points following the first race at Texas. This year, his worst finish so far is his 14th-place at Daytona.

In an ironic twist, the normally unabashed and outspoken Harvick has in many ways been flying under the radar this season.

"The only thing we did right at the beginning of last year was to win the Daytona 500. That was about it," Harvick said. "This year we've been fortunate to run consistently week-in and week-out, and that's what you have to have to win the championship.

"That's what we all ask for. If we keep doing that, we'll keep ourselves in contention to win races and eventually that will come."

This weekend would be as good a time as any for Harvick.

In 10 career Cup races at Phoenix, Harvick has two victories, three top-five and five top-10 finishes. Last season - the first at the 1-mile oval utilizing NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow - Harvick finished 10th and sixth.

"The pace is a little bit slower (with the Car of Tomorrow). The cars fall off a little bit more. We had a good test (at Phoenix) a couple of weeks ago and I'm sure the weather will be different when we go back," he said.

"The cars were a little bit faster than they were last time. The races have been different there than what they have been in the past. I think that will kind of come back as we get a better handle on the car."

So far this season, all three RCR teams have enjoyed success.

Burton has led the points race since his third-place finish March 30 at Martinsville, Va., and earned his first win of the season March 16 at Bristol, Tenn. Fellow RCR teammate Clint Bowyer is tied for 11th in points and eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. All three drivers qualified for the Chase last season.

Since the advent of the Chase in 2004, most of the drivers who ultimately qualified for the Chase were within the cutoff point in the season's first six races, a statistic that bodes well for Harvick and RCR.

"I definitely think getting off to a strong start makes things easier but I don't want to be that guy who has that plummet and drops out of the top 12 for the first time," Harvick said. "Historically, the racetracks over the next several weeks are really good for us and kind of where we usually have gotten our season off on the right foot and headed in the right direction.

"We want to continue trying to stay level-headed about everything and approach each week the same as we have every other week, no matter how good or bad it's been."

At Martinsville and Texas the past two weeks, it has been more of the latter, as Harvick's No. 29 has struggled early in the race. In both instances, however, he's rallied for strong finishes - a definite sign of progress over last season.

"We've had good years; we just haven't been consistent," Harvick said. "And the consistency is the part that we have to stay focused on as we go forward."[[In-content Ad]]

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