AVONDALE, Ariz. — When NASCAR headed west two weeks ago, it seemed implausible that one driver could sweep the three-race swing. Three different style race tracks, teams worn down from travel and incredibly short turnaround times simply made it too daunting of a task.

Well, Kevin Harvick and his Rodney Childers-led Stewart-Haas Racing team are now one win away from a West Coast sweep.

Harvick won Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, where he is simply unbeatable. Harvick has won five of the last six races at Phoenix, and a record seven overall.

Back-to-back wins at Las Vegas and Phoenix sends his team to Fontana, California, needing just one more victory to run the table.

“When we left Vegas last week, he made a point to say, `I want to win all three of these West Coast races,”’ Childers said. “I think anybody that knows Kevin Harvick, if he puts his head to something, he’s going to try to make it happen.”

Harvick has been on a run not seen in NASCAR in at least 40 years.

He has seven consecutive top-two finishes dating to last season, and he has won five of the last 10 races.

The last driver to score seven consecutive top-two finishes? Hall of Famer Richard Petty in 1975.

Jamie McMurray finished a season-high second, but thinks he could have executed the final restart against Harvick differently and maybe won the race.

McMurray actually beat Harvick out of the first two turns, but didn’t feel he was clear enough of his car to slide in front of Harvick. It allowed Harvick to catch and pass McMurray in the next two turns.