Four drivers will compete for the NASCAR Cup Series championship on Sunday at the Phoenix Raceway. But, it’s one of the “other” 36 drivers that has everyone talking on media day on Thursday.

Almost everyone pretty much assumed Kevin Harvick would be among those four vying for the title this weekend. Harvick, has previously been to five Championship 4 rounds in six years of trying. He posted a series high nine victories this season and had won nine times over his career at Phoenix as well.

He was the favorite.

“You look at the things that Kevin Harvick did mid-season they were pretty phenomenal,” said Brad Keselowski as he’s going for his second career championship on Sunday. “He deserves a lot of credit for it.

“I think there were a lot of people at that point in the season ready to start engraving the trophy.”

But, Harvick faltered in the Round of 8. He was eliminated last round in Martinsville following a rough race. He had contract on Lap 180 with Matt Kenseth and lost two laps after having to pit for a left rear flat as a result of that incident. He got one of the two laps back four laps later for a caution, but it took until 101 laps remaining to get the other. With Chase Elliott who was outside of the cut line winning and Harvick scoring no stage points and finishing 17th, he was eliminated.

That’s crazy that the best he can finish is fifth in the standings as we head to his best statistical track. 

No one has reached the double digits in the win column in a single season in Cup since Jimmie Johnson (10 wins) in 2007. Prior to that, Jeff Gordon did that in a three year span consecutively. He won 10 races each in 1996 and again in 1997 before 13 wins in 1998. 

Harvick, had such a good season, but hasn’t won since the first round when he won two of the three races in the Round of 16.

“The way things ended up playing out, it’s not that simple,” Keselowski continued. “You know, the way the playoff format is designed, it’s meant to not give any free passes, even though there are teams that have performed really well for the majority of the season.”

Denny Hamlin agreed. He and Harvick had battles all season. Harvick won nine times, Hamlin seven. They’d finish 1-2 three times. Between Pocono and Dover, they’d finish first or second nine times in a 12 race span. The respect was high between the two and they thought they’d be racing each other for a title in the end.

“I still think I’m going to have to race him,” Hamlin said on Thursday. “Until someone proves otherwise that they’re going to win the race and not be part of the Final Four, I’m going to assume you still have to beat all 38 guys to win, and Harvick is one of them.”

Hamlin says that he actually talked to Harvick this past week about everything still.

“I continued to have conversations with Kevin this week, just talking about the season and kind of — it’s unfortunate that we weren’t able to go head to head and things like that, even though we will, it’s just different,” continued Hamlin. “Most of the year we kind of looked at it’s head to head, me and him, right.

“I think obviously in my mind he was deserving of racing for a championship but didn’t earn it because of the system, right. He had a couple mediocre finishes, not races but just finishes, and it didn’t allow him to move on, even though he’s put together just an unbelievable season.

“We’ve had those conversations, and certainly I’m not going to view if we win it any different whether he was in or out I guess you could say. I feel proud that we made it, and this is a great accomplishment for our team, and we’re obviously very worthy of the championship if we do get it done.”

Hamlin, said that the frustration is still there for Harvick but he doesn’t believe he’d trade his season unless it was a guarantee he’d win a championship this weekend.

“Well, I’m sure he’s frustrated,” said Hamlin. “I mean, who wouldn’t be. I mean, I’ve talked to Rodney, I’ve talked to Kevin, and yeah, I mean, I understand their pain. I mean, it easily could have been the other way around, right, and they’re sitting there and they’re talking to us about, man, it sucks, you guys deserve it but you’re not there, right.

“It could have went either way, but luckily we were on the good end of it, but certainly I understand — I can understand the pain they probably feel.

“I don’t think that anyone — it would be hard for me to say, and you probably should ask them, but would they take a three-win season and make it to the Final Four and not winning a championship or nine wins and not making the Final Four? I wouldn’t, I would take the nine wins and move on. It’s been a great season.”

For Joey Logano, his remorse that Harvick isn’t in the final round isn’t as great.

“I tell you, as a competitor you’re so focused on you, right? I honestly as a competitor don’t have many feelings for others,” said Logano. “I don’t mean that in a mean way or anything like that. I do outside of the car. But when I’m competing, it’s about my team.

“I’ve talked to you guys about sports. But my team is about winning for me, my sponsors, the hundreds of thousands of people that have an impact on making our car go fast one way or another. That’s what it’s about to me.

“Yeah, I mean, obviously you can put yourself in his shoes and say you won this many races, not being in it is surprising. I can only imagine the frustration of that situation. But it is the Playoffs, it is what it is at this point.

“Yeah, I would be disappointed if I was him. But I think at the same time you got to look at the season he had. You can’t be too disappointed with that many wins. Geez, so many wins that he was able to collect this year, being the fastest car for the majority of the season.

“But the Playoffs are a different game sometimes. When you have a couple not-as-good races, it changes the dynamics of the Playoffs.”

Elliott, wasn’t up to talking about Harvick though. He doesn’t find it productive.

“I don’t really think that’s for me to say,” he said. “Certainly I commend them for winning nine races. I mean, that’s a major feat, for sure. So I think you have to respect that. But I’m not sure it’s for me to say or comment really past that.

“I think for us to sit here and talk about others or the other three guys in it or who’s not in it, who somebody thinks the favorite is or isn’t, whatever, is just very unproductive in my eyes.

“I’m just really thinking about us, being selfish in a lot of ways this week, trying to put emphasis on the things that are going to make us go fast. Me ranking Kevin’s season is not one of them.”

I think Harvick goes out and tries to dominate to become the first driver since 2013 to win the final race of the season but not the championship. A win on Sunday would show that if he just made it past the Round of 8, the title would have been hist and a way to show the NASCAR fan base that stats are judged differently now.