A hole in the oil filter. That's what caused Kevin Harvick's car to slam into the turn one wall at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday (video can be seen here). With that impact, his streak of 81 races without a Did Not Finish (DNF) was over. 81 is now the longest streak ever in NASCAR's modern era [1972-current]. Harvick was only three races away from the all-time streak of 84 races held by Herman Beam from April 30, 1961 thru March 10, 1963.
This streak is one of the most impressive records in all of motorsports. Think about this, Harvick's last DNF before Sunday was in the Dover 400 on September 24, 2006. The streak covered parts of 4 seasons. In those 81 races, he ran a total of 8 races at Daytona and Talladega, home of restrictor place racing and "The Big One". He took his number 29 to the wreckfest at Bristol Motor Speedway 4 times. He visited the bullring at Martinsville 5 times. And he even competed in the 600 miler at Lowes Motor Speedway, a race historically tough on engines, twice.
But this is Kevin's style. When he passed the previous streak holder, he passed his own streak of 58 races that lasted from 10/3/2002 to 8/1/2004. During his 9 year Winston/Nextel/Sprint Cup career, a span of 288 races, he has only failed to complete a total of 14 races. He knows how to take care of his equipment, and this is also a testiment to his ability to drive a race car. Only a driver with good car control can keep himself in that many races. Even though the record is held by the driver, it unbelievable that Richard Childress Racing can build equipment that durable year after year. As impressive as Harvick's feat is, there is another driver who can eclipse his mark of 81 races and soon; his RCR teammate Clint Bowyer.
Clint Bowyer started his streak during his rookie season in November 2006, not long after Harvick started his. Bowyer's streak stands at 75 races without a DNF. During his Cup career, Bowyer has only recorded a DNF 4 times out of 110 races entered, which is only 3.6%. Impressive when you consider defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson has a total of 6 DNF's during his 3 championship winning seasons, 1 each in 2006 and 2008, and a 4 DNF season in 2007. In his 257 starts, Johnson has failed to complete 25 of them, almost 10% of all races. It's clear to see that even though having a DNF streak as long as Harvick and Bowyer, it doesnt equal a championship.
Bowyer is on pace to catch Harvick's 81 at Phoenix in April. Where will he pass Harvick and reach 82 straight? Talladega. He will catch Herman Beam's all time streak of 84 at Darlington, probably the most historical track on the circuit. But if Bowyer is successful in passing Beam, where will he become the all time record holder? Lowes Motor Speedway, following the Coca-Cola 600. One thing is for sure, if Bowyer does it, nobody will be able to say he wasn't tested getting there.
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