Kevin Harvick and his crew are pledging not to shave for two weeks as part of his Budweiser team's promotion encouraging folks to save water.
Thumbs up, everybody! This is one "Fear the beard" marketing campaign that clearly is working.
Harvick won his third race of the season by a — wait for it — close shave. He lucked into Victory Lane after Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran out of gas on the last lap of the Coca-Cola 600.
It has been that kind of year for Harvick. He has led a total of nine laps, yet has won a Cup-high three races.
Harvick has seven top-10 finishes in 17 races, and is only 36 points behind points leader Carl Edwards.
"It's one of those deals where you get toward the end of the race and I feel like we can take the car to another level," Harvick said after Sunday's race.We always have something left, we always have racecar left, we always have brakes left.
"That's kind of the way I was taught to race — save everything you had, keep all the fenders on it, and then when it's time to go, whatever you have to do, you have to do.
"You have to be there at the end to make something happen."
Harvick's success, coupled with the steady runs of Earnhardt that has him in fourth place in the standings, gives defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson something to think about as the Chase cutoff approaches.
Unlike last year, when Denny Hamlin emerged as Johnson's main antagonist heading into the final week, Johnson could be bunched in with a handful of drivers all scrambling to win the title.
Johnson is currently third, 37 points behind Edwards.
Much of Harvick's success does have to do with team chemistry. It's not a trite cliché.
He definitely has a good — if often contentious — vibe with crew chief Gil Martin. Like any passionate relationship, there are moments when people want to start throwing furniture at each other, if not a few lug nuts.
But they have managed to work through their issues because of their common goal: Let's win every time we roll onto a track.
"If he gets mad, or whatever has happened through the years, I've learned to deal with it. It doesn't bother me," Martin said.
"And I think all these guys have learned the same thing — we can sit up in the lounge and we can throw punches and take them pretty easily with each other and nobody gets offended.
"That's what it's all about because this sport is so much about feelings and everybody wearing their feelings on their shoulders."
The feeling is that it's going to be a great year for Harvick, with or without the razor.
