Who can catch Kevin Harvick?

This week’s NASCAR thoughts in 140 words or less:

–Can anybody slow down Kevin Harvick? From the perspective of Harvick and his Stewart Haas Racing Chevy team, another acid test in his stellar defense of last season’s championship is upcoming Saturday night at the Texas Motor Speedway. Among active drivers, he has competed in the most races at Texas 24 without a victory. (On the other hand, his eight-race streak of finishing first or second started at Texas last fall.)

–When it comes to who’s running well, Harvick, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski are the only front-running drivers who have picked up where they left off last season with the possible exception of Jimmie Johnson, who has a victory but has struggled otherwise. It may be a long season with 20 races remaining until the Chase begins, but right now I’d bet on those four making it to the final round in Homestead, Fla. (It now appears Ryan Newman, one of last year’s finalists, picked up where he left off with illegally ventilated tires before officials caught on at this season’s fifth race.)
–There is little doubt Danica Patrick is a highly motivated and talented race car driver, but since when is a seventh place finish as at Martinsville something to celebrate? (Perhaps it’s an indication that people are still interested to see if Patrick can win a race. Presently, the only competition where the Stewart Haas Racing driver prevails is versus boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who is mired in Roush Fenway Racing’s woes. )

–Should there be a set of “modern era” records for the Sprint Cup and if so when should it begin? Most pundits consider the line of demarcation to be the reduction in the schedule from 48 races to 31 in 1972, when an emphasis was put on superspeedways instead of short tracks. I would vote for starting the modern era in 1980, because that’s when the sport’s financial depression occasioned by factory withdrawals in the early 1970s finally ended. In the 1980 season, 10 different drivers won races for the first time after the shortening of the schedule. (In any event, Kevin Harvick’s eight straight finishes of first or second surely trumps Richard Petty’s mark from the 1975 season when there were only eight different winners. There have been five different winners already in six races this season.)

–I am concerned that one day I’ll go online and read that a long-since retired driver has decided to start the Sprint All-Star race in order to supplement his retirement fund. (There are always efforts to increase the field for this all-star race, which is contrary to the idea of an all-star event that highlights the players currently doing well by giving them a special showcase.)

–Will Kyle Busch get a waiver through a medical exemption if he returns to the Sprint Cup before 26 races have expired this season and be eligible for the Chase should he win an event? (After waivers for Brian Vickers and Kurt Busch already this year and for Tony Stewart last year, it’s difficult to anticipate where the line is drawn on who would be a suitable champion should he or she prevail in the 10-race postseason. Should there be a minimum number of attempts to qualify regardless of exceptions, medical or otherwise?)

–The Martinsville track once was notorious as a place where drivers could get carbon monoxide poisoning during a race. The track’s tight confines and location in a dell sometimes resulted in the air above it getting thick with fumes. Currently, ability to withstand such conditions is no longer a pre-requisite for drivers due to cool helmets. (But could the diminutive Kyle Larson have suffered from too much “bad air” at Martinsville prior to his fainting spell? After extensive tests, the team said doctors placed the blame on dehydration. Further along these lines, is stamina an issue for Larson and will that hamper him when it comes to finishing the job in 500 mile races? He wouldn’t be the first star of 300-mile races in the understudy Xfinity Series to have that problem after moving up to the longer events. See Bobby Hamilton.)

–RCR has appealed its penalty for illegal alterations to its tires discovered by officials after the race in Fontana, Calif. (The team was caught illegally adjusting the air pressure in tires through holes in the sidewalls, which is clearly outside the rules governing air pressure adjustments. Because it postpones the penalty phase, an appeal creates the opportunity to better prepare for the six-race suspensions of the crew chief Luke Lambert, team engineer Phillip Surgen and tire specialist James Bender.)

–Why not allow teams to use bleeder valves on tires like those allowed in short track series? (The Sprint Cup is the big leagues and handling air pressure changes in tires is part of the challenge. Besides, changing tire conditions help create ebb and flow over the course of a race one of the biggest fan appeals.)
–What a shame that Sheila and Ernie Elliott ran into legal problems as a result of an angry dispute. Their dust-up occurred at the same time nephew Chase Elliott was receiving so much attention prior to his Sprint Cup debut at Martinsville. (The grief of Sheila and Ernie for their son Casey Elliott, who died of cancer before he could make it to the Sprint Cup, surely runs deep.)

–David Gilliland, who started his 300th career race at Martinsville, has over $31 million in career winnings in the Sprint Cup and likely has been paid 40 percent of that total by team owners. Not bad for a journeyman driver whose best finishes have been second on the road course in Sonoma, Calif. and at Talladega. (His father Butch Gilliland ran 10 Sprint Cup races between 1990 and 1999, earning $129,620 in purse money. At Martinsville, David won $104,808 after starting 29th and finishing one lap down in 25th.