AVONDALE, Ariz. — Kevin Harvick left everyone else behind the last two weeks in Atlanta and Las Vegas. He figures to be even harder to beat Sunday at ISM Raceway, the mile oval in the foothills outside Phoenix where he has a record eight victories.

Trying to become the first driver to win three straight Cup races since Joey Logano in 2015, Harvick topped the speed charts for both practice sessions Saturday. Fittingly, the 2014 season champion’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford has a Jimmy John’s “Freaky Fast!” paint scheme.

“When things are going good, you need to hammer it home,” Harvick said. “Let’s just keep pushing things forward and try not to stumble along the way and screw up what’s going on. To me, it feels a lot like 2014, except now you’ve got a team with five years of experience, and that’s pretty scary.”

Yes, it is.

“In Atlanta, we kind of chalked it up to Kevin being probably the best driver at Atlanta, and we just thought it was Atlanta and he is typically fast there,” said Logano. “Vegas was one of those things where we all thought, ‘Wow, maybe it wasn’t just Atlanta.’ Phoenix has always been a good track for him as well.

“It takes a few weeks to realize where you stand. I think we are in good shape so far, but I do think that he is a solid step in front of everybody right now.”

Harvick’s victory last Sunday in Las Vegas was marred by penalties that were fueled by social media photos of his buckled rear windshield. NASCAR said inspectors at its research and development center in North Carolina found the Ford violated a rule requiring rear window support braces holding the glass rigid and another requiring the right rocker panel extension to be aluminum.

On Wednesday, Harvick was penalized the seven playoff points he earned for winning the Vegas race and the first two stages of that event. He was docked 20 regular points and the team lost 20 owners points. Crew chief Rodney Childers was fined $50,000, and car chief Robert Smith was suspended two races.

“I can’t wait to win another race and jump up and down in Victory Lane on the back of my car,” Harvick said Friday.

Defending series champion Martin Truex Jr. will start from the pole in the No. 78 Toyota. Hendrick Motorsports has the next three spots, with Kyle Larson second, Chase Elliott third and Alex Bowman fourth. Logano will start fifth, and Harvick starts 10th.

XFINITY: Brad Keselowski overcame an early pit-road speeding penalty to win the rain-delayed NASCAR Xfinity Series at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.

Keselowski took the lead from Christopher Bell off a pit stop with 32 laps left and pulled away in the race that was delayed two hours because of light rain at the mile oval southwest of Phoenix.

Keselowski was caught speeding during the caution period following a rain delay of 1 hour, 35 minutes.

• Matt DiBenedetto added Zynga Poker as the primary sponsor of Go Fas Racing’s No. 32 Ford for the weekend through a social media posting – and Denny Hamlin’s retweet.

“We hate doing this, but we are UNSPONSORED as of right now for @ISMRaceway this weekend!” DiBenedetto posted, along with a video. “If you or anyone you know has the ability to help us connect with a business interested in coming on board this weekend please contact the @GoFasRacing32 page ASAP!

Enlisted Nine Fight Company and Pit Stops for Hope also signed on.

Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip each donated $5,000.

INDYCAR: In a new car and on a slick racing surface, rookie Robert Wickens snatched the pole away from Will Power for Sunday’s season-opening race through the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Power had won seven of the last eight poles in St. Petersburg, and he shot to the top of the qualifying board with less than a minute left in the qualifying session. But Wickens bumped him to second at the buzzer in an upset for the Canadian driver.

During a rainy qualifying session, Wickens turned a lap at 1 minute, 01.66 to make an impressive debut.

Power was second and was followed by rookie Matheus Leist, rookie Jordan King, Takuma Sato and Ryan Hunter-Reay.