Harvick Dominates Atlanta Xfinity Race

Photo Credit: John Amis, AP

HAMPTON, GA – RIS – Kevin Harvick watched Joey Logano lead the first 49 laps and then dominated the remainder of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Logano and Harvick were the class of the field. It was the third straight Xfinity race win at AMS for Harvick.  Logano has been the runner-up the last two years.

"It seems like I finish second on this track all the time," said Logano, who came up just short of a victory from the pole. "I'm going to keep running this Xfinity Series race until I win it."

Harvick, the defending Sprint Cup champion is a 45-time winner in the Xfinity cars. In Atlanta, he's especially tough, having mastered the art of running strong at the bottom of a track that is infamously rough on tires.

"He's a great talent," said Dale Earnhardt Jr., owner of the winning No. 88 car. "Kevin has got a knack at this place. When he comes to Atlanta, he's hard to beat."

Harvick won a race off pit road under yellow with 27 laps to go, which proved to be crucial in holding off Logano. On the restart, Harvick had the favored inside position, and Logano's bid to pass from the outside was abruptly stopped when Chase Elliott gave Harvick a bit of a nudge.

"That pit stop was what won the race," Harvick said.

Logano made one last push for the front. A vibrating right rear tire ended any hope of catching Harvick, who won by 1.207 seconds with an average speed of 149.813 mph.

"Once it got really bad, I couldn't keep up with Kevin anymore," Logano said. "It just kept getting worse."

Ty Dillon was a distant third, the top finisher among drivers eligible for the Xfinity Series championship, but this was a two-man race. Harvick, who started eighth, led 101 laps in his Chevrolet, while Logano's Ford was out front for 59 laps. Matt Kenseth was the only other leader, with just three laps in front.

Logano has always run strong at the 1.54-mile track, never finishing lower than sixth in five career Xfinity starts.

"We really wanted to win here. We had the car to beat Kevin," Logano said. "We just lost it on pit road."

The duel among the top two -- no one else was within 4 seconds of the lead -- could be a preview of Sunday's Cup race. Logano will start from the pole, and Harvick was the second-fastest qualifier. They also went 1-2 in the season opener at Daytona.

"We take away the confidence of knowing we can win," Harvick said. "Confidence goes a long way in this sport."

Logano, on the other hand, is confident in his car for tomorrow’s Sprint Cup race.

"We're going to try to finish one spot better tomorrow," Logano said. "Things are going well. They're still going well. I don't think this takes any steam out of our sails."

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 8 88 Kevin Harvick(i) Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet 163 0 143.8 $54,649 Running 2 101
2 1 22 Joey Logano(i) Discount Tire Ford 163 0 137.3 $43,730 Running 2 59
3 17 3 Ty Dillon WESCO Chevrolet 163 41 101.6 $35,313 Running
4 18 60 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 163 40 105.3 $28,507 Running
5 9 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 163 39 112.9 $31,022 Running
6 11 33 Paul Menard(i) Richmond/Menards Chevrolet 163 0 103.7 $21,195 Running
7 2 2 Brian Scott Shore Lodge Chevrolet 163 37 106.7 $26,872 Running
8 5 20 Matt Kenseth(i) Resers Toyota 163 0 115.8 $20,450 Running 1 3
9 3 7 Regan Smith TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet 163 35 97.8 $25,547 Running
10 4 42 Kyle Larson(i) ENEOS Chevrolet 163 0 94.7 $19,714 Running
11 23 6 Darrell Wallace Jr. # Ford EcoBoost Ford 162 33 86.2 $24,956 Running
12 6 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Chevrolet 162 32 87.4 $23,853 Running
13 12 54 Erik Jones(i) Monster Energy Toyota 161 0 83.1 $22,868 Running
14 21 18 Daniel Suarez # ARRIS Toyota 161 30 74.9 $22,310 Running
15 10 98 Sam Hornish Jr.(i) Carroll Shelby Engine Co. Ford 161 0 76.1 $22,533 Running
16 19 16 Ryan Reed Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford 161 28 76.8 $22,258 Running
17 27 01 Landon Cassill Flex Seal Chevrolet 161 27 74.9 $21,982 Running
18 14 1 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Ford 160 26 79.6 $21,881 Running
19 15 28 JJ Yeley Texas 28 Spirits Stage Toyota 160 25 71.7 $21,804 Running
20 20 43 Dakoda Armstrong WinField Ford 160 24 59.1 $22,203 Running
21 22 51 Jeremy Clements AllSouthElectric.com/BRT Extrusions Chevrolet 160 23 62.1 $21,627 Running
22 25 8 Blake Koch Celsius Negative Calorie Cola Toyota 160 22 60.3 $21,546 Running
23 7 39 Ryan Sieg Uncle Bob's Self Storage Chevrolet 159 21 63.9 $21,470 Running
24 26 4 Ross Chastain # Flex Shot Chevrolet 159 20 56.6 $21,369 Running
25 16 19 Mike Bliss Holiday Inn Club Vacations Toyota 159 19 61.4 $21,469 Running
26 30 44 David Starr Zachry Toyota 159 18 51.7 $21,268 Running
27 13 25 John Wes Townley(i) Zaxby's Chevrolet 156 0 43.9 $15,216 Running
28 29 24 Eric McClure Hefty/Reynolds Wrap Toyota 156 16 43.1 $21,141 Running
29 37 15 Chris Cockrum Advanced Communications Group Chevrolet 156 15 44.5 $21,091 Running
30 31 52 Joey Gase LifeLink/DB Sales Chevrolet 155 14 40.3 $21,289 Running
31 36 13 Cody Ware(i) Braille Battery Grafoid Dodge 153 0 39.6 $20,934 Running
32 34 55 Jeffrey Earnhardt Fronius USA/Viva Auto Group Chevrolet 144 12 41.5 $20,872 Running
33 28 90 Jimmy Weller Geneva Liberty Steel Chevrolet 140 11 40.8 $20,807 Running
34 35 0 Harrison Rhodes # teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 130 10 38.5 $20,771 Running
35 24 14 Cale Conley # Toyota 128 9 51.7 $20,723 Engine
36 33 70 Derrike Cope Wade Tractor/Adrenalin Power Sports Chevrolet 128 8 30.0 $19,260 Running
37 38 74 Mike Harmon JR Peters Roadside Auto Dodge 92 7 30.9 $18,260 Front Hub
38 32 97 Josh Reaume # Obaika Racing Chevrolet 28 6 31.9 $11,260 Electrical
39 39 40 Carl Long Braille Battery Grafoid Toyota 19 5 29.7 $10,260 Vibration
40 40 89 Morgan Shepherd Courtney Construction Chevrolet 2 4 28.6 $9,260 Suspension