Kevin Harvick Dominates Atlanta and Goes On to Victory

AP Photo

HAMPTON, GA – RIS – It was another runaway in a NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Harvick led 151 of the 325-lap race and ran away from the field after the final pit stop.  Competing again in front of empty grandstands, Harvick won for the second time since NASCAR returned from the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, adding to his emotional victory at Darlington in the first race back. Harvick now has three victories in Atlanta, following up his triumphs in 2001 and 2018.

“It's one of my favorite tracks, for sure,” Harvick said. “I love to win here.”

On a reverse victory lap, Harvick held three fingers outside his car, a tribute to the late Dale Earnhardt.

Harvick was the driver who replaced Earnhardt after the seven-time champion was killed in a crash at Daytona in 2001. A few weeks later, Harvick captured his first Cup victory in Atlanta.

He now has 51 wins — breaking a tie with Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for the 12th spot on the career list.

“To be able to celebrate how much Dale Earnhardt meant to me at a track where I got my first win because he wasn't in the car was pretty special,” Harvick said.

Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, in what may have been his final Atlanta appearance, was given the honor of delivering the “start your engines” command to his fellow drivers. The speedway also renamed a towering grandstand in honor of Johnson, who is retiring as a full-time competitor at the end of the year.

A five-time winner on the 1.54-mile trioval, Johnson had another strong run in Atlanta. But his seventh-place showing extended a winless that stretches back more than three years.

NASCAR returned to Atlanta to make up a race that was initially scheduled for March 15. It became the first race to be postponed as U.S. sports largely shut down to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

This time, it was the spot where NASCAR acknowledged the social unrest in the country and vowed to do a better job of addressing racial injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

Bubba Wallace, the only African American in the top-level series, donned a black T-shirt with the words “I Can’t Breathe” and “Black Lives Matter.”

Wallace finished 21st and appeared to faint after climbing from his car. He said he was OK and did a portion of a television interview, but then was wasn’t able to speak.

The 40 cars pulled to a stop in front of the empty grandstands during the warm-up laps, shutting off their engines so NASCAR President Steve Phelps could deliver a message over their radio sets.

“Our country is in pain and people are justifiably angry, demanding to be heard," Phelps said. "The black community and all people of color have suffered in our country, and it has taken far too long for us to hear their demands for change. Our sport must do better. Our country must do better.”

All 40 crews stood on the wall in front of their pit boxes. One of Wallace's crew member held up the T-shirt, which the driver removed before climbing into his car.

Wallace has been the sport’s most outspoken voice since Floyd died while in the custody of Minneapolis police, sparking massive protests in all 50 states and around the world demanding an end to law enforcement brutality against people of color.

After Phelps spoke, the drivers observed a 30-second moment of silence. Then, as the cars refired their engines and slowly pulled away for the green flag, the Fox broadcast cut to a video made by a number of Cup drivers, including Wallace and Johnson.

With its roots in the South and one-time embrace of Confederate symbols, NASCAR has a checkered racial history. The organization has launched diversity programs but still struggles to shake its reputation as a largely white sport.

During the shutdown, NASCAR driver Kyle Larson was fired after casually uttering a racial slur while competing in a video racing game.  The checkered flag showed Kyle Busch, Martin Truex, Jr., Ryan Blaney, and Denny Hamlin making up  the top five.

 “We had a great pit stop (during the last caution), then we had a restart on the bottom and it got my car to take off,” Harvick told Fox. “I was able to get track position and then once I could get through those first 10 laps and my car was freed up enough to where I could get into rhythm and really started hitting my marks. By about Lap 25 I could start driving away.”

Harvick has led 1,212 laps at Atlanta over the last nine races at the track.

“I got beat by the Atlanta master. Not a bad day,” Kyle Busch said on his radio to his team after finishing second to Harvick.

The NASCAR Cup driver and teams will next race at Martinsville Speedway on Wednesday night in the track’s first night race, postponed from early May.

Unofficial Results, Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, Atlanta Motor Speedway

Fin, St, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 9, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light For The Farmers Ford, 325, 5, 6, 4, 151, 5, 51, Running
2) 4, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Fudge Brownie Toyota, 325, 2, 3, 2, 7, , 52, Running
3) 11, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Auto Owners Insurance Toyota, 325, 1, 1, 6, 65, 2, 54, Running
4) 7, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford, 325, 10, 2, 1, 2, , 43, Running
5) 10, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx #SupportSmall Toyota, 325, 4, 4, , , , 46, Running
6) 12, Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet, 325, , , 1, 1, , 31, Running
7) 15, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 325, 9, 10, , , , 33, Running
8) 1, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 325, 6, 5, 1, 26, , 40, Running
9) 6, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Autotrader Ford, 325, , 8, 2, 5, , 31, Running
10) 3, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 325, , , 2, 10, , 27, Running
11) 16, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Symbicort Chevrolet, 324, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 8, Alex Bowman, No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet, 324, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 22, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 NOS Energy Drink Chevrolet, 324, 7, , , , , 28, Running
14) 17, Ryan Newman, No. 6 Progressive Insurance Ford, 324, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 19, Matt Kenseth, No. 42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet, 324, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 24, Tyler Reddick #, No. 8 Roland Chevrolet, 324, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 2, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 324, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 27, Christopher Bell #, No. 95 Rheem Toyota, 324, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 31, Cole Custer #, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 324, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 5, Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Busch Light For The Farmers Ford, 324, 3, 9, 3, 58, , 27, Running
21) 23, Bubba Wallace, No. 43 McDonald's Chevrolet, 324, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 13, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 324, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 18, John Hunter Nemechek #, No. 38 YANMAR Ford, 324, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 36, Michael McDowell, No. 34 FR8 Auctions Ford, 324, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 21, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 21 Menards/Knauf Ford, 324, , 7, , , , 16, Running
26) 29, Ryan Preece, No. 37 Kroger Chevrolet, 323, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 25, Corey LaJoie, No. 32 Built Bar Ford, 323, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 14, Erik Jones, No. 20 STANLEY Toyota, 322, 8, , , , , 12, Running
29) 28, Ty Dillon, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 322, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 33, Brennan Poole #, No. 15 Spartan Mosquito Chevrolet, 321, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 37, * Daniel Suarez, No. 96 Coca-Cola Toyota, 316, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 35, Quin Houff #, No. 00 UNITS Chevrolet, 314, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 20, William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet, 313, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 32, Josh Bilicki(i), No. 27 Insurance King Ford, 313, , , , , , 0, Running
35) 34, Garrett Smithley(i), No. 53 Hero Box Chevrolet, 312, , , , , , 0, Running
36) 30, JJ Yeley(i), No. 77 Swamp Rabbits Chevrolet, 311, , , , , , 0, Running
37) 40, * Reed Sorenson, No. 7 Chevrolet, 310, , , , , , 1, Running
38) 26, Joey Gase(i), No. 51 Donate Life Ford, 308, , , , , , 0, Running
39) 38, * Timmy Hill(i), No. 66 RoofClaim.com Toyota, 259, , , , , , 0, Electrical
40) 39, * BJ McLeod(i), No. 78 Circle Track Warehouse Chevrolet, 3, , , , , , 0, Clutch
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Race Length: 325 Laps, 500.5 Miles

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 30 Mins, 3 Secs.
Average Speed: 142.966 MPH
Margin of Victory: 3.527 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 19, 18, 14, 11, 4, 9, 47, 20, 48, 12

Stage 2 Top 10: 19, 12, 18, 11, 9, 4, 21, 2, 14, 48

Comments: Kevin Harvick won the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his 51st NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: No. 41, 66 (unapproved adjustments), No. 1, 32, 53 (multiple inspection failures).

Caution Flags: 5 for 24 laps;
Laps: 27-30 (Competition Caution [1]);
96-99 (No. 38 Spin Turn 4 [21]);
107-112 (Stage 1 Conclusion [38]);
203-206 (No. 34 Spin Turn 4 [41]);
212-217 (Stage 2 Conclusion [15]).

Lead Changes: 21 among 9 drivers;
C. Elliott 1-26;
B. Keselowski 27;
J. Logano 28-36;
K. Harvick 37-65;
M. Truex Jr. 66-68;
K. Busch 69;
K. Harvick 70-86;
M. Truex Jr. 87-108;
C. Bowyer 109-113;
M. Truex Jr. 114;
C. Bowyer 115-146;
M. Truex Jr. 147-159;
B. Keselowski 160-163;
C. Bowyer 164-184;
M. Truex Jr. 185-203;
K. Busch 204-206;
M. Truex Jr. 207-213;
K. Busch 214-217;
K. Harvick 218-267;
R. Blaney 268-269;
J. Logano 270;
K. Harvick 271-325.

Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Tyler Reddick, No. 8

Ron Fleshman with John Davison

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

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Volume 2020, Issue 6, Posted 9:39 PM, 06.07.2020