Brad Keselowski wins at Atlanta as Kevin Harvick commits late error
HAMPTON, Ga. -- Highlights from Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway:
WINNER: Brad Keselowski passes Kyle Larson with six laps to go to secure the win. Kevin Harvick won the pole and the first two stages. He also led the most laps — 293 of the 325 scheduled in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, but he faltered at the end when he sped on pit road with 14 laps left, forcing him to the back of the field.
"I was going to fast on pit road, apparently," a disappointed Harvick said on pit road after the race. "I really hate it for everybody on this team. They put a great car under me and did everything we thought we needed to do. I knew I needed to be close to pit road speed because we were having trouble getting out of the box, but I didn't think I was pushing it that close. ... I was too fast."
Meanwhile, Team Penske's Keselowski saw to it that a Ford found victory lane anyway.
"Winning a Sprint Cup, er, Monster Cup race — that's first flub of the year — these aren't easy," Keselowski said in victory lane. "There's all kind of adversity that comes at you no matter who you are. Kevin was very, very strong and was probably the guy to beat today. But we persevered. We had our own issue with a tire and loose wheel, but we fought through it all day. Gosh, that feels so good. What great momentum.
"I love winning. When you win, you don't know when you are going to win again. Gosh, it feels so good to get one so early in the season."
PHOTOS: Behind the wheel with Brad Keselowski
POWER STATION: Two Richard Childress Racing cars lost their batteries after running well most of the day, Austin Dillon brought out the caution with 16 laps to go as his car nearly stalled on the track after running in the top 10 for most of the final stage. Ryan Newman, who started second, was forced to drive to the garage on Lap 288 when his power cut off. Dillon finished 32nd and Newman 35th.
BOWYER: A promising run by Clint Bowyer hit the skids late in the race when he bounced off the outside wall twice, the second time causing significant damage to the right side of his Ford. The incident resulted in the race’s fifth caution.
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GRAY DAY FOR GAULDING: Gray Gaulding’s race day ended early – on lap 264 – when his engine failed, causing the afternoon’s fourth caution.
YELLOW FLIES: The race’s first “real” caution period began on lap 240 because of debris on the track. The first two cautions flew at the end of stages.
HARVICK VS. AMS: Harvick has had an interesting history at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He won in his first Cup attempt here in spectacular fashion in 2001 only weeks after he had replaced Dale Earnhardt Sr. after Earnhardt’s death in the Daytona 500. Harvick edged Jeff Gordon at the finish line. However, that win was his last at AMS entering Sunday’s race, despite the fact he had led the most laps in four of the past five events here.
STAGE TWO TO HARVICK: Kevin Harvick led the 170th lap and thus the second stage. Following in the top 10 were Chase Elliott, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex Jr., Larson, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Erik Jones, Bowyer and Trevor Bayne.
TOO FAST, TOO FAST AGAIN: It was not a fun Sunday for seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson. NASCAR police caught him speeding twice on pit road, and pass-through penalties kept him laps down and in mid-pack. Numerous drivers were hit with speeding penalties during the afternoon as they raced at AMS for the first time since additional timing lines were placed on pit road.
HARVICK LEADS FIRST STAGE: Harvick dominated the first stage of the race, leading Keselowski by 2.5 seconds at the end of the 85-lap segment. Also in the top 10 were Elliott, Truex, Joey Logano, Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Denny Hamlin, Larson and Johnson.
TO REPAVE OR NOT: The repaving of Atlanta Motor Speedway’s racing surface is scheduled to begin late this month, but track president Ed Clark said Sunday that the work could be delayed after drivers lobbied to keep the old surface. Clark said he will discuss the issue with Speedway Motorsports Inc. executives Bruton Smith and Marcus Smith. “We have cracks in the track that we’ve had to seal, and we have them everywhere,” Clark said. “But I’m sure we’ll talk more about it and have another look. If we have a three-wide finish and great racing today, who knows what might happen.” AMS hasn’t been repaved since 1997.
CARE CENTER: No drivers were involved in incidents that required visits to the infield care center.
PHOTOS: MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES RACES
SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (starting position in parentheses):
1. (5) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 325 laps, 0 rating, 53 points.
2. (8) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 325, 0, 43.
3. (16) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 325, 0, 34.
4. (29) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 325, 0, 33.
5. (11) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 325, 0, 49.
6. (6) Joey Logano, Ford, 325, 0, 37.
7. (13) Kurt Busch, Ford, 325, 0, 30.
8. (9) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 325, 0, 43.
9. (1) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 325, 0, 48.
10. (7) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 325, 0, 27.
11. (25) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 325, 0, 28.
12. (15) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 325, 0, 26.
13. (4) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 325, 0, 28.
14. (23) Erik Jones, Toyota, 325, 0, 26.
15. (26) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 325, 0, 22.
16. (3) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 325, 0, 21.
17. (24) Danica Patrick, Ford, 325, 0, 20.
18. (14) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 324, 0, 19.
19. (18) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 324, 0, 19.
20. (37) Cole Whitt, Ford, 324, 0, 17.
21. (21) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 323, 0, 16.
22. (27) Landon Cassill, Ford, 323, 0, 15.
23. (34) David Ragan, Ford, 323, 0, 14.
24. (28) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 323, 0, 13.
25. (17) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 322, 0, 12.
26. (20) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 322, 0, 11.
27. (30) Aric Almirola, Ford, 321, 0, 10.
28. (22) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 321, 0, 9.
29. (36) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 320, 0, 8.
30. (12) Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, 320, 0, 7.
31. (33) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 320, 0, 6.
32. (19) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 319, 0, 10.
33. (35) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 317, 0, 4.
34. (32) Corey Lajoie, Toyota, 313, 0, 3.
35. (2) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 309, 0, 15.
36. (38) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 298, 0, 1.
37. (31) Gray Gaulding, Toyota, engine, 253, 0, 1.
38. (10) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, garage, 182, 0, 4.
39. (39) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, garage, 74, 0, 1.
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Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 140.900 mph.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 33 minutes, 8 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.564 seconds.
Caution Flags: 6 for 32 laps.
Lead Changes: 9 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K.Harvick 1-36; R.Newman 37-39; K.Harvick 40-127; J.Johnson 128-129; B.Keselowski 130-141; K.Harvick 142-264; B.Keselowski 265-266; K.Harvick 267-311; K.Larson 312-318; B.Keselowski 319-325
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): K.Harvick, 4 times for 292laps; B.Keselowski, 3 times for 21 laps; K.Larson, 1 time for 7 laps; R.Newman, 1 time for 3 laps; J.Johnson, 1 time for 2 lap.
Wins: Ku.Busch, 1; B.Keselowski, 1.
Top 16 in Points: 1. K.Harvick, 90; 2. Ku.Busch, 86; 3. B.Keselowski, 84; 4. C.Elliott, 82; 5. J.Logano, 80; 6. K.Larson, 79; 7. M.Truex, 67; 8. R.Blaney, 63; 9. K.Kahne, 63; 10. T.Bayne, 58; 11. A.Allmendinger, 50; 12. J.McMurray, 49; 13. A.Almirola, 47; 14. C.Bowyer, 46; 15. P.Menard, 44; 16. M.Kenseth, 41.