Harvick wins another Xfinity Series race at Atlanta
Feb 28, 2015 - 10:29 PM Hampton, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Harvick won a Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the third year in a row after holding off his fellow Sprint Cup Series competitor and reigning Daytona 500 champion Joey Logano in the closing laps of Saturday's Hisense 250.Harvick, the defending Sprint Cup champion, led 101 of 163 laps, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. He claimed his 45th career victory in the Xfinity Series. Harvick now holds the record for most Xfinity wins at this 1.54-mile racetrack with four.
Logano started on the pole and led the first 49 laps before Harvick took over the top spot during a round of green-flag pit stops. Logano, though, pulled ahead of Harvick and reclaimed the lead on lap 127.
The third and final caution for fluid on the track late in the race set up the last round of pit stops. Harvick edged Logano out of the pits to retain the lead and then held it for the final 27 laps.
"That (final) pit stop is what won this race," Harvick said. "Joey probably had a little bit better of a car the second half of a run, so it really played out for us there at the end as we were able to have that short run and take off."
On Friday, Logano and Harvick placed 1-2 in qualifying for Sunday's 500-mile Sprint Cup race at Atlanta. But Harvick will have to start from the rear of the field in that event due to an engine change. He blew the motor in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet during Saturday's final practice.
Logano started gaining on Harvick in the closing laps of the Xfinity race but experienced a bad vibration on his No. 22 Team Penske Ford due to a loose wheel. He wound up finishing 1.2 seconds behind Harvick.
"That was as close as anyone's been to beating Kevin here in a long time," said Logano, who led a total of 59 laps. "I was starting to catch him, and then I had this huge vibration. I think the left-rear (tire) was loose. At that point, I was just trying to survive and hope the left-rear didn't pass me. Overall, we had a fast race car, but we just came up a little bit short."
Ty Dillon finished third, followed by Chris Buescher and Chase Elliott, the defending Xfinity champion.
Paul Menard, Brian Scott, Matt Kenseth, Regan Smith and Kyle Larson completed the top-10.
Erik Jones, substituting for the injured Kyle Busch in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, placed 13th. Busch suffered a compound fracture of his right lower leg and a mid-foot fracture of his left foot during an accident in last Saturday's Xfinity season-opener at Daytona International Speedway. He underwent surgery on his right leg in Daytona Beach, Florida and then had an operation on his left foot in North Carolina. Busch was hospitalized six days before his release on Friday. His return to racing is not known at this time.
Ryan Reed, who claimed his first career Xfinity win at Daytona, finished 16th.
Buescher and Dillon share the lead in the point standings, while Reed is eight points behind them.
No one has shouted yet.
Be the first!
Be the first!
Related News
- NASCAR at New Hampshire: 2023 Crayon 301 Odds, Picks & Predictions Jul 16
- NASCAR at New Hampshire: 2023 Crayon 301 Odds, Picks & Predictions Jul 14
- 2023 NASCAR at Atlanta: Quaker State 400 Odds, Picks & Predictions Jul 9
- 2023 NASCAR at Atlanta Odds & Picks: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Justin Haley, Cole Custer Jul 8
- 2023 Quaker State 400: NASCAR at Atlanta Odds, Picks & Predictions Jul 7
- 2023 NASCAR at the Chicago Street Course: Grant Park 220 Odds, Picks & Predictions Jul 2
- NASCAR at the Chicago Grant Park 220 Picks: A.J. Allmendinger, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric Jul 1
- 2023 Grant Park 220: NASCAR at the Chicago Street Course Odds, Picks & Predictions Jun 30
- NASCAR at Nashville: 2023 Ally 400 Odds, Picks & Predictions Jun 25
- NASCAR at Nashville Odds & Picks: Denny Hamlin, Michael McDowell, Aric Almirola (2023) Jun 24
- 2023 Ally 400: NASCAR at Nashville Odds, Picks & Predictions Jun 23
- 2023 NASCAR Futures Bets: Championship Best Odds, Picks & Predictions Jun 16