Kevin Harvick drove away from Hisense 250 pole-sitter Joey Logano on a late-race restart Saturday and motored away to his third consecutive Xfinity Series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway and his 45th in the series.
Harvick led 101 of 163 laps including the final 27 to take the win over Logano, Ty Dillon, Chris Buescher and Chase Elliott.
Harvick’s two most recent AMS victories came at the wheel of cars owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports, and Saturday’s win was the first as a crew chief for Dave Elenz.
Being able to deliver that victory for Elenz and the other members of the No. 88 crew was rewarding for Harvick.
“That’s the motivating factor for me,” Harvick said.
Logano was leading when the caution flag flew for fluid on the track and set up a 25-lap, green-flag sprint to the finish. Harvick, who had beaten Logano out of the pits, used a shove from Elliott to take the lead.
Logano, running in second place, was unable to close on Harvick, mostly because he was struggling to hang on to his car which was vibrating badly because his left-rear wheel had loose lug nuts. Beginning this season, NASCAR officials no longer monitor loose lug nuts.
Runaway winner: Defending series champion Matt Crafton scored a runaway victory in Saturday's Hyundai Construction Equipment 200 Camping World Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Crafton, driving the No. 88 Toyota, started 15th, but didn’t stay there long. He took the lead for the first time on Lap 45 and grabbed the top spot for good on Lap 59 of 113. At the end, he sailed under the checkered flag a whopping 8.7 seconds ahead of second-finishing Ty Dillon.
Crafton, who is seeking his third consecutive series championship, said the dominating victory makes a statement about his determination to win another title. But he also said it means a lot to be victorious at AMS, where the truck series returned after a two-year absence.
“It’s my favorite track by far,” he said. “To win here is an amazing feeling.”
Pole-sitter Ben Kennedy finished third ahead of Daniel Suarez, with Daytona winner Tyler Reddick fifth. Only seven drivers finished on the lead lap.
