Harvick Rules Atlanta For Third Nationwide Win Of Season

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Crew chief Ernie Cope was worried when Kevin Harvick's practice laps didn't go as well as expected Friday.

So Cope sought reassurance from his driver.

"I asked, `Are we all right?" Cope said. "He said, `We're going to smash them tomorrow night."

Kevin Harvick indeed was a smashing success, leading the final 159 laps to beat Joey Logano and win an unusually wreck-free NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday night.

Harvick, who will start from the pole Sunday night in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race, took the lead on the 37th lap and ruled the 1.54-mile tri-oval for his third win of the season in 11 races.

Kyle Larson started second and finished third. Kyle Busch was fourth, and pole-sitter Chase Elliott fifth.

There was only one lead change, no crashes and two yellow flags, including one after light rain began to fall on Lap 121. Cars ran 13 laps under caution before the race resumed.

The few interruptions limited the chances that Harvick's dominance could be disturbed. It was a perfect recipe for him to put a lock on the lead and never let go -- even if it wasn't the most exciting 195 laps in track history.

Elliott, the season points leader, led the first 36 laps before Harvick pulled ahead. For Dale Earnhardt Jr., the team owner for both cars, it was the perfect scenario.

Harvick isn't a regular on the Nationwide Series, but he has been a factor in each of his 11 starts. He has finished in the top five in nine races. He was seventh in his other two starts.

Elliott won his first career pole with a qualifying time of 180.240 mph. The 18-year-old Elliott became the youngest pole winner in Atlanta history. Jeff Gordon was 20 when he won the pole in Atlanta in 1992.

Elliott overshot his pit on his final stop, costing his team valuable seconds and, he said, two spots in the final standings.

"I thought we got better and better as we went," Elliott said. "I made an unacceptable mistake there at the end and cost us a couple spots. My guys deserved better than that. So my bad."

A grandstand at Atlanta Motor Speedway is named for Elliott's father, Bill Elliott, who had five career wins at the track -- tied for fifth-best. Bill Elliott was the grand marshal for the race.

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