HAMPTON, GA – June 8, 2020 – Kevin Harvick delivered a special birthday present to crew chief Rodney Childers by winning Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. This was Ford’s fourth win in a row at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“Four in a row at Atlanta! What an accomplishment for everyone at Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines. Congratulations to Kevin, Rodney, Tony, Gene and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “No practice nor qualifying has definitely been an adjustment for all of us, and to see Stewart-Haas and other Ford Performance teams run well is a testament to all the hard work of the entire team.”
This abrasive track paired with hot and humid weather made for a great race Sunday afternoon. Tires were crucial to all the competitors on track, putting pressure on the pit crews to get their drivers off pit road first. “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,” said Harvick. “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.”
Atlanta has always been a special place for Harvick, as he scored his very first NASCAR Cup Series victory in 2001. Harvick has led a total of 1,348 laps at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the most among active drivers. Throughout Sunday’s race, Fox Sports broadcasters’ mentioned “Harvicking”, referencing Kevin’s unique driving style around this challenging track.
Harvick paid tribute to the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. by holding three fingers out the window after crossing the finish line. “This is just a racetrack that I’ve taken a liking to, and you always come back and have those memories and now you want to celebrate everything that Dale Earnhardt did for this sport,” commented Harvick.
Harvick started from P9 and led a race-high 151 of the 325 laps. All three Team Penske Mustangs finished inside the top-10. Ryan Blaney finished in P4, Brad Keselowski in P9, and Joey Logano in P10. Clint Bowyer in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang also led three times for 58 laps but pitted late in the race and finished outside the top-10.
With Harvick’s second win of the season, he retains the top spot in the driver points standings and maintains the owner standings lead for Stewart-Haas Racing. Logano currently sits second just 48 points out and Keselowski is forth, 75 points out of the lead. Ford leads all manufactures with six wins this season, four of those races since NASCAR returned to action May 17th.
The Xfinity series also took on Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. Austin Cindric jumped out to an early lead and finished Stage 1 nearly nine seconds ahead of Ross Chastain. Stage 2 was all about the Mustangs, Cindric took Stage 2 checkered flag with Chase Briscoe in P2. During the final stage late race pit stop, both Briscoe and Cindric were penalized for speeding on pit road. Both Ford drivers came up through the field with purpose, Briscoe finishing P9 and Cindric P16.
Briscoe in the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing machine maintained the top spot in driver points and Cindric in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford is sixth, just 55 points behind.
The NASCAR Cup Series will make a quick turnaround for Wednesday night racing at Martinsville Speedway, then down to Homestead-Miami Speedway for some Sunday afternoon action. The NASCAR Xfinity Series will run the first double-header of 2020 this upcoming weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway with two races in two days, running the same car and engine. Reference the full 2020 schedule on RoushYates.com.
27 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 387 WINS – 357 POLES!
*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images
About Roush Yates Engines
Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of two state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class ISO 9001 / AS9100 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose-built race engines.
Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and Ford Mustang 5.2L V8 engine, used in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series.
With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide race winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.
3 Series – 22 Teams – 81 Races
