Harvick Finishes 11th at Atlanta
Driver of No. 4 Mobil 1 Summer Road Trip Ford Rallies From Unscheduled Pit Stop
Date: July 11, 2021
Event: Atlanta 400 (Round 21 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile oval)
Format: 260 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/100 laps)
Start/Finish: 21st / 11th (Running, completed 260 of 260 laps)
Point Standing: 9th (626 points, 210 out of first)
Race Winner: Kurt Busch of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Kurt Busch of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):
● Kevin Harvick started 21st and finished 10th, earning one bonus point.
● The No. 4 Mobil 1 Summer Road Trip Ford Mustang was 20th when the competition caution came out after 25 laps.
● “Need it to turn just a little bit better, but it’s pretty good,” said Harvick on lap 26.
● Pitted on lap 27 for four tires and fuel. Only adjustment was to tire pressures.
● Lined up 19th for lap-30 restart and was 17th when the caution came out again on lap 31.
● Lined up 15th for lap-36 restart and climbed to 12th by lap 65.
● Grabbed 11th on lap 67 from Matt DiBenedetto.
● “Need to rotate just a little bit better through the center (of the corner),” said Harvick on lap 74 while running 11th.
● Cracked top-10 on lap 78 with a pass of Brad Keselowski and held the position through the end of the stage.
● Pitted for four tires and fuel at the conclusion of the stage, but had to pit again on lap 85 to repair right-front fender after contact with the car of Martin Truex Jr., upon leaving pit box.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):
● Harvick started 25th and finished 11th.
● “Absolutely horrible,” said a 23rd-place Harvick while mired in traffic on lap 94. “Just way too loose when I touch the throttle.”
● Made scheduled, green flag pit stop for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment on lap 119 while running 17th.
● “I can’t get this thing to the bottom of the corner,” said Harvick on lap 133 while running 19th.
● Once pit stops cycled through by lap 137, Harvick was 17th.
● Harvick wheeled the No. 4 Mobil 1 Summer Road Trip Ford Mustang into the top-15 on lap 145.
● In final nine laps of the stage, Harvick rallied his way to 11th.
● “Couldn’t get it to the bottom. It was way better when it was loose and I could get it to the bottom,” said Harvick at the end of the stage.
● Pitted for four tires and fuel with a chassis adjustment upon the conclusion of the stage.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-260):
● Harvick started ninth and finished 11th.
● There was a 19-minute red flag period prior to the final stage to make track repairs just before the start/finish line.
● After going green on lap 171, Harvick fell to 14th by lap 175 after a four-wide scrum on the restart.
● “I am really, really, really loose,” said Harvick on lap 177 while running 14th.
● Dropped to 16th on lap 188 but regained one spot on lap 190 to re-enter top-15.
● Picked up 14th on lap 198 and 13th on lap 199.
● Made scheduled, green flag pit stop on lap 211 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment.
● Once pit stops cycled through by lap 213, Harvick was up to 11th, a position he held through the finish.
Notes:
● Harvick has finished 11th or better in his last eight NASCAR Cup Series starts at Atlanta.
● Kurt Busch won the Atlanta 400 to score his 33rd career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his series-leading fourth at Atlanta. His margin over second-place Kyle Busch was 1.237 seconds.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 21 laps.
● Only 18 of the 37 drivers in the Atlanta 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Denny Hamlin remains the championship leader after Atlanta with a 10-point advantage over second-place Kyle Larson.
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 on Sunday, July 18 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
