Harvick started on the pole at Phoenix and won as expected, rolling to his fourth consecutive win at Phoenix International Raceway. He sits high atop the Sprint Cup points standings, 22 ahead of Joey Logano.
Kevin Harvick was the star of this show, with the likes of Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray in supporting roles. Two straight this season, four straight at Phoenix, a lock on a Chase spot (you would think) and 30 career victories as he defends his Cup championship. It is good being Kevin Harvick.
After a bye week for me, I'm back with another round of Matty's Picks. We're still in the desert this week, and I'm hoping my results this week are better than my dismal performance last week at Las Vegas. It was dead last for me last week at Las Vegas on the CNY Race Fans' Scorecard...
Two races in with a new rules package, and what positive affects has it had on the racing to date? Well, not much from what I can see, especially side by side dueling up front.
In just the third race of the season, there were a plethora of firsts and lasts, from Jeff Gordon running his last ever race at Vegas to Brian Vickers starting his first race since open heart surgery and Kevin Harvick standing in Victory Lane for the first time ever at LVMS.
While Daytona was good, Atlanta was tolerable. I wonder, if I was a transient type flipping channels, how long would I have lingered on the action beaming in from Georgia?
Johnson started beyond 30th, as did 13 others who failed to even make it through tech inspection, never mind even attempting to qualify. Jeff Gordon failed four times.
With several of the sport’s biggest names starting from the back of the field, from missing qualifying sessions to missing driver introductions, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 56th annual Folds of Honor Quicktrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Although it’s not uncommon for a race car to not get through pre-qualifying inspection on the first try, it is pretty uncommon for multiple race cars to miss qualifying.
