Kevin Harvick scored the victory in the Valley of the Sun, but just by the slimmest of margins. It took until past halfway through the Good Sam 500 to take over the lead for the first time, but the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet survived a beating and banging drag race to the finish line coming out of turn 4 with Carl Edwards to secure the victory.
Kevin Harvick topped the chart for the final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice. The driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet was the fastest in the final practice session at Phoenix International Raceway with a time of 26.409 and a speed of 136.317 mph followed by teammate Kurt Busch who was second in his No. 41 Chevrolet with a speed of 136.173 mph.
A year ago, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won at Phoenix. Five of the six before that, Kevin Harvick claimed the prize. Now, if anyone could use a win this weekend, Danica Patrick, Chase Elliott, and Clint Bowyer would be among them. They sure are not among the Hot 20 going into Sunday’s action.
Busch led late at Las Vegas but was passed with five laps to go by Brad Keselowski, who went on to win the Kobalt 400. Busch leads the Sprint Cup points standings by six points over Jimmie Johnson.
It was a rainy, blowy kind of Sunday, and that was just in these parts where I live. With a few errands to run, we had Sirius Channel 90 on the car radio so we did not miss the action. Due to the rainy, blowy kind of Sunday at Las Vegas, we did not.
Rules be rules, and the book was tossed at a number of folks after Atlanta. The biggest hit was taken by Martin Truex Jr. after a roof flap issue meant the loss of 15 points.
Johnson short-pitted with about 40 laps to go in Atlanta, and held off the charging Kevin Harvick down the stretch to capture the Folds Of Honor 500. With the win, Johnson matched Dale Earnhardt with his 76th career win.
The drivers liked it. I think most pure race enthusiasts liked it. I kind of liked it. It was not the visual experience Daytona provides, granted, but you could not to sure of anything until it ended.
HAMPTON, Ga.-- A dominant car and dominant performance by Kevin Harvick wasn't enough to secure the victory in Atlanta.
Despite leading 131 of the 330...
Interesting things can happen after the first race of the season. Some names usually near the front find themselves as also-rans as the schedule continues on to Atlanta. No Junior. No Biffle, No Bowyer. No Patrick. Okay, I’ve gone too far, I know.
