{"id":14933,"date":"2018-02-24T18:03:01","date_gmt":"2018-02-25T00:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=14933"},"modified":"2018-02-24T18:03:01","modified_gmt":"2018-02-25T00:03:01","slug":"kevin-harvick-wins-atlanta-nascar-xfinity-race-in-a-runaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/02\/24\/kevin-harvick-wins-atlanta-nascar-xfinity-race-in-a-runaway\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin Harvick wins Atlanta NASCAR XFINITY race in a runaway"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #98 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 24, 2018 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Reid Spencer, <\/b>NASCAR Wire Service<\/b><\/p>\n

HAMPTON, Ga. \u2013 Kevin Harvick<\/strong> put on a driving clinic in Saturday\u2019s Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n

The driver of the No. 98 Ford dominated the action on the track, leading 141-of-163 laps and winning both stages before taking the checkered flag 4.183 seconds ahead of runner-up Joey Logano.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #98 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 24, 2018 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Harvick collected his fifth NASCAR XFINITY Series<\/a> victory at Atlanta and the 47th of his career. He has won four of the last six events at the 1.54-mile track, where he also has won for four different car owners, tying Tony Stewart for the distinction of winning for four different owners at a single track.<\/p>\n

Atlanta continues to be a special track for Harvick, who earned his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory here in 2001, after succeeding the late Dale Earnhardt in the Intimidator\u2019s vaunted Richard Childress racing ride.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just been a really good place for me, obviously getting my first Cup win here,\u201d Harvick said. \u201cWe\u2019ve run good cars throughout the years, and the race track has stayed very similar to what it\u2019s been for a number of years.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #98 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 24, 2018 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAnd I think, as you look at the techniques and the things that I do in the car \u2013 and they give me what I want in the car, as far as the feel \u2013 it just applies here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harvick\u2019s pit crew got into the act, too, pulling off a stop in 14.4 seconds under NASCAR\u2019s new rules that have reduced the size of the over-the-wall crew to five members. That same crew pits Harvick\u2019s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Cup car on Sundays.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good thing is they\u2019ve had a lot of reps,\u201d Harvick said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had Clash reps, reps in the qualifying race, the Daytona 500, and they pitted on Saturday last week. They pitted on Saturday this week, and they\u2019re just doing a really good job.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose guys are pretty athletic, and they practice hard and have done a great job over the last couple years of getting this car off pit road. As long as I don\u2019t screw it up going too fast, they do really well making the pit stops.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kevin Harvick drives the #98 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 24, 2018 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Behind Harvick and Logano, pole winner Christopher Bell ran third, followed by John Hunter Nemechek, who scored a fourth-place finish in his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut. Elliott Sadler (fifth), Justin Allgaier (sixth) and Austin Cindric (seventh) were the only other drivers on the lead lap when Harvick crossed the stripe for the last time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we were even close,\u201d Logano said. \u201cKevin played with us all day long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nemechek ran into early trouble on the bottom of the track and early trouble on the top. On Lap 7, Harvick bulled his way past Nemechek, who had just taken over third place. Nemechek\u2019s No. 42 Chevrolet turned sideways after the contact, but he managed to save the car off Turn 4.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #98 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford, poses in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 24, 2018 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Three laps later, Cole Custer cut to the inside of Nemechek in a battle for fifth as the cars entered the tri-oval. Nemechek slid to the top of the track, right into the path of Elliott Sadler, who had exited Turn 4 with enormous momentum.<\/p>\n

A tap from Sadler turned Nemechek\u2019s car into the No. 00 Ford of Custer, who nosed into the outside wall and damaged his machine beyond repair.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like the 42 got out of shape, and then the 1 (Sadler) had a run, and he didn\u2019t hit the brakes hard enough and he hit the 42, and the 42 hit me,\u201d Custer said after viewing the replay. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe just got collected in something, and there\u2019s not much we could do. We had a pretty good car and was just kind of riding at that point, but, I don\u2019t know. We\u2019ll go on to the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to apologize to Cole Custer,\u201d Nemechek said after climbing from his car. \u201cI never meant to get into him off (Turn) 4 there. I got tagged from behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Ruud Toyota, and Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, lead the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Xfinity Series Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 24, 2018 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Media Center Interviews:<\/h3>\n

Kevin Harvick – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ATL_NXS_Harvick_022418.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joey Logano and Christopher Bell – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ATL_NXS_Logano-Bell_022418.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

John Hunter Nemechek – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ATL_NXS_JHNemechek_022418.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Larry The Cable Guy – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ATL_LarrytheCablyGuy_MediaAvailability_022418.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – Rinnai 250<\/b><\/p>\n

Atlanta Motor Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

Hampton, Georgia<\/b><\/p>\n

Saturday, February 24, 2018<\/b><\/p>\n

               1. (5) Kevin Harvick(i), Ford, 163.<\/p>\n

               2. (2) Joey Logano(i), Ford, 163.<\/p>\n

               3. (1) Christopher Bell #, Toyota, 163.<\/p>\n

               4. (3) John H. Nemechek, Chevrolet, 163.<\/p>\n

               5. (10) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 163.<\/p>\n

               6. (17) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 163.<\/p>\n

               7. (9) Austin Cindric #, Ford, 163.<\/p>\n

               8. (8) Kyle Benjamin, Toyota, 162.<\/p>\n

               9. (15) Ryan Truex, Chevrolet, 162.<\/p>\n

               10. (12) Ryan Reed, Ford, 162.<\/p>\n

               11. (6) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 162.<\/p>\n

               12. (14) Matt Tifft, Chevrolet, 162.<\/p>\n

               13. (16) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 162.<\/p>\n

               14. (13) Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, 162.<\/p>\n

               15. (18) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 162.<\/p>\n

               16. (24) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 162.<\/p>\n

               17. (7) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 161.<\/p>\n

               18. (33) Alex Labbe #, Chevrolet, 161.<\/p>\n

               19. (11) Tyler Reddick #, Chevrolet, 161.<\/p>\n

               20. (21) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 161.<\/p>\n

               21. (28) Dylan Lupton, Ford, 160.<\/p>\n

               22. (25) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 160.<\/p>\n

               23. (20) Kaz Grala #, Ford, 159.<\/p>\n

               24. (37) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 159.<\/p>\n

               25. (32) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 159.<\/p>\n

               26. (30) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 159.<\/p>\n

               27. (22) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 158.<\/p>\n

               28. (36) David Starr, Chevrolet, 158.<\/p>\n

               29. (35) Spencer Boyd #, Chevrolet, 158.<\/p>\n

               30. (23) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 158.<\/p>\n

               31. (39) Vinnie Miller #, Chevrolet, 158.<\/p>\n

               32. (38) Stephen Leicht, Toyota, 157.<\/p>\n

               33. (26) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, 156.<\/p>\n

               34. (29) Timmy Hill, Dodge, 156.<\/p>\n

               35. (34) Chad Finchum #, Toyota, 155.<\/p>\n

               36. (40) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 154.<\/p>\n

               37. (19) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Engine, 92.<\/p>\n

               38. (31) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Brakes, 49.<\/p>\n

               39. (4) Cole Custer, Ford, Accident, 10.<\/p>\n

               40. (27) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, Vibration, 5.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  129.67 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  01 Hrs, 56 Mins, 09 Secs. Margin of Victory:  4.183 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  4 for 21 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  9 among 3 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   C. Bell # 0; J. Logano(i) 1-4; C. Bell # 5-16; K. Harvick(i) 17-36; J. Logano(i) 37-39; K. Harvick(i) 40-82; J. Logano(i) 83; K. Harvick(i) 84-127; J. Logano(i) 128-129; K. Harvick(i) 130-163.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  K. Harvick(i) 4 times for 141 laps; C. Bell # 1 time for 12 laps; J. Logano(i) 4 times for 10 laps.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 98,20,16,22,9,18,1,12,3,7<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 98,20,22,1,9,7,12,3,21,16<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. \u2013 Kevin Harvick put on a driving clinic in Saturday\u2019s Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 98 Ford dominated the action on the track, leading 141-of-163 laps and winning both stages before taking the checkered flag 4.183 seconds ahead of runner-up Joey […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14939,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[52,95,16,181],"class_list":["post-14933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-atlanta-motor-speedway","tag-kevin-harvick","tag-nascar","tag-nascar-xfinity-series"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ATL_NXS_VLCelebration_022418-e1519516341294.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-3SR","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14933"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14947,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14933\/revisions\/14947"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}