(Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
By Aaron Bearden

Post-race review and analysis from the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. 

Who Won? 

Kevin Harvick. The veteran dominated the final stage to score his third Atlanta win.

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Harvick takes the field to school

No matter the rules package, temperature or time of year, there’s one certainty when NASCAR heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Kevin Harvick’s the driver to beat.

Harvick kept up his dominant ways at the 1.5-mile Georgia oval, leading 151 of 325 laps en route to a victory in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. The win was his third at the track, and his second in the past three years.

He celebrated in his now-traditional style at Atlanta, completing a silent polish victory lap while extending three fingers out of his driver’s-side window – an ode to the late Dale Earnhardt that he first performed at the track in an emotional 2001 win at the track with Richard Childress Racing.

“I didn’t get a chance to show very good a couple years ago with my gloves on, so I made sure I took my gloves off this year,” he said. “Obviously, first win came for me here at Atlanta and this is just a race track 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.”

Harvick’s made a reputation for being a favorite in Atlanta since joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014. Over seven years with the team, the Californian has led 1111 out of 2290 laps ran at the track, just a shade under half of all laps contested at 48.52%.

He’s done so with a unique line on the bottom lane, conserving his tires and rolling through the painted section of the racing surface just prior to the apron in a consistent effort the NASCAR on FOX team referred to as “Harvicking” over the weekend.

Others have tried to match Harvick’s successful path at the track, but none can do it as well as him over the course of a long run. Such was the case on Sunday, as Harvick powered out to a comfortable win on a lengthy final run to the checkered flag.

“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 in a rhythm and really start hitting my marks, and then by about lap 25 I could start driving away,” Harvick said of the performance.

The win was Harvick’s second since NASCAR returned to action in May, following his victory in the initial return race at Darlington Raceway. It was his 51st triumph overall, and at 44 years old it made him the oldest winner at the track since Dale Earnhardt triumphed in 2000.

It also came with the unique twist of falling on crew chief’s Rodney Childers’ birthday.

“We struggled most of the day with our car and he definitely earned his birthday present today,” Harvick joked.

Now the pair will have to see if they can keep earning wins through the summer stretch and contend for a second Cup title.

Toyota’s strong day

The group failed to bring home a victory at race’s end, but Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota enjoyed one of their best performances of 2020 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Teammates Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin all filled the top-five at race’s end in Georgia, holding pace with Kevin Harvick and Stewart-Haas Racing better than any other team despite being unable to topple him.

Busch’s run was his sixth top-five in 10 races, continuing a strange feast-or-famine season that’s seen him with an average finish of 26th in the four other races.

“We had good speed, you just couldn’t really push too hard,” Busch said. “Every time I pushed too hard, it would really hurt my tires in the long run. I think that was for everybody. That last run, I was trying to keep up with those front guys and as soon as I felt like I was pushing too hard and they were inching out on me, I just gave up and decided just to run and try to make sure I didn’t slip a tire and do the best I could without pushing anything too hard. Was able to get Martin (Truex Jr.) at least there at the end.”

“We ended up second and not too far behind the 4 (Kevin Harvick), who was the best here.” he later added. “Hard to beat him when you come to his home turf if you will – at Atlanta, they’re really fast.”

Truex had arguably his best run with Toyota at the track with his third-place effort, despite finishing one spot worse than he managed in 2019. The 2017 Cup champion secured his first playoff points with a pair of stage wins and led 65 laps, the most he’d managed at Atlanta since his days with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

“Got our first two stage wins of the year, which was huge,” Truex said. “We just can’t seem to get over the hump at the finishes.

“With about 25 (laps) to go, I was clicking off some good lap times, but I knew I was pushing it too hard on the right front tire and with about 10 to go, it said, ‘oh hell no more.’ Just ran out of tires at the end and lost second to Kyle (Busch).”

Hamlin’s quiet top-five continued a strong start to 2020 that’s seen the Virginian pick up two wins.

Two of the remaining Toyotas were less fortunate, but it wasn’t for lack of pace. Erik Jones and Christopher Bell were in contention for potential top-10s, but the pair made contact at one point and both faded in the end to finishes of 18th (Bell) and 28th (Jones).

Speaking out for social injustice

Based in the South and carrying all of the stereotypes and history associated with it, NASCAR might have been one of the last sports most would expect to speak up amid the current worldwide conversation over racial mistreatment.

But the series made a big statement with the handling of Sunday’s race day at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

In the hours before the race many drivers from the NASCAR garage shared a video with a message of listening and understanding. It also aired as drivers rolled off to begin the race.

The message reads:

“We’re no strangers to moving fast, and we know how life can have that same quality. But now is the time to slow down and reflect. The events of recent weeks highlighted the work we still need to do as a nation to condemn racial inequality and racism. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others in the black community are heartbreaking and can no longer be ignored.

“The process begins with us listening and learning because understanding the problem is the first step in fixing it. We are committed to listening with empathy and with an open heart to better educate ourselves. We will use this education to advocate for change in our nation, our communities, and, most importantly, in our own homes. Even after the headlines go away.

“All of our voices they make a difference. No matter how big or how small. It is all of our responsibility to no longer be silent. We just can’t stay silent. We have a long road ahead of us, but let’s commit to make that journey together. Our differences should not divide us. It is our love for all mankind that will unite us as we work together to make real change.”

Bubba Wallace, the Cup Series’ lone African-American driver, donned an “I Can’t Breathe” shirt for the Black Lives Matter movement and an American flag facemask. A black NASCAR official knelt during pre-race festivities, sticking a solitary fist into the air.

When the field got rolling, they were brought to a halt around the start-finish line. NASCAR President Steve Phelps radioed in with a message of support for people of color prior to a 30-second period of silence.

“Thank you for your time,” Phelps said. “Our country is in pain and people are justifiably angry, demanding to be heard. The black community and all people of color have suffered in our country, and it has taken far too long for us to hear their demands for change. Our sport must do better. Our country must do better.”

The movement followed a tumultuous two weeks in the United States, as the passing of George Floyd at the hands of policemen in Minnesota kicked off days of protests, riots and increasing tension between American citizens, the police force and other authoritative figures.

Wallace was one of the earliest figures in the motorsports industry to reach out, and called on his fellow drivers to speak up and offer support. Among the competitors to take initiative and lead the charge was seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson.

“I was involved in helping put it together, and I was just really proud of the drivers who got involved,” Johnson said. “Honestly proud of NASCAR and what they did, but it’s been a personal journey on a much deeper level this week for me to listen and learn, and as a lot of us drivers started chatting about the week and experience and a lot of this was led by Bubba.

“Really have to give him a ton of credit, including Ty Dillon, the accountability that those two really put on the garage area, put on me ‑ not directly on me, but I could just see ‑ it made a difference, and I think that resonated with a lot of people.

“I spent a lot of time listening and learning this week, and that message rang clear with many of my other driver friends, and we kind of found that message, and that was the message that made it into the video.”

Harvick was also among the drivers to speak out, joining the video message shared before his dominant win in the 500-mile event.

“For me, something just has to change, and I think when you look at what happened in Minnesota, it’s just disgraceful to everyone,” Harvick said, speaking of Floyd’s death. “To be able to have conversations about things, I’m definitely a person that wants to hear a plan that has actions included in it, and just try to support each other and do the things that we can do to try to help our communities and help the conversations because there’s so much that everyone doesn’t understand of what we need to do and how we need to do it. But I can tell you that we need change.”

Whether the move will lead to legitimate change and additional awareness efforts in NASCAR circles remains to be seen. But on Sunday the sport took a definite stance and spoke up on a nationwide social issue in a way it rarely has before.

Looking for a choice

One of the closest battles observed throughout the day came on pit road.

It was for position, but not in the traditional sense. Drivers were battling not to have the better spot.

Atlanta is one of many tracks with a clear non-preferred groove during NASCAR’s double-file restart era, with the outside lane often struggling to take off as the green flag waves.

That led to brake checks aplenty over the course of caution flag stops in Sunday’s 500-miler, with drivers stacking up the field behind them to try to avoid having to restart second. This nearly resulted in contact at one point, with a quartet of competitors getting cramped up as Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick stalled out in an effort to get third before a restart late in Stage 2.

“They’ve got to stop that s***,” Denny Hamlin radioed to his team.

Pit lane gamesmanship has been one of the storylines in NASCAR for years, but it’s been magnified by the importance of track position in the modern era. This has led some drivers to call for a choose rule in NASCAR, allowing each competitor to choose the lane they restart in based on their position.

Hamlin’s one of the drivers in favor of the rule’s implementation.

“Guys stopping at the end of pit road is just kind of ridiculous,” he said. “We’re trying to merge into traffic and guys are literally just stopping. Something or at least give us some options there. It’s not that hard, they do it at every local short track.”

Joey Logano made an even stronger plea for the rule.

“Do it everywhere, every track. It doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s necessary in today’s world or racing. That’s my opinion, and I think we can all do it because I know Blaney and I did it when we were like nine years old racing Bandolaros and Legends cars and we can handle it.

“I’ve been saying it for years. I’ve had the conversation multiple times, please, please. I think it’s necessary.”

While Logano and Hamlin are among a group eager to see a choose rule implemented, others would like to see NASCAR return to its roots and bring back single-file restarts.

Chief among them is Logano’s teammate, Brad Keselowski.

“This is why it’s so hard for NASCAR because I just wish they went back to single-file restarts,” he said. “That would be the best way to fix it. I thought that was a fair way or racing. That’s what our sport was brought up on and there weren’t any of those types of games, but what do I know?”

While their opinions on how to fix pit lane gamesmanship vary, it seems many competitors in the garage area would like an option to avoid traffic jams on pit road.

Other Notes

  • Heat was a big issue in a rare June race at Atlanta, with the rising temperatures causing drivers to burn 3,000 calories or more over Sunday’s 500 miles. Bubba Wallace and Josh Bilicki each required treatment in the infield care center after the race’s conclusion, with Wallace blacking out twice in a scary post-race scene. Thankfully he appears to be okay.
  • Ford had only won one time in the prior 16 races at Atlanta entering 2017, but the Blue Ovals have been dominant in the four years since. Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick have combined to take each of the past four events for Ford, winning two races apiece.
  • Kurt Busch’s day started off on a bad note, with the Nevadan having to serve a drive-through penalty due to pre-race inspection failures. But his team rallied, Busch snagged an early free pass to rejoin the lead lap and the 2004 Cup champ bounced back to score a sixth-place finish.
  • Matt DiBenedetto was positioned to do the same, sitting just outside of the top-10 in the closing laps after claiming a free pass in 18th near the end Stage 1. But a late flat tire ruined the Wood Brothers Racing driver’s day, relegating him to 25th.
  • Clint Bowyer has led more laps this season (139) than he did in the entirety of 2019 (138), but the laps led haven’t yielded results. Bowyer’s average finish in races he’s led is 21.67, compared to 13.86 in races where he hasn’t led.
  • Ryan Blaney’s quiet day at Georgia was his best in five trips to the track. The Team Penske ace’s fourth-place run was his first top-10 finish in Atlanta, following four difficult starts with an average finish of 19.25 from 2016 through 2019.
  • William Byron’s difficult start to 2020 continued when his No. 24 team accidentally knocked a valve stem off during a pit stop, resulting in a flat left-rear. Byron hit the wall, fell multiple laps down and ended the day in 33rd.
  • For the third-straight year, there were only five cautions in NASCAR’s annual voyage to Atlanta. Of those three were pre-planned, with a competition caution and two stage breaks. Only spins from Front Row Motorsports teammates John Hunter Nemechek and Michael McDowell yielded additional yellows throughout the day.
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Aaron Bearden Atlanta Motor Speedway Featured Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 NASCAR Cup Series