Kevin Harvick dominated for much of the race, but it was a classic Jimmie Johnson victory yesterday at the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 in Atlanta.
It was a call back to last year for Harvick. Starting from the back, he roared through the pack eventually taking the lead mid-race. Harvick dominated during a long green flag period of the race and lapped car after car after car until there were only fifteen on the lead lap. Last year Harvick had plenty of races where he did the same thing, only to blow his engine out late in the race. This year, the Hendrick boys caught up to him. Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were set to duel it out at the finish, but Junior caught some debris late and he had no chance after that.
Johnson continued to do what he does best. Hang around and then make a move with thirty laps to go to win. It was his 71st career victory, and he now joins Joey Logano in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Harvick settled for second, but he can take solace in beating the kids in the Xfinity Series the day before.
The race was uninspired, with half a crowd at best to witness it. NASCAR’s decision to bump the Las Vegas race one week had terrible results. The weather in Atlanta was not good. A cold, rainy day led to less than ideal conditions. It can certainly rain any day of the year, but someone in the schedule department should have figured out the temperature situation.
Why not run the west coast swing immediately after Daytona? Las Vegas, Avondale, and Fontana are perfect March races. The weather yesterday was in the 60’s and Sunny. Ideal racing weather. Go to Vegas right after Daytona, do the west coast swing, then come back to Atlanta on March 22nd instead of March 1st. Yesterday in Atlanta, it was 40 degrees. The race was sloppy, with drivers losing tires and struggling with traction. The current forecast for Atlanta on March 22nd? 71 degrees. This was a terrible decision that cost fans a day of quality racing.
While Hendrick Motorsports finished 1 and 3, their other two drivers were also in the news. Kasey Kahne was having an excellent run until a pit violation forced him a lap down. He finished 14th, the top car one lap down, but pit issues doomed his day. He has yet to live up to his potential with Hendrick, and is still clearly the fourth best of the four.
Teammate Jeff Gordon got caught up in a late race caution for the second race in a row. Gordon, one of the loudest advocates of the SAFER barrier, collided with the concrete wall after his accident, just missing the SAFER barrier by three feet. A visibly upset Gordon complained to NASCAR officials right after the incident. The SAFER barrier discussion will continue to be a topic after the wake of Kyle Busch’s injury. Denny Hamlin (who caused the wreck) also hit the concrete wall.
He didn’t win, but the “Run of the week” goes to rookie Brett Moffit. Filling in for Brian Vickers (who returns next week), Moffit ran an amazing race, finishing 8th. It would not be a surprise to see Moffit get a shot on a smaller team ride in the coming weeks after that performance.
*Failed to Qualify did not record yesterday due to bad weather in the Northeast. It will be released on Wednesday evening. If you have questions for the show please email failedtoqualify@sportsfromthebasement.com