HAMPTON. GA. — Kevin Harvick got tired of watching Kyle Busch win so many truck races. He has finally done something about it.
Now the man to beat when he shows up for a NASCAR truck race, Harvick pulled away from Busch for a dominating victory Saturday in the E-Z-GO 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Harvick’s crew made only one slight adjustment on his Chevrolet truck, taking out three-tenths of a pound of air in the right rear tire on the first pit stop. It was clear from the start he had a machine to beat as long as he stayed out of trouble.
“We just had a really fast truck,” Harvick said.
He’s now won three straight starts in the Camping World Truck Series, and five of his last nine. During that stretch of dominance dating to 2008, he’s finished no lower than fifth.
Harvick, winning for the seventh time in his truck career, led 100 of 130 laps and pulled away to a 1.308-second victory over Busch’s Toyota. The runner-up was denied his 17th career truck win after reaching Victory Lane a series-leading seven times in 2009.
Ron Hornaday Jr., a four-time series champion, suffered a blown tire, which sent him slamming into the wall between turns three and four after just 22 laps. He was done for the day, finishing 34th out of 36 trucks.
Earnhardt wins Atlanta pole.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is doing his best to forget 2009. Not a bad way to start.
Junior will be on the pole for the first time in nearly two years today for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Kobalt Tools 500 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, giving the popular, second-generation driver another reason to believe that he’s left behind the most dismal season of his career.
“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” he said. “We are starving for a good finish.”
Earnhardt has gone 70 races since his last Cup win on June 15, 2008, at Michigan.
The Associated Press
Today’s race
NASCAR SPRINT CUP Kobalt Tools 500
Site: Hampton, Ga.
TV: KDVR-31, 10 a.m.
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway (oval, 1.54 miles)
Race distance: 500.5 miles, 325 laps
Driver standings: 1. Kevin Harvick 506; 2. Clint Bowyer 459; 3. Mark Martin 457; 4. Matt Kenseth 448; 5. Jimmie Johnson 443; (tie) Greg Biffle 443; 7. Jeff Burton 430; 8. Joey Logano 413; 9. David Reutimann 397; 10. Carl Edwards 389; 11. Tony Stewart 386; 12. Kyle Busch 375
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