Kevin Harvick appeared on his way to victory in Sunday’s Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but when the Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500 concluded, it was Brad Keselowski standing in the winner’s circle.
NASCAR Atlanta 2017 results: Full finishing order for Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500
Brad Keselowski wins first race of 2017 thanks to Kevin Harvick’s late-race mistake.
Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
Keselowski capitalized when Harvick was caught speeding on pit road under caution during the final round of pit stops with 14 laps remaining. That setup a duel between Keselowski and Kyle Larson on the ensuing restart, where Larson initially jumped ahead before Keselowski passed him down the backstretch with six laps left. It was Keselowski’s first victory of the season.
Larson finished second, followed by Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, and Chase Elliott.
Before incurring the penalty that forced him to drop to the rear of the field on the day’s restart, Harvick had led 292 laps and was never seriously challenged. But left with little time to recover, the best Harvick could do was finish ninth. Afterwards, he admitted he had let a potential win slip away.
“I really didn’t think I was even close on pit lane,” Harvick said. “I thought I was being conservative, apparently I wasn’t ... I was just pushing it too hard.”
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