JR Motorsports Race Report
Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014
Race 24 of 33: Great Clips 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Track Specs: 1.54-mile quad-oval
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 78 degrees
Race Winner: Kevin Harvick
Certain tracks are simply fit for certain drivers. Atlanta Motor Speedway is clearly the perfect fit for Kevin Harvick as he steamrolled the competition in Saturday night's Great Clips 300, leading 159 of 195 laps to earn his third NASCAR Nationwide Series win in 11 starts this season.
Although he reported that his No. 5 Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet was too loose in the opening laps, Harvick rocketed to the lead at lap 37 and never relinquished the top spot again. Though cautions, one for on-again off-again rain showers, and green-flag pit stops allowed his closest competitors to make up the deficit, Harvick showed his strength throughout the event. The longer stints lasted, the stronger Harvick's No. 5 proved to be.
Following the race's final restart at lap 134, Harvick once again extended his lead to more than four seconds over Joey Logano prior to the team's final green-flag pit stop at 178. Logano made up time on pit road, but back on the track, Harvick was untouchable as he cruised to the victory over Logano, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, and JR Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott and Regan Smith fifth and sixth, respectively.
Harvick's winning effort coupled with Elliott's first career pole award spearheaded a dominant night for JR Motorsports in which the team combined to lead all 195 laps. The win was the 43rd of Harvick's Nationwide Series career and second consecutive at the 1.54-mile quad-oval.
Kevin Harvick, driver No. 5 Bad Boy Buggies team
“The first thing I want to do is thank everybody from Bad Boy Buggies, Hunt Brothers Pizza, Armour, Morton Buildings, Chevrolet, Nationwide Insurance and everybody at JR Motorsports for giving me a bad car (laughing). This thing was bad fast from the drop of the green flag. It’s just one of those race tracks where I like the challenge of everything you to get to do here. Ernie and I have found a great setup over the years and it’s still working today.
“The car was flawless from start to finish. These guys have brought fast cars all year and this has just been a really good race track for us in the past. I circle this one every year to come race at. It’s a lot of fun and tonight was a lot like last year. I just had a really good race car.”