Harvick leads for 141 laps on way to victory

HAMPTON, Ga. — For Joey Logano, the final four-second margin behind Kevin Harvick felt more like a full lap.

Harvick led 141 of 163 laps Saturday for his fifth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway and fourth in the past six years.

Logano finished second, ahead of Christopher Bell, who started on the pole. They were the only other drivers to lead laps.

Almost from the very start, the race belonged to Harvick.

“I don’t think we were even close,” Logano said. “Kevin played with us all race long.”

Added Bell: “You’re supposed to be struggling but he [Logano] was struggling a little bit less and Harvick was struggling a lot less. That’s the gap we’ve got to make up.”

Harvick started fifth but quickly moved to the lead while winning each of the first two stages.

“That was a lot of fun to be a part of,” he said.

He also won the 2009 and 2013-2015 Atlanta Xfinity races before Kyle Busch won the past two years.

Harvick served as Bell’s escort, guiding him around the 1.54-mile track through most of the second half of the race. Bell remained within a few seconds of Harvick’s Ford but couldn’t seriously challenge. Logano passed Bell for second with five laps remaining.

It was only the latest show of dominance by Harvick in Atlanta. In last season’s Monster Energy Cup race, Harvick led 292 laps before finishing ninth after being hurt by a pit road speeding penalty. Harvick finished fourth in Atlanta’s 2017 Xfinity race.