Harvick seeks to change his fortunes at Atlanta

With only one career victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway — in his very first start there — you might think the track was not on Kevin Harvick’s list of favorite places to race.

You would be wrong. Considering his record at AMS, the

42-year-old Harvick might be among the drivers to beat Sunday on the

11⁄ 2- mile oval in suburban Hampton, Ga. He has led more than 100 laps in five of his last six races at the track, and last season Harvick led for 292 of 325 laps before coughing up the lead late in the race due to a pit road speeding penalty. He finished ninth.

Harvick’s win there came in his third career NASCAR Cup Series start in 2001, when Harvick drove the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to victory lane after replacing Dale Earnhardt, who had passed away three weeks earlier during an accident on the final lap of the Daytona 500.

In addition to the victory, Harvick has six top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 27 starts at Atlanta. He has produced 10 of those top-10s in his last 13 appearances. His 97.0 rating at the track ranks third among active drivers.

Drivers love the track, he believes, because of its patched-up, abrasive asphalt surface.

“I led 292 laps last year at Atlanta and screwed it up with a speeding penalty at the end of the race,” said Harvick, who drives the No. 4 Ford. “But if you would talk to the garage in general, this is one of the drivers’ favorite tracks. I think the reason is that the tires wear out so fast, cars slide around and you just have to do so much behind the wheel to be able to make your car go around the corner all day.

“It’s a fun place to race, but it’s been frustrating because we’ve run so well through the years there and only been to victory lane once. Hopefully they keep putting a lot of patches down.”