Yahoo Finance Kevin Harvick dominates final stage at Atlanta for second win of the season
The 2020 Cup Series season has been the Kevin Harvick show.
Harvick won his second race of the season and extended his points lead with a dominating final stage on Sunday at Atlanta. Harvick took the lead shortly after the final stage began and only relinquished it for green-flag pit stops as he led 105 of the race’s final 108 laps for his third win at Atlanta and his second in the last three races.
In addition to being the best driver throughout 2020, Harvick has been the best driver at Atlanta in recent years. Harvick has led more than 100 laps in seven of the last nine races at the track.
Atlanta was the site of Harvick’s first win in the Cup Series. It came in the spring of 2001, weeks after Harvick had replaced Dale Earnhardt at Richard Childress Racing after Earnhardt was killed in the Daytona 500. Like he did in 2001, Harvick drove a backward victory lap around the track on Sunday with three fingers extended and his arm out the window in honor of Earnhardt.
Kyle Busch finished second, while Martin Truex Jr. was third. Truex won the race’s first two stages. Ryan Blaney was fourth and Denny Hamlin finished fifth.
Harvick’s 2020 so far
Yeah, Chase Elliott and Busch have grabbed most of the storylines. But Harvick has been the season’s best driver. You want to know how good Harvick has been in 2020?
Last week’s race at Bristol — where he finished 11th — was the only race where he’s finished outside the top 10. Harvick’s average finish in 2020 is 5.5, and he’s won two of 10 races with six top-five finishes.
That Bristol race was also the first race for Harvick since Talladega in October 2019 that he’s finished outside the top 10. And if you want to go back to Harvick’s 39th-place finish at Bristol in August, he’s finished in the top 10 in 20 of 22 races.
Harvick’s points lead
Harvick is coming close to having a full race worth of points on everyone else in the Cup Series.
Harvick leads second-place Joey Logano by 48 points. A full race for a race winner who wins the first two stages is 60 points. Only Logano and third-place Elliott are within 60 points of Harvick.
For reference, 10th-place Kurt Busch is ahead of 16th-place Erik Jones by 44 points in the standings. And spots Nos. 2-9 are separated by just 65 points. Harvick also has more than twice the points of 18th-place Tyler Reddick.
Here’s how the top 20 of the standings look through 10 races.
1. Kevin Harvick, 421 points
2. Joey Logano, 373
3. Chase Elliott, 365
4. Brad Keselowski, 346
5. Martin Truex Jr., 334
6. Denny Hamlin, 322
7. Ryan Blaney, 317
8. Alex Bowman, 314
9. Kyle Busch, 308
10. Kurt Busch, 284
11. Aric Almirola, 260
12. Clint Bowyer, 259
13. Jimmie Johnson, 256
14. Austin Dillon, 247
15. Matt DiBenedetto, 246
16. Erik Jones, 240
17. William Byron, 220
18. Tyler Reddick, 207
19. Chris Buescher, 194
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 185
Midweek Martinsville
Get ready for another midweek NASCAR race. The Cup Series races on Wednesday at Martinsville. The 500-lap event starts after 7 p.m. ET and is on Fox Sports 1. It’ll be the first night race at Martinsville, though recent fall races at the track have ended as the track’s newly-installed lights have been illuminated.
Full results
1. Kevin Harvick
2. Kyle Busch
3. Martin Truex Jr.
4. Ryan Blaney
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Kurt Busch
7. Jimmie Johnson
8. Chase Elliott
9. Brad Keselowski
10. Joey Logano
11. Austin Dillon
12. Alex Bowman
13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
14. Ryan Newman
15. Matt Kenseth
16. Tyler Reddick
17. Aric Almirola
18. Christopher Bell
19. Cole Custer
20. Clint Bowyer
21. Bubba Wallace
22. Chris Buescher
23. John Hunter Nemechek
24. Michael McDowell
25. Matt DiBenedetto
26. Ryan Preece
27. Corey LaJoie
28. Erik Jones
29. Ty Dillon
30. Brennan Poole
31. Daniel Suarez
32. Quin Houff
33. William Byron
34. Josh Bilicki
35. Garrett Smithley
36. JJ Yeley
37. Reed Sorenson
38. Joey Gase
39. Timmy Hill
40. BJ McLeod
– – – – – – –
Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
More from Yahoo Sports:
