Atlanta NASCAR: Brad Keselowski wins as penalty costs Kevin Harvick
Brad Keselowski took victory in Sunday's NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta as poleman Kevin Harvick missed out on a dominant victory due to a late penalty
Harvick led the majority of the race's 325 laps and looked set to take a clean sweep of all three points-paying stages of the race.
A late caution for Austin Dillon's powerless Richard Childress Chevrolet caused a flurry of activity in the pitlane, and Harvick threw away his victory hopes by becoming the eighth driver of the day to cop a penalty for speeding.
With 14 laps to go the caution set up a grandstand finish, and Kyle Larson led the restart ahead of Keselowski.
Larson looked capable of taking his second Cup victory but a high line with six laps to go gifted Penske man Keselowski a route to victory, and after making his move Keselowski finished just 0.565 seconds ahead of the Chip Ganassi racer.
Matt Kenseth was twice penalised for pitlane speeding infractions, but bounced back to finish an excellent third for Joe Gibbs Racing on a mixed afternoon for the team, with 16th-placed Kyle Busch the only other JGR runner on the lead lap.
It was also a race of resurgence for Kasey Kahne, who twice got the wave-around after falling off the lead lap but recovered to cross the line fourth.
Chase Elliott had challenged Harvick for the lead earlier in the race, but a poor final restart left him in fifth come the chequered flag.
Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch could only manage seventh, while Harvick fought through the pack as best he could after his penalty to wind up ninth.
RACE RESULTS - 325 LAPS:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 3h33m08.s |
| 2 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 0.564s |
| 3 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1.465s |
| 4 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1.938s |
| 5 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2.222s |
| 6 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 2.400s |
| 7 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3.818s |
| 8 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 4.142s |
| 9 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4.900s |
| 10 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 6.397s |
| 11 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7.611s |
| 12 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 8.426s |
| 13 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 8.928s |
| 14 | Erik Jones | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 9.211s |
| 15 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 23.764s |
| 16 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 24.109s |
| 17 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 27.458s |
| 18 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 1 Lap |
| 19 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 Lap |
| 20 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 Lap |
| 21 | Daniel Suarez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 Laps |
| 22 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 2 Laps |
| 23 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 2 Laps |
| 24 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 2 Laps |
| 25 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 3 Laps |
| 26 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 3 Laps |
| 27 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 4 Laps |
| 28 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 4 Laps |
| 29 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 5 Laps |
| 30 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 Laps |
| 31 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 Laps |
| 32 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 6 Laps |
| 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Circle Sport / TMG | Chevrolet | 8 Laps |
| 34 | Corey LaJoie | BK Racing | Toyota | 12 Laps |
| 35 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 16 Laps |
| 36 | Derrike Cope | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27 Laps |
| 37 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | Engine |
| 38 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Rear end |
| 39 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | Steering |
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Harvick | 90 |
| 2 | Kurt Busch | 86 |
| 3 | Brad Keselowski | 84 |
| 4 | Chase Elliott | 82 |
| 5 | Joey Logano | 80 |
| 6 | Kyle Larson | 79 |
| 7 | Martin Truex Jr. | 67 |
| 8 | Ryan Blaney | 63 |
| 9 | Kasey Kahne | 63 |
| 10 | Trevor Bayne | 58 |
| 11 | Jamie McMurray | 49 |
| 12 | Aric Almirola | 47 |
| 13 | Clint Bowyer | 46 |
| 14 | Paul Menard | 44 |
| 15 | Matt Kenseth | 41 |
| 16 | Cole Whitt | 38 |
| 17 | Matt DiBenedetto | 37 |
| 18 | Denny Hamlin | 37 |
| 19 | Ryan Newman | 37 |
| 20 | Landon Cassill | 36 |
| 21 | Danica Patrick | 36 |
| 22 | Austin Dillon | 35 |
| 23 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 34 |
| 24 | Kyle Busch | 32 |
| 25 | Ty Dillon | 31 |
| 26 | Michael McDowell | 30 |
| 27 | Michael Waltrip | 29 |
| 28 | Erik Jones | 27 |
| 29 | David Ragan | 27 |
| 30 | Daniel Suarez | 25 |
| 31 | Jimmie Johnson | 24 |
| 32 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 20 |
| 33 | A.J. Allmendinger | 15 |
| 34 | Chris Buescher | 15 |
| 34 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | 15 |
| 36 | Reed Sorenson | 6 |
| 37 | Cody Ware | 1 |
| 37 | Gray Gaulding | 1 |
| 37 | Derrike Cope | 1 |
| 37 | D.J. Kennington | 1 |
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