Saturday evening's Nationwide Series race at Atlanta featured just one lead change. Polesitter Chase Elliott, racing at his home track, led the first 36 laps and then handed it to JR Motorsports driver Kevin Harvick. Harvick led the last 159 laps through two cautions en route to a second straight Nationwide win at the Georgia track. Atlanta was also the site of Harvick's first Sprint Cup Series win in 2001 in a close finish with Jeff Gordon. It was Harvick's third race after replacing the late Dale Earnhardt.
Sunday evening's Sprint Cup action also did not have much competition out front early, with Harvick, the polesitter this time, leading until the first restart, when Joe Gibbs driver Denny Hamlin got past Harvick. Jeff Gordon also stayed in second place behind Harvick for a while. He later had a tire issue that took him off the lead lap.
Atlanta is also not as fast as similar tracks such as Charlotte. It just isn't one of those tracks known for a special style of racing like, say, the restrictor plate tracks, Daytona and Talladega. But Atlanta is also known for a number of memorable finishes, and many people look forward to NASCAR events there, so it shouldn't be passed off as "just another race" either.
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