Despite being set back, Harvick’s patience, persistence and fast race car eventually began to pay dividends. He took just four laps to get back inside the top five, while up front, his teammate Bowyer had gotten to Stenhouse’s bumper and was hounding the Mississippi native for the lead.
Bowyer and Stenhouse traded the point for three straight laps before Bowyer worked clear with 103 to go, jetting out to a two second lead as Harvick continued to fight back.
Though Harvick got to second with 87 laps left, it appeared as if his shot at victory would be dashed when the caution flew three circuits later for a band of showers that hit the Dover area just before 5 p.m.
A 41-minute rain delay followed, with Bowyer poised to claim the victory if the race were called, but the track was ultimately dried and racing resumed after pit stops with 75 laps to settle the score.
Bowyer’s Ford had the short run speed to lead briefly during the final stint, but it was no match for Harvick over the long haul. Harvick eventually powered around Bowyer’s outside exiting the second turn and never looked back, leading the final 61 laps uncontested.
Harvick flexed his muscle down the stretch, leaving Bowyer to finish a distant second, 7.450 seconds back at the checkered flag.
While Bowyer was disappointed that Mother Nature didn’t fall his way, he was still pleased with the effort by the entire Stewart-Haas organization.
“I’d have been happy if it had just kept on raining, but I just wish we could have had the opportunity to adjust our car for being in clean air,” noted Bowyer. “Kevin had that luxury all day long and that was our first shot at having fresh tires in clean air.
“I knew when it took off … as good as it did that I was in trouble. I just got way, way too loose,” Bowyer added. “What an awesome Ford Fusion, though. We won with Haas Demo Day on the car at Martinsville and I thought we were going to be able to do it again today. It’s fun to be running like this again … being competitive and being able to be up front in the limelight. It’s a great feeling.”
Daniel Suarez came home third for his best finish on an oval, followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch.
Sunday’s race marked the first time since March of 2017 at Atlanta Motor Speedway that a Toyota driver did not lead a lap.
To view the full race results, advance to the next page.
