Kevin Harvick Overcomes Rain to Register Dominant NASCAR at Atlanta 2018 Win

Kevin Harvick dominated on a rainy day at Atlanta Motor Speedway to win the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.

The No. 4 car led 173 of 325 laps, most of them with no one even in his wake, and held on for the impressive victory Sunday. Brad Keselowski finished three seconds behind him in second place.

After finishing in 31st place following an accident last week at the Daytona 500, Harvick got back on track with a strong victory for his early season resume.

Final Results

1. Kevin Harvick (4)

2. Brad Keselowski (2)

3. Clint Bowyer (14)

4. Denny Hamlin (11)

5. Martin Truex Jr. (78)

6. Joey Logano (22)

7. Kyle Busch (18)

8. Kurt Busch (41)

9. Kyle Larson (42)

10. Chase Elliott (9)

Full results available at NASCAR.com.

Kyle Busch started the race on the pole, but it was Harvick who dominated almost from the very beginning.

He led lap after lap in the first portion, winning Stage 1 by more than nine seconds. Former NASCAR driver Parker Kligerman described the performance:

Harvick was forced to pit due to a pit-gun equipment issue, which dropped him down to 19th, as Bob Pockrass of ESPN explained. However, he didn't need much time to return to first place ahead of Kurt Busch.

Jeff Burton of NBC Sports was impressed:

Keselowski finally took over before the end of Stage 2, winning the stage and earning playoff points in the process. It also signaled the race would be official despite the looming threat of rain.

With the flags staying green, however, it allowed Harvick to once again move to the front and build a significant lead.

He even lapped last year's champion as the No. 4 car continued to pull away with 50 laps remaining:

A caution with about 25 laps remaining opened things up for the rest of the field, but Harvick still remained in front.

He eventually held on for the checkered flag in what became an easy win:

The season will continue next Sunday with the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.