Brad Keselowski passed Kyle Larson with seven laps remaining and raced unchallenged to his first win of the 2017 NASCAR Cup season in the Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The door was opened for Keselowski after Kevin Harvick, the race’s pole-sitter and winner of the first two stages, was called for speeding during a caution 15 laps from the finish. Harvick led 292 laps.
The Team Penske driver had bounced back two unscheduled pit stops. The first was on Lap 117 for a tire problem. He was later forced to pit a second time right before a Lap 270 restart for a loose tire. Keselowski had beat Harvick off pit road and would have restarted first.
“This one kind of fell in our lap at the end and my team put it all together when it counted,” Keselowski said. “They gave me a great Auto Trader Ford Fusion and we were able to get by Kyle (Larson) there at the end. I knew that he wasn’t going to be easy to pass. His car was great and I was able to make the right moves to get by him.””
With his 22nd Cup Series victory, Keselowski earned his first Atlanta win in nine starts at the track. It was the No. 2 team’s first win since Keselowski’s victory at Kentucky Speedway last July.
“When you win, you don’t know if you’re ever going to win again,” Keselowski told Fox Sports. “You go through some spells. Gosh it feels good to get one early in the season like this.”
Completing the top five was Larson, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne and Chase Elliott.
Harvick finished ninth.
