Kevin Harvick has his sights set on making it back-to-back wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway but knows it won’t be easy.
The new Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rules in effect this weekend for the Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500 has created an air of mystery around the second race of the season.
“We really don’t know either,” Harvick told the media at AMS Friday when asked about what fans should expect. “That is the question. We don’t have that answer. I can tell you that it will be drastically different than what we have done before. We have not raced this package. That is the bottom line.”
Reduced horsepower, slower speeds and aerodynamic changes have made the weekend a big guessing game and Harvick doesn’t think there will be any answers in the immediate future. He’s not sure that’s a bad thing either.
“Other than being drastically different, I would hate to speculate on what the direction of it is going to be and what we are going to do because we don’t know,” Harvick said. “That is good for everyone watching. Once the engineers all wrap their arms around what they need it becomes more of a system and you start to build the notebook and things that go with that to start to evolve the program and what you do and what you work on.
“Right now we don’t have anything to evolve because we don’t have any answers. We have more questions with zero answers actually.”
Harvick has been red hot of late at Atlanta. He won last year leading 181 laps on his was to the checkered flag. Harvick has posted a 7.4 average finish and has combined to lead 915 laps in the last five races.
But with the questions around this weekend Harvick will have his hands full trying to keep up that pace. He’s ready for the challenge to learn about the package not just this week in Atlanta but in the races that follow to get a true understanding of how he’ll have to adapt behind the wheel.
“Based on the lap times and everything that we saw today, handling is still going to be a pretty big part of the weekend and things that you need to put in your car,” Harvick said. “I think it is more along the lines of that truck mentality.
“You can fall into the hole from the speed trap or you can work on your car and make it handle well and have decent speed. It is definitely a balance to see where all of that falls at all the different styles of race tracks.”
Harvick only turned two laps in the first practice because of steering issues.
