NASCAR Winners and Losers: E-Z Go 200

After a nearly a month off after Daytona, the Camping World Truck Series hit the track for their second race of the season.

Check out the winners and losers of the E-Z Go 200.

Winners


Kevin Harvick

It should be no surprise that Kevin Harvick dominated the race. In fact, he was never outside the top five on Saturday.

Harvick is coming to the track in brand new equipment and it shows. Harvick had this race won from the drop of the green flag. He quickly took the lead and really no other truck could beat him. The team only made one adjustment on the car all day and that was on the final stop of the day.

Harvick has won the last three races he has run going back to 2009. Harvick has made Kevin Harvick Inc. into a powerhouse organization in both the CWTS and NASCAR Nationwide series.

Points: 20th

Aric Amirola

It was an interesting off season for Billy Ballew Motorsports, they lost a driver and a much needed sponsor. Coming to Atlanta with two entries, both qualified in the top 10 for Saturday’s race.

They had a fast truck and ran in the top 10 for most of the day. They were running in the top five during the second half of the race. Almirola and his crew did a good job not only in conserving tires but giving solid feedback throughout the race.

After the final pit stop Almirola came out in the top five after a fast pit stop. Almirola finished third. It was a great run for this team and what they are trying to do with limited resources.

Points: 4th

Losers


Matt Crafton

It didn’t take long for Matt Crafton to find the lead. In fact it was not even turn one before Crafton took it three wide and took the lead. He was able to pull away for a few laps but it would not last as he quickly lost the lead to Kyle Busch.

On lap 62, Crafton and Todd Bodine were battling for third when Crafton got loose and got into Bodine. Both sustained damage but Crafton took a hard hit. Not the day they were hoping for after their strong qualifying run.

Crafton carried a lot of momentum after his top five finish at Daytona. The team was confident they had the truck to beat on Saturday; instead they were in the garage making repairs. Crafton finished 27th.

Points: 8th

Ron Hornaday

After a rough season opener at Daytona, Ron Hornaday came to Atlanta needing to rebound. All weekend long Hornaday had a fast truck. He won the pole for Saturday’s race. The team had high hopes for the race.

On the very first lap of the race Crafton, Busch and Hornaday took it three wide. Busch and Hornaday made contact causing a tire rub for Hornaday. Instead of pitting he continued on track but on lap 24, he cut the tire and went for vicious spin ending his day. He finished 34th.

Hornaday as the defending series champion has a lot of work to do. No driver who started the season with three consecutive 30th place finishes or worse have went on to win the championship. Hornaday has a lot of work to do to avoid that third poor finish at Martinsville.

Points: 28th

Final Lap…

Atlanta is one of the fastest race tracks on the circuit. With drivers having multiple grooves to work with, the action is non-stop.

Some drivers who had solid runs on Saturday were Ricky Carmichael who quietly ran in the top 15 for most of the day. He did exactly as he needed to do and that was run laps and finish the race. He finished an impressive sixth.

Another driver who ran a great race was Austin Dillon. After not surviving lap one at Daytona Dillon ran a solid race. He needs to run laps and learn these tracks. He ran in the top 15 for most of the day after starting fifth. It was a smart race for Dillon who earned his first career top 10 finish in 10th.

Now the series heads to Martinsville in three weeks.

Martinsville will be very interesting and critical for many teams. So many teams need to just finish the race and get as many points as they can.