Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500
Atlanta Motor Speedway
(Hampton, GA)
Sunday, February 24
2 p.m. ET FOX, PRM
Qualifying
Friday, February 22
5:10 p.m. ET FS1
Michael McDowell on Atlanta
“We have a lot of momentum heading to Atlanta after our top 5 finish last weekend at Daytona. I’m excited to see how the racing will be with the new downforce package. If all goes well, I think that we will see a lot more pack racing, and that is what allows us to look at Atlanta and think we could possibly win there. In years past, you run top-20 and are excited about that. The top teams are going to be the top teams and the top drivers will always be the top drivers. But if you get a restart with five to go and can run wide open, it will be like Daytona. It will be a shootout. I like that style of racing. It has always suited me really well and if we can put ourselves in that position enough times, hopefully we can capitalize on that. I’m really looking forward to getting back on track and hopefully having a great race for our partner Fr8auctions this weekend.”
Matt Tifft on Atlanta
“I think it’s going to be interesting. I feel like Atlanta is going to be a little more like truck racing and I think there’s going to be a lot more momentum in being able to use the top there. The interesting part is going to be pit road, when you have a lot more cars on the lead lap than in years past. The good thing is, we ran a similar package in the Xfinity Series, so I have a little experience to go off of. I’m really excited to have our partners Tunity and Surface Sunscreen on board this weekend and to put on a great show for them.”
David Ragan on Atlanta
“Atlanta is a unique racetrack because it is so fast, but it does have a worn-out surface where tires go away quick, so I think that it’s going to be about having a combination of a fast car that gets though the air well with this new downforce package. I think that speed in general when you have a lot of on throttle time is going to be important, but handling is going to be very important when they drop the green flag. You’re not going to be able to hold it wide open for lap after lap after lap, you’re going to have to have a car that gets into the race track, that turns with the front tires, that has good rear side-bite on exit, and so, it’s going to be a combination of, ‘how much do I put into handling, to how much do I just concentrate on pure speed.’ So, I think that it’s going to be a great race. We have a new partner, FireAde on the car, so I’m excited to have them there to experience what should be an awesome weekend.”
