Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500
The Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway
The Date: Sunday, February 24
The Time: 2 p.m. ET
TV: FOX, 1:30 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 500.5 miles (325 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 85),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 170), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 3250)
2018 Winner: Kevin Harvick
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Rinnai 250
The Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, February 23
The Time: 2 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 1:30 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 251.02 miles (163 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 40),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 80), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 163)
2018 Winner: Kevin Harvick
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Next Race: Ultimate Tailgating 200
The Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, February 23
The Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 4:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 200.02 miles (130 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 40),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 80), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 130)
2018 Winner: Brett Moffitt
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Early points leaders coming out of Daytona
Often times following the Daytona 500, the series championship leaderboard includes names that may not stay there over the course of the season. But that’s not necessarily the case this year, as several familiar names had solid performances on Sunday.
Daytona 500 race winner Denny Hamlin and reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup champion Joey Logano arrive at Atlanta Motors Speedway for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) tied atop the points standings by virtue of stage points Logano collected in the qualifying races and his fourth-place finish in the 500.
Last year’s eight-race winner Kyle Busch is ranked third, only seven points behind the pair, with Ricky Stenhouse (-13 points) and Erik Jones (-17 points) rounding out the top-five.
Seven-time Monster Energy Series champ Jimmie Johnson is ranked eighth, thanks to a ninth-place finish on Sunday. It marks the first time he’s left a race track ranked among the top-10 since the 2017 season finale at Homestead when he placed 10th in the final championship standings.
Michael McDowell, Ty Dillon and Brad Keselowski ranked ninth through 11th – are all statistically tied, 20 points off the leaders’ pace.
Defending Atlanta race winner Kevin Harvick, who won eight races in 2018, finished 26th at Daytona after being collected in a crash on lap 194 of the 207-lap race. Stage points and a win in the Duel 150 qualifying race, however, keep him ranked 14th in the standings, 25 points behind Hamlin and Logano.
Picking up where he left off
Reigning Cup champion Joey Logano made a bold statement to start defense of his 2018 Monster Energy Series trophy. Solid showings throughout Daytona Speedweeks – including a win in his Gander RV Duel qualifying race – helped him match Daytona 500 race winner Denny Hamlin in the points as the series moves to Atlanta this weekend.
It’s the first time in the last five years that a newly-crowned champion has remained number one in the points standings after the season-opening Daytona 500. The closest in that time was 2014 Monster Energy Series champion Kevin Harvick, who was ranked second following the 2015 Daytona 500.
Atlanta Motor Speedway has statistically been a challenge for Logano. He won the pole there (2015), but he’s never won a race there. Among those with at least 10 starts, only Clint Bowyer (81.6) has a lower driver rating than Logano (82.6) among the series top-16 at Atlanta.
There has been notable improvement from Logano at Atlanta since joining the Team Penske operation, however. He has four top-10 finishes and an average finish of 7.33 in the six starts for Penske, including a career-best runner-up in 2013, his first with the organization.
Milestone start ahead for Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch was – as you might expect – frustrated with a runner-up showing in the Daytona 500. He enters this week’s race third in the standings – seven behind Hamlin and Logano, who are tied atop the points.
This week’s race is a big statistical start for Busch not only in his quest to stay on championship track, but it marks the 500th Monster Energy Series start of his 51-victory career.
Atlanta has proven to be a positive element of Busch’s resume and he has two wins there. His first in 2008 was the first Monster Energy Series win for Toyota and Busch’s first with Joe Gibbs Racing while his second win was in 2013. And Joe Gibbs Racing team has 11 Cup wins total at the track.
Of the 500-start mark, Busch said, “I think it means that I’m old (laughing).
“But seriously, just makes you reflect on all the great things we’ve been able to accomplish over the years and all the people that have helped me get to where I am and win all the races we’ve been able to win.
“You just think of all the guys at JGR and Toyota and all the guys on my teams that have helped me accomplish everything that I have in my career. Also, Atlanta is a place that has a lot of great memories since we were able to bring home the first win ever for Toyota and for SNICKERS and everyone at Mars back in 2008, that was very special.”
There’s a lot on the line for Busch this weekend. He is also competing in Friday’s Gander Outdoors Truck Series race and a victory there would make him the truck series’ all-time winningest driver (he is currently tied with Ron Hornaday Jr. with 51 victories).
Truex Jr. looking to improve upon Joe Gibbs Racing debut
The Daytona 500 did not provide the kind of debut 2017 Monster Energy Series champion Martin Truex Jr. had envisioned for his move to Joe Gibbs Racing this year. He finished 35th in the season opener – caught up in a late-race, multi-car accident.
Certainly the former champ heads to Atlanta this week feeling more optimistic. Although he hasn’t won a Cup race at the track, he has two wins in the prestigious IROC Series there (in 2005 and 2006) and an encouraging record at 1.5-mile venues such as Atlanta.
In 22 races at 1.5-mile track in the last two years, Truex has eight wins, 18 top-5 finishes and 21 top-10s. He’s led 1,442 laps during that time – most among the Cup series. He is still looking for his first Atlanta win. His previous best showing is third in 2013.
New competition rules package debuts
This weekend’s race marks the highly anticipated debut of NASCAR’s new competition rules package at tracks longer than a mile, such as Atlanta’s 1.5-mile oval. This package includes the adjustment to engine horsepower as well as elements to increase downforce (the inclusion of aero ducts will start next week in Vegas).
“You know, race is really what you have to do to adjust to the package because you don’t really know how it’s going to race until you run a race,’’ said Harvick. “And Daytona is irrelevant to what we’re going to do in Atlanta. And, you know, as we go to Atlanta and start compiling that notebook in the very first practice and put the cars on the race track, obviously our history in Atlanta is pretty strong. And we know what we’re looking for in the race car and how it should handle and so there’s the downforce-versus-drag conversation.
“How much downforce can you take out of the car and make the thing survive? How much handling will come into play? The restarts are going to be crazy. Are you going be able to get close enough to actually bump draft? Can you actually stay hooked together?
“There are just so many questions to answer that we don’t have any answers to other than theory. And, at this particular point, we just need to race to really start crossing things off the list and have a direction to know what we’re working on past, you know, the theory that we’ve put into everything to put on the track at the beginning of the year.”
Jimmie Johnson’s prospects trending upward
Jimmie Johnson sits tied for seventh in the Monster Energy Series points following his ninth-place finish in the Daytona 500. That finish marked his fourth top-10 effort since that start of last year’s 10-race Playoffs.
He shows up at Atlanta the statistical best among his competitors with a series-high five wins, 14 top-fives and 16 top-10s. His 14 top-fives is double that of any other active competitor. And, he has a series-best four runner-up finishes too.
Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports team has a record 58 victories on 1.5-mile tracks – 13 more than the next closest team (Joe Gibbs Racing). And Hendrick drivers have won at 1.5-mile venues for 25 straight years.
Johnson boasts the top driver rating (102.8) at Atlanta – substantially better than number two on that list, Kevin Harvick (99.4). Twice Johnson’s efforts have landed on the track’s top-five closest finishes list – he finished second to Carl Edwards by .028-seconds in 2005 and beat Mark Martin by .293-seconds in 2004.
His last win at Atlanta is 2016. Should he answer with a victory on Sunday, it would mark Johnson’s 84th career win – tying him with the great NASCAR Hall of Famers Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison for fourth on the all-time wins list.
This weekend, Johnson will also be working in the FOX television booth, helping call the NASCAR Xfinity Series race with fellow Cup driver Kevin Harvick.
“Leaving Daytona, we all certainly have a little spark of energy,’’ Johnson said. “To be able to recover from the wrecks we were involved in and be there at the end is certainly a great start.
“This weekend in Atlanta is a completely different deal as we roll out the 2019 rules package. In my eyes, the cars are going to be faster and we are all going to be closer together, there will be more passing, and there is going to be a lot of excitement with the 2019 package. I was able to test Las Vegas and we had some drafting sessions. It was really racy.
“I’m also looking forward to being in the booth (for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race) with (Kevin) Harvick for FOX. I’ll be doing some homework leading into the weekend for sure, it’s a whole different kind of pressure.”
The right start for Ryan
Although Ryan Newman is still looking to celebrate in Atlanta victory lane after a Monster Energy Series race there, he has certainly celebrated plenty before a Cup race there. The veteran is tied with Buddy Baker for winning the most Busch Pole positions all-time at Atlanta (seven).
His 6.8 average starting position over the course of 26 races at the track is one of the most amazing sustained statistical achievements in the series. The next closest active driver at Atlanta is Kyle Larson, who is averaging a 9.000 start through only five races. Next on the list, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (10.333 average start), has only made six starts at the track.
The next active driver on the list of Atlanta pole winners is Kevin Harvick – he’s won two Atlanta pole positions and is ranked 23rd all-time.
Newman holds the record for consecutive pole wins. He won six straight sweeping the 2003-2005 seasons when the series raced twice a year there. He is still looking for his first Atlanta victory – that 26-race winless mark, the longest for any active driver there.
Harvick always a sentimental favorite at Atlanta
Kevin Harvick’s first trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway Victory Lane was a memorable storybook ending to the race. It was his first career Monster Energy Series win and came only three races into his time replacing the late seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt, who died of injuries he suffered in the 2001 Daytona 500. Harvick’s .006-second margin of victory over Jeff Gordon in that Atlanta race remains the closest margin of victory there since NASCAR began using electronic scoring in 1993.
Harvick’s second victory at the track came last year after a dominating performance. He led eight times for 181 of the 325 laps pacing a Ford podium sweep that also included Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski and Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer. Harvick completed a weekend sweep in races he entered, also earning a win in the Saturday Xfinity Series race – a race in which he won all three stages.
His 1,152 lap total out front at Atlanta is most in the field. His 99.4 driver rating is second only to Jimmie Johnson’s 102.8. He has seven top-fives and 13 top-10 showings – marks also second only to the five-time Atlanta race winner Johnson.
Local Favorites
Chase Elliott, of nearby Dawsonville, Ga. technically owns the best average finish (7.667) of any driver in the field. But even Elliott himself insists that he has had too few starts to have established a true indicator.
He has, however, certainly shown himself among those drivers to beat, regardless. He has three top 10s in three starts, including a best of fifth place in 2017. Elliott is coming off a 17th-place finish in the Daytona 500.
Interestingly in six Atlanta starts – three in the Monster Energy Series, two in the Xfinity Series and one in the Gander Outdoor Truck Series – Elliott has never finished outside the top 10.
“It’s a special place and there’s definitely a lot of fans around home so I always enjoy going back,’’ Elliott said. “More than that, it’s a fun race track to drive. I’ve enjoyed racing there from a driver standpoint, and glad they didn’t repave it.
“With it being the second race of the year, we can all get back to downforce racing. Big transition and an important week to see how we all stack up. I’m looking forward to getting there.”
Georgia native David Ragan, of Unadilla, finished 30th at Daytona. His best finish in 16 Atlanta starts is eighth in 2008.
Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders
Ryan Preece, driver for the JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47 Chevrolet, leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by virtue of his eighth-place finish in the Daytona 500. The series’ other three rookie contenders – Daniel Hemric Matt Tifft and Cody Ware – were involved in incidents on track and are ranked 32nd-33rd-34th, respectively , in the points standings coming to Atlanta.
Ware is the only driver among the foursome with a Cup start at Atlanta. He started and finished 39th there in 2017.
Preece finished 22nd in his only Xfinity Series start on the Atlanta 1.5-miler in 2016. None of the foursome has raced in the Monster Energy Series at Atlanta. Tifft has a pair of 12th-place finishes in the Xfinity Series there. Hemric has finishes of ninth (2017) and 11th (2018) in Xfinity races there and a career-best fourth place effort in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series in 2016.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Atlanta Motor Speedway is the next stop for the Xfinity Series
Following the season-opener in Daytona Beach, the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Hampton, Georgia, to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the second stop on the 2019 schedule, the Rinnai 250, this Saturday (2 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Atlanta Motor Speedway has hosted 27 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, with the first being held on March 14, 1992 and won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon – the win still is the record for youngest winner in the series all-time at Atlanta. In total, the NASCAR Xfinity Series has seen 17 different drivers win the pole and 16 different drivers win the race at Atlanta.
Big names like Kyle Busch, who holds the record for most poles (six), and Kevin Harvick, who holds the record for the most wins (five) at Atlanta Motor Speedway, have set the stage for and Xfinity Series field entered this weekend in which each entry will be looking for their first win on the historic 1.5-mile speedway.
None of the 38 drivers that will make up the field this weekend have visited Victory Lane at Atlanta.
Harvick (2013, 2014, 2015, 2018) and Kyle Busch (2016, 2017) have won the last six Xfinity Series races at Atlanta. The last series championship contender to win at Atlanta was Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 2012.
This weekend’s race, the Rinnai 250, will consist of 163 laps broken into three stages. The first two stages will be 40 laps each and the final stage will be 83 laps. Kevin Harvick won this race last season driving the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing with Fred Biagi Ford Mustang. This weekend, Chase Briscoe will be in No. 98 Ford with crew chief Richard Boswell.
The pole starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (six: 1992, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2016, and 2017) than any other starting position. The next best starting position is eighth, with five wins (2002, 2006, 2007, 2014 and 2015).
JR Motorsport’s 1-2 finish at Daytona provides big spark for 2019 start
For JR Motorsports, the past two NASCAR Xfinity Series season-openers at Daytona have been like deja vu in that they have netted the same results – 1-2 finishes. Last year Tyler Reddick beat his then-JR Motorsports teammate Elliott Sadler to the finish line in the closest finish in NASCAR history (0.0004 second), and this past weekend, Michael
Annett snapped a 229-race winless streak when his teammate Justin Allgaier pushed him to the win.
JR Motorsports once again looks formidable as the organization is looking for its third consecutive and fourth overall series driver championship. Michael Annett’s win at Daytona guarantees him a spot in the Playoffs, which is big since the Iowa native missed the postseason last year. His teammates all had solid finishes at Daytona last Saturday, as well, with Justin Allgaier in second, Chase Elliott in 10th and Noah Gragson in 11th.
Turning to Atlanta, expect the JR Motorsports stable to contend this weekend in the Rinnai 250. Annett will be looking to become just the fourth driver in series history to win the first two races of the season joining Tony Stewart (2008), Chad Little (1995) and Dale Earnhardt (1986). Annett has made seven series starts at Atlanta posting an average finish of 16.2.
Allgaier has the most starts of the JR Motorsports drivers at Atlanta with eight, and during that time he grabbed one top five and four top 10s. His average finish is a team-best 12.0.
Sunoco Rookie Noah Gragson will be making his series track debut at Atlanta this weekend. Though the Las Vegas native has made two NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series starts at Atlanta, posting a runner-up finish last season.
Atlanta’s Brandon Jones races to the top of the Xfinity standings
Two solid stage runs, and a third-place finish has Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones on top of the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series standings following the season-opener at Daytona. Jones, an Atlanta native, has the wind in his sails as he heads home to defend his standings lead this weekend in the Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Jones is a mere six points ahead of second-place Ross Chastain and seven points ahead of third-place Michael Annett in the series driver points standings heading to Atlanta this weekend. Jones is coming off a great race in Daytona where finished fifth in the first stage, second in the second stage and third in the final stage, accumulating enough points to take the standings lead for the first time in his career.
Jones wasn’t the only Joe Gibbs Racing star to have a nice start to their season. Christopher Bell finished sixth at Daytona and is currently sixth in championship standings. Also, Jeffrey Earnhardt made his JGR debut in impressive fashion last weekend at Daytona, leading the second-most laps (29) behind race winner Michael Annett (45) and ultimately being shuffled to a 15th-place finish. Earnhardt is currently ninth in the series standings.
Brandon Jones has made three series starts at his home track, Atlanta Motor Speedway, posting an average finish of 14.0. Earnhardt has made two series starts at Atlanta, posting a best finish of 25th in 2014. Bell made his series track debut at Atlanta last season, starting on the pole, leading 12 laps and finishing third.
Ross Chastain raced his way to second in points following Daytona
After a one-race stint with the Kaulig Racing No. 10 team to start the season that has him sitting second in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver championship standings, Ross Chastain returns to JD Motorsport’s No. 4 Chevrolet Camaro team for this weekend’s Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Chastain’s performance in the season-opener at Daytona was just a continuation of his growth in talent on display for everyone to see. The Florida native actually finished 13th in the final stage, but he finished second in the first stage and won the second stage, giving him enough points to catapult ahead of some of the drivers who finished the race ahead of him. Now the Florida watermelon farmer is second in the Xfinity championship standings, the highest he has ever ranked in the series points.
Heading to Atlanta this weekend, Chastain will look to build on his early 2019 success. Chastain has made four series starts at Atlanta, posting his career-best finish of 16th last season.
RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg has strong start to 2019
Starting out the season on the right foot can be imperative with how close the competition is in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. That’s why RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg was so happy following his top-five finish this past weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
Leaving Daytona, Sieg is ranked seventh in the driver championship standings, which could have key championship implications down the road. Sieg has missed the Playoffs the past two seasons after making in the inaugural year in 2016.
Sieg has made five series starts at Atlanta, posting an average finish of 20.6.
GMS Racing’s John Hunter Nemechek comes out of the gate as the top Sunoco Rookie
Sunoco Rookie of the Year Standings
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Driver
Organization
Points
John H. Nemechek
GMS Racing
37
Justin Haley
Kaulig Racing
31
Noah Gragson
JR Motorsports
31
Chase Briscoe
Stewart-Haas Racing w/ Fred Biagi
25
Brandon Brown
Brandonbilt Motorsports
19
The 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year class has come out swinging this year and look to be a force to be reckoned with in the run for series title.
GMS Racing’s John Hunter Nemechek grabbed the first rookie of the race award this season as the highest finishing rookie in the season-opener at Daytona with an eighth-place result. Now Nemechek sits atop the 2019 rookie standings by six points ahead of second-place Justin Haley and third-place Noah Gragson as the series heads to Atlanta.
Nemechek made his Xfinity Series debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway last season, running up front for most of the day; starting third and finishing fourth.
As for the other four rookies, Chase Briscoe made his series track debut last season at Atlanta with a 15th-place finish. Brandon Brown made his series track debut in 2017, posting a 23rd-place finish. Both Gragson and Haley will be making their series track debuts this weekend in Atlanta.
New winners aplenty in the NASCAR Xfinity Series over last three seasons
One thing that the NASCAR Xfinity Series prides itself on is grooming the next wave of young talent. No stat proves that more than when the series ushers in new winners, and over the last three seasons the NASCAR Xfinity Series has seen a dozen first-time winners in the series – including Michael Annett’s big win last weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
Below is a look at the 12 new winners the series has seen over the last three seasons (2017-2019):
Season
First-Time Winner
Organization
2019
Michael Annett
JR Motorsports
2018
Chase Briscoe
Biagi-DenBeste Racing
2018
John H. Nemechek
Chip Ganassi Racing
2018
Ross Chastain
Chip Ganassi Racing
2018
Spencer Gallagher
GMS Racing
2017
Alex Bowman
Chip Ganassi Racing
2017
Christopher Bell
Joe Gibbs Racing
2017
Cole Custer
Stewart-Haas Racing
2017
Jeremy Clements
Jeremy Clements Racing
2017
Ryan Preece
Joe Gibbs Racing
2017
Tyler Reddick
Chip Ganassi Racing
2017
William Byron
JR Motorsports
Atlanta Motor Speedway has been the home to five first-time winners in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – Jeff Gordon (1992), Mike Skinner (1999), Jamie McMurray (2002) and Carl Edwards (2005).
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Georgia native Austin Hill one to watch
The season-opening race in Daytona saw a driver who many probably considered to be the underdog find his way to Victory Lane as Austin Hill captured his first career NASCAR national series win.
But the win was probably not as unexpected as one might think since he was in a Hattori Racing Enterprises truck that won six races and the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship in 2018 with then-driver Brett Moffitt.
And that means don’t count out Hill this weekend in Atlanta. Although his average finish at the 1.5-mile track is 16.0 (with a best of 12th in 2016), his current ride crossed the stripe first in this race last year – starting the remarkable season for the No. 16 Toyota.
For comparison’s sake, Hill’s best finish at Daytona before his breakthrough win on Friday was 11th.
Trio of previous winners on the Atlanta entry list
Last year’s defending Atlanta winner in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series returns to attempt another run at Victory Lane but will do so in a new ride. Brett Moffitt transitioned from Hattori Racing Enterprises to GMS Racing in the off-season and will compete in the No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado on Saturday in the Ultimate Tailgating 200 (at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Moffitt led just two laps in capturing his second career Truck Series win and first of six last season. Overall at Atlanta, Moffitt has made two series starts, finishing 11th in 2017 before last year’s victory.
The 2015 winner Matt Crafton may be the most eager to return to Victory Lane of the past victors in the field. Crafton is hoping to end the talk of his winless streak, which reaches back to Eldora in July of 2017.
Crafton has finished in the top 10 at Atlanta in five of his last six starts there, including that 2015 win and a fifth-place finish last year. Only a crash in 2016 that relegated him to a 30th-place finish puts a blemish on that streak.
Overall, Crafton has one win, six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in Atlanta.
Kyle Busch rounds out the list of returning race winners – and he comes back with four previous wins (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009). However, it’s been a decade since the Monster Energy Series star and Kyle Busch Motorsports owner has visited Victory Lane in Atlanta in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
Of note – Busch has finished in the top three in all but three of his 10 starts in Atlanta. His other finishes? An eighth-place effort in 2008, 26th in 2017, and then last year, he started on the pole but finished 21st.
DGR-Crosley looking for redemption in Atlanta
Natalie Decker’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series first race as a developmental driver for DGR-Crosley didn’t exactly go as planned at Daytona. The Wisconsin native qualified 11th for the race but her hopes for a dream debut went up in flames when a cut tire led to extensive damage and an end to her night on the first lap.
And her teammate and team owner David Gilliland faced an up-and-down night at Daytona, himself. He also suffered from a cut tire on the opening lap but rebounded for a 13th-place finish – despite being caught up in the “big one” late in the race.
Decker will be back behind the wheel of the No. 54 Toyota this weekend in Atlanta, but a new face – Anthony Alfredo – will pilot the No. 17 truck that Gilliland drove at Daytona.
The Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate, Anthony Alfredo, is looking to make his NASCAR national series debut in this weekend’s Ultimate Tailgating 200 (Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The 19-year-old NASCAR Next driver ran the full season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East last year – collecting four top fives and nine top 10s, including his first NASCAR win at South Boston.
He also had a pair of starts in the ARCA Menards Series last year, placing seventh in his series debut at Gateway Motorsports Park.
Current ThorSport contingent has dominant history at Atlanta
When Johnny Sauter joined the ThorSport Racing stable of drivers for 2019, it just helped to maintain the team’s stranglehold on excellence in the series – including at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
In 2018, ThorSport drivers finished fourth (Ben Rhodes), fifth (Matt Crafton), seventh (Myatt Snider) and ninth (Grant Enfinger) for an average finish of 6.25. Although Snider isn’t entered in this weekend’s race, Sauter helps up the average 2018 Atlanta finish of the team’s drivers entered in this year’s edition to 5.25 – as he placed third a year ago.
In 2017, the current roster of entered ThorSport drivers placed second (Crafton), third (Sauter, then with GMS Racing) and fourth (Ben Rhodes).
Crafton is the only member of the team who has won at Atlanta (2015), but Sauter has finished third in each of the last two years for his best finishes at the track.
Ben Rhodes has three starts at the 1.5-mile track, with a worst finish of sixth in his Atlanta debut in 2016. He’s finished fourth the last two trips to the track.
And Grant Enfinger also has raced three times at Atlanta – placing fifth in 2016 (for GMS Racing), eighth in 2017 and then ninth last year.
ThorSport’s four drivers also lead all active drivers in top fives at Atlanta – Crafton has tallied six while Sauter and Rhodes have two each.
Battling the Boss Man
Kyle Busch Motorsports rising stars Todd Gilliland in the No. 4 Toyota and Harrison Burton in the No. 18 Toyota will go up against their team owner, Kyle Busch. This weekend’s Ultimate Tailgating 200 will mark the first time Busch has faced off against his two young protégés in the same NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race.
Busch has raced against each driver twice in the past – and put on a clinic for them all four times. In fact, in three of the four races – he wound up in Victory Lane. The other race ended with a second-place finish.
Here’s the break-down of head-to-head battles between Busch and either Burton or Gilliland:
Martinsville, 2016
Kyle Busch – finished first
Harrison Burton – finished 22nd
Bristol, 2017
Kyle Busch – finished first
Harrison Burton – finished 18th
Charlotte, 2018
Kyle Busch – finished second
Todd Gilliland – finished 10th
Pocono, 2018
Kyle Busch- finished first
Todd Gilliland – finished seventh
Busch, who has 51 wins in 145 starts in the series, will pilot the No. 51 truck on Saturday evening.
NASCAR Next alumni Burton and Gilliland are still looking for their first NASCAR national series win. Burton is a contender for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year this season while Gilliland is entering his second full-time season. (He was only able to race in 19 of 23 series races last year, having had to miss four races on 1.5-mile or longer tracks early in the season before he turned 18-years old.)
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Etc.
Creed making track debut: 2018 ARCA Menards Series champion Sheldon Creed will be making his Atlanta Motor Speedway debut this weekend as ARCA does not visit Atlanta. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be a fish out of water, Creed had success at a 1.5-mile track last year, winning at Kansas. He also won at 2-mile-long Michigan.
Sunoco Rookie contenders: With just one race in the books, GMS Racing’s Sheldon Creed holds the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points lead over Young’s Motorsports driver Gus Dean (30-22). Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Harrison Burton trails with 21 points. Tyler Dippel, Natalie Decker, Anthony Alfredo and Tyler Ankrum have all also declared for Sunoco Rookie honors consideration.
Chastain pulling triple duty: Ross Chastain continues to be one of the busiest drivers in the NASCAR national series garages. Although he is running full-time, for points, in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, he is also planning to pull triple duty this weekend – competing in the No. 45 Chevrolet for Niece Motorsports in the Truck Series and the No. 15 Premium Motorsports car in the Monster Energy Series. Chastain persevered for a third-place finish in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series season-opener in Daytona last week.
Reaume putting together strong start to 2019: Just getting through the wrecks last week at Daytona was a tall task, but Josh Reaume was up to the challenge – and drove through to a sixth-place finish after starting last on the grid. That finish could be seen as a win for the fledgling Reaume Brothers Racing. Reaume is pulling an interesting sort of double-duty this year, as the mechanical engineer who graduated from the University of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada) is also serving as the crew chief on the No. 42 Motorsports Business Management entry driven by Chad Finchum in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
