Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sunday, March 20, 2022
1.54-Mile Oval
3:00 PM ET
Location: Atlanta
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (5 of 36)
Radio: SiriusXM, PRN
5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 29 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 4th
No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
HOME RACE: While the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will carry the familiar blue and white livery at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson and the team will wear their “home” white uniforms for the first time in 2022. Home races occur in markets where there are Hendrick Automotive Group dealerships nearby, and the Atlanta area is home to nine of them, which ranks it as the company’s second-largest market behind Charlotte, North Carolina. Atlanta Motor Speedway offered a special ticket package to area Hendrick Automotive Group employees, meaning more No. 5 teammates will be on site for their home race. Be sure to follow Hendrick Automotive Group’s social media channels for giveaways and visit HendrickCars.com to view the complete home and away schedule.
LEADER OF THE PACK: Sunday’s race will be held on the newly reconfigured 1.5-mile Atlanta track that now has 28 degrees of banking in the turns, which is four more degrees of banking than past years. In March 2021 on the old configuration, Larson led 269 of 325 laps but was passed with nine to go and finished second. During his championship run in 2021, Larson set the record for most laps led on 1.5-mile tracks during a season with 1,317. The rest of the field combined to lead only 20 more laps (1,337).
A TRIO: Larson has led at least one lap in all four races this year, making him one of only three drivers to do so. The other two are Ryan Blaney and Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron.
IT’S 14 AND COUNTING: Larson has led at least one lap in the last 14 Cup Series races – more than double his previous best of six in a row. Only two Hendrick Motorsports drivers have posted longer streaks: Jeff Gordon in 1995 (19) and Geoff Bodine in 1986 (17).
TWO IN ’22: In February, Larson won the 400-mile event at Auto Club Speedway for his first victory of the 2022 season. Along with a runner-up finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Elk Grove, California, native has posted top-two finishes in two of four events held in 2022. Since joining Hendrick Motorsports last year, Larson has finished first or second 18 times in 40 Cup starts (45 percent).
TWENTY-SOMETHINGS: The last 10 Cup Series races have all been won by drivers under the age of 30 – the longest streak ever in NASCAR’s top division. Larson is responsible for five of those victories: Auto Club Speedway this year and Phoenix Raceway, Texas Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway and the Charlotte ROVAL in 2021.
9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 26 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 3rd
No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Georgia native Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media in the Atlanta Motor Speedway media center on Saturday, March 19, at 11:45 a.m. ET.
PEACH STATE PERFORMANCE: Chase Elliott has made 11 total starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway across NASCAR’s top-three levels – seven in the Cup Series, two in the Xfinity Series and two in the Camping World Truck Series – and finished outside the top 10 only three times. The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet has five total top-10s in the Cup Series at the Georgia track, including a seventh-place run in the series’ most recent visit there last year.
1.5-MILE TRACK STATS: On Sunday, Elliott will make his 67th start on a 1.5-mile track in the NASCAR Cup Series. In his previous 66 races, he has led 842 laps and captured wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. Along with two victories, Elliott has collected 22 top-five finishes – including eight runner-up results – and 36 top-10s on 1.5-milers. His average finish of 12.55 on 1.5-mile tracks is second-best among active drivers.
KEEP THE STREAK ALIVE: Elliott has tied his longest active streak of top-10 results on 1.5-mile tracks. Presently, he has seven consecutive top-10s on mile-and-a-half venues dating back to the 2021 spring event at Kansas Speedway.
FIRE UP THE SI-REEN: On Sunday, Elliott could become just the second Georgia-born driver to win a Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, joining his father, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, who won five times at the track.
AG IN GA: This weekend, No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 25th Cup Series race at Atlanta. The veteran has one win at the track, which he earned with NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon. Gordon led 146 of 325 laps en route to the victory in 2011.
GEORGIA PROUD: In addition to Elliott hailing from Dawsonville, Georgia, which is just 83 miles north of Atlanta Motor Speedway, No. 9 team partners NAPA AUTO PARTS, Hooters and Kelley Blue Book all have major presences in the area. NAPA is Elliott’s primary sponsor this weekend, and Kelley Blue Book, a Cox Automotive company, will make its season debut in April at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hooters will have its first appearance as the No. 9’s primary sponsor later this year at World Wide Technology Raceway. All three are headquartered in Atlanta.
A SHOC ENERGY DAYTONA RACE EXPERIENCE: A SHOC Energy is giving fans the opportunity to win a VIP trip to the Cup Series race at Daytona on Saturday, Aug. 27. One grand prize winner and guest will receive flight and hotel accommodations, tickets to the regular-season finale and a $500 Visa gift card. The sweepstakes is open now through July 15 and fans can enter by texting “ASHOCTRIP” to 97579.
24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 24 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 15th
No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
WEST COAST COMPLETE: William Byron picked up where he left off last week, showing speed and qualifying third for Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway. The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet ran in the top five for the majority of stage one before taking the lead and scoring his first stage win of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. Byron continued to run up front throughout stage two of the 312-lap event but faded to an 18th-place finish. However, with a solid day in points, Byron jumped to 15th in the driver standings.
LEADING THE CHARGE: So far in the 2022 Cup Series season, only three drivers have led laps in all four events: Byron, Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney. Byron has led the field in his No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 a collective 37 laps this year. In fact, the streak of four consecutive races is tied for Byron’s second-longest streak in his Cup career. In 2019, he led laps in seven consecutive races.
1.5-MILE MOMENTUM: Byron is no stranger to success on mile-and-a-half tracks during his Cup Series career. In 2021, he picked up the win at the third race of the year at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He went on to collect seven top-10 finishes across nine races on 1.5-mile tracks throughout the season – tied for the second-most behind only Kyle Busch (eight). Byron scored 370 points on 1.5-mile tracks in 2021 – the third-most behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Larson (440) and Busch (381). This season, the Cup Series has raced at one 1.5-mile track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Byron scored a top-five finish. Heading into Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Byron is on a streak of three consecutive top-10 finishes at 1.5-mile tracks – tied for the third longest streak currently.
THE ATL ARCHIVE: With five previous Cup Series starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Byron had his best run at the track in the spring of 2021, starting in the ninth position and racing to an eighth-place finish. Other than his five Cup Series starts, Byron has two other NASCAR starts at the 1.5-mile venue including one in the NASCAR Xfinity Series where he finished seventh, the third-highest of the series regulars. He also has one start at Atlanta in the NASCAR Camping World Series in 2016 when he was running second before losing an engine, leaving him with a 32nd-place finish.
RUDY RUNS THE ATL: While crew chief Rudy Fugle has two previous Cup Series starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he finds himself on an even playing field thanks to a newly configured racetrack. In his previous Cup Series starts there, Fugle has one top-10 finish. He has six Truck Series appearances at Atlanta, which include two pole awards and two wins. His drivers have collected four top-three finishes in six events, along with five top-10s. Fugle only has one finish worse than seventh at Atlanta, which came with Byron in 2016 when the duo was running second before suffering an engine failure.
BACK TO THE ROOTS: Going back to his racing roots, Byron will once again climb behind the wheel of the No. 24 super late model for Wilson Motorsports – this time for the Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway on March 19. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native raced the car earlier this year at New Smyrna Speedway where he scored two wins in three starts. This weekend’s race at Hickory will be available for pay-per-view on RacingAmerica.com.
LIBERTY U IS BACK: On Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Byron will sport his new Liberty University paint scheme for the first time in 2022. Featuring a white base with navy flames and red accents, the Liberty University No. 24 will stand out on track. Liberty University has a long history with Byron starting back in 2014 in the late model ranks. The school has been Training Champions for Christ since it was founded in 1971. Located in the mountains of Central Virginia, Liberty is a liberal arts institution with 17 colleges and schools offering more than 600 degree programs from the certificate to the doctoral level on campus and online. Working on an undergraduate degree in strategic communication, Byron is now in his junior year at Liberty University through its online program. For a better look at the new Liberty University paint scheme, click here.
48 Alex Bowman
Age: 28 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Greg Ives
Standings: 11th
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
HOTLANTA: Alex Bowman has recorded top-five finishes in the last two NASCAR Cup Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He secured a third-place result in March 2021 and picked up a fourth-place finish in July. Bowman also has two straight top-fives at Dover Motor Speedway and the Charlotte ROVAL.
PAVE THE WAY: On Sunday, Bowman will take on the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway for the first time. With a track layout similar to that of a superspeedway, he will lean on his history at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The 28-year-old driver has 25 starts at both venues with one top-five finish (Talladega in April 2019), six top-10s and two pole positions. Bowman has also started on the front row in the DAYTONA 500 five consecutive times.
CASHING IT IN: Last time Bowman and the No. 48 Ally Racing team competed at a 1.5-mile venue, the Tucson, Arizona, native, won the first stage and led 16 laps, including the final three circuits in overtime en route to his first win of the 2022 Cup Series season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The win all but secured his spot in the Cup Series playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.
BOWMAN ON 1.5-MILERS: Bowman will make his 49th start on a 1.5-mile track Sunday at Atlanta. In his previous races, the No. 48 driver has amassed two wins (Las Vegas and Chicagoland Speedway), 10 top-five finishes, 20 top-10s, four stage wins, and 477 laps led.
NO. 48 TEAM ON PIT ROAD: The No. 48 Ally Racing pit crew currently has an average pit stop time of 12.3 seconds, placing them seventh-fastest of all teams on pit road. Its fastest stop came at Auto Club Speedway where the five-man team clocked a 10.7-second stop, which is ninth-best overall in 2022. The No. 48 pit crew includes fueler Jacob Conley, tire carrier Allen Stallings, jackman Eric Ludwig, and tire changers Scott Brzozowski (front) and Devin DelRicco (rear).
IVES AT ATLANTA: On Sunday, Greg Ives will make his ninth Atlanta start as a Cup Series crew chief. He has earned an average finish of 11.1 there with four top-five results and four top-10s. Ives also has called two Atlanta races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, notching one top-five finish, two top-10s and a pole position (Chase Elliott in 2014).
ATL LEADERS: Hendrick Motorsports goes into Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway within striking distance of a track record. If the team leads 67 laps at the 1.5-mile venue, it will pass Wood Brothers Racing for the most laps led there in the NASCAR Cup Series. Hendrick Motorsports has led 3,341 laps at Atlanta.
HUNDY: With a track record of 97 top-10 finishes at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports is three away from hitting its milestone 100th there. The team has earned more than 100 top-10s at eight different racetracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
SEVENTH HEAVEN: Six drivers have contributed to Hendrick Motorsports’ all-time record 14 victories at Atlanta, tying the organization with the Wood Brothers for the most different race winners at the track. Each of the four current Hendrick Motorsports drivers are seeking their first Atlanta win.
ON THIS DATE: Hendrick Motorsports won the most recent Cup Series race held on March 20. In 2016 at Auto Club Speedway, seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson earned his 77th victory to break a tie with Dale Earnhardt Sr. and move to seventh on the all-time wins list.
WINNER WINNER: Since the beginning of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Hendrick Motorsports has won 19 points-paying races. During that period, all other teams combined have posted 21 victories.
WE’RE STREAKING: Hendrick Motorsports has led in each of the last 29 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races. The team holds the all-time record for the most consecutive Cup races led at 74, which occurred between 2007 and 2009. It also holds the series’ second-longest streak of 55 that happened from 1995 to 1997.
100K MILESTONE: Since Hendrick Motorsports was founded in 1984, it has led a record 98,714.97 miles in points-paying Cup Series races. The team is less than 1,286 miles from hitting 100,000 laps led at NASCAR’s top level. Last season, Hendrick Motorsports led 5662.77 miles. Through four races in 2022, it has led 257.5 miles.
QUOTABLE /
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on new track configuration preparation: “I haven’t been able to really prepare yet. We just got done with the West Coast swing and I did the Goodyear tire test at Darlington on Tuesday. I don’t know what to expect other than it’s going to be a lot narrower than before. We’ll definitely learn a lot during our practice on Friday.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on superspeedway-style racing at Atlanta: “We’re looking heavily at what we learned at Daytona earlier this year, and there was a team test and wheel-force test in Atlanta since the repave. You can’t expect it to be like a normal intermediate track-type race. I don’t have a great feel for how practice on Friday is going to go. I don’t know if teams will do single-car runs or if there will be drafting packs. I think the race on Sunday will start out looking like a superspeedway race. But because of the tighter corner radius compared to Daytona and Talladega, there is going to be much more of a requirement for the car to handle well, and that could lead to the pack breaking up and it becoming more of an intermediate track race.”
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the start of the 2022 season with the new car: “We haven’t lit the world on fire by any means, but we’ve had a couple strong runs. We were good out in California and pretty solid on Sunday in Phoenix. It’s been kind of hit or miss, unfortunately, but we’re learning a lot and we’re heading in a solid direction. We’ve been just trying to piece together the direction that we need to go, like a lot of people as we’re learning this car. I think everyone is questioning a little bit which way you need to go at some of these tracks. Once we all figure out what’s right, it’s going to become very difficult to be different. Everybody is working in such a tight box, probably a tighter box than ever, so you’re going to have to be really diligent and make sure you’re trying to fine tune those super-minute feelings and changes in the car to make a difference because it’s going to be hard to find them as time goes. It will be interesting to see how the season changes as we all get more time with this car.”
Elliott on the changes made to Atlanta Motor Speedway: “I’ve told a lot of people I’m excited about it, and I actually am. I’m not sugar coating that. I think it has an opportunity to be something good. It was time for a change at Atlanta. I think that the track was fun for us drivers and it ran its course, and it was time to do something different, so I’m all for it. It’s an opportunity for a new era down there and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on moving on from the West Coast swing to Atlanta: “It’s nice for the team guys that the West Coast swing is over. They’ve been working especially hard. They’ve been working late hours in the shop and then with the time changes it made it even harder on them, but they also made sure we showed up with fast cars. It’s nice that we have this week to try to regroup some before Atlanta and be back on a normal schedule, especially with how much of a question this weekend will be. I don’t know what to expect of the reconfiguration. It’s a question mark at this point. If it races how we’re anticipating, I’m thinking it will be similar to a truck race at Michigan with how drafting will play a factor, but passing will be at a minimum. Thankfully, we’ll have a full practice session to get up to speed.”
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on adjusting to how the Next Gen car races: “Everything is new. Last year with it being my first year in Cup and at Hendrick Motorsports, I could hold a pre-race meeting on a Wednesday and could pretty much predict what was going to happen on a Saturday or a Sunday depending on the weekend because everything was the same. You knew just about how the car was going to handle and how you were going to approach it. We could study what lane you would want to be in for the restarts. Do you want inside or outside if you’re in a certain position? We knew tire fall-off, which meant you knew how many times you were going to pit in each stage. We talked about all those things during the week. This year we can’t have those conversations at all until at least Saturday when have a little bit of information to go off of. Then the race starts and it all just changes so quickly. Everything you thought may happen doesn’t happen in most cases. We have to utilize all of the great engineering support we have from back at Hendrick Motorsports and also from Chevrolet to keep up with things as they go to make the best calls in the moment.”
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on how he will prepare for the new surface at Atlanta: “I think that the new surface is going to provide its own challenges. The old surface had a lot of character, and you could manipulate the race car around certain lines and bumps. I didn’t do the test there earlier this year, so I will have to go back and read through what the guys who tested there thought of the track. I know our team is going to work super hard to put us in the best position to go out and run well. We just have to be dialed in and use our time during practice the best we can to get ready for Sunday.”
Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on how the repave impacts the team’s approach to Atlanta: “Atlanta has always been a fun racetrack to go to because you knew what to expect. There were always a lot of pit stops because of how much the tires wore off and you didn’t really have to worry about fuel mileage, you could run all over the racetrack. With the new configuration, there are a lot of question marks around the event. I still think it is going to be a fun racetrack to be at, but will it be speedway-style where you still have to focus on downforce? I am not sure. How much will the tires fall off? I don’t think it will be a lot, and now fuel strategy might come into play, but we won’t know until we get there. Add in the double-yellow-line rule and there are just a lot of unknowns, and hopefully the rain holds off so we can figure it all out on Friday.”
