Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway Competition Notes
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (February 22, 2024) – The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Peach State and the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Showing much improvement with the new Ford Mustang Dark Horse, both Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland proved they are a force to be reckoned with at high speed, drafting tracks.
McDowell and Gilliland look to make up lost points after their finish in Monday’s Daytona 500, using the same drafting techniques to secure stage points and hopefully the win. McDowell returns to the 1.5-mile track after a fourth-place finish last summer, his best finish at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Gilliland will make his fifth career start at the track, building on momentum after leading a career-high 16 laps last week.
Track activity will begin with qualifying on Saturday, February 24th at 11:30 a.m. ET. The Ambetter Health 400 will take place Sunday, February 25 at 3:00 p.m. ET and will be televised live on FOX. Fans can also listen in on the action live from Sirius XM and the Performance Racing Network.
No. 34 Benebone Ford Mustang Dark Horse:
DRIVER MICHAEL MCDOWELL:
“I’ve always believed being up front is best in these races. We just need to have a great handling Benebone Ford Mustang Dark Horse, because you need to be able to make moves. With the racing grooves, you must be fast and handle well in both, and that’s what we’ve been working on for this weekend and hope we can run up front.”
CREW CHIEF TRAVIS PETERSON:
“We are looking forward to rebounding at Atlanta, we had a great finish in the second race there last year and showed a lot of speed in Daytona before our issues. The team has built just as good of a car for this weekend, and we expect to be able to run up front again. Hopefully we can stay up front and avoid any issues that take us out of the race, the front is the safest place to be.”
No. 38 Georgia Peanuts Ford Mustang Dark Horse:
DRIVER TODD GILLILAND:
“I’m excited for Atlanta, especially after leading laps at Daytona. I get to carry that momentum from the (Daytona) 500 to another high-speed, drafting track. I know Ryan (Bergenty) and the team will bring me a fast Georgia Peanuts Ford Mustang Dark Horse, I just have to go out there and execute.”
CREW CHIEF RYAN BERGENTY:
“Drafting plays a big role in Atlanta just like it did at Daytona. Todd (Gilliland) showed that he can be trusted as a drafting partner at these high-speed, high-stress tracks and proved that he deserves to be up front. I liked what we had in Daytona, but unfortunately got caught up in the “Big One”. We’ll make up for it this weekend.”
ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The team is the 2021 Daytona 500 and 2022 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series team from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.
