The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Ambetter Health 400 on February 23 at 3 p.m. ET on FOX. Michael McDowell won the pole for last year’s race in February with a lap of 178.844 mph (30.999 secs.) and again for the September race with a lap of 179.267 mph (30.926 secs.).
In February of 2024, Daniel Suárez held off NASCAR Cup Series champions Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch to score a wild victory in the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta in a three-wide photo finish for the ages. He led twice for nine of the 260 laps, and Suárez emerged ahead of Blaney and Busch by a nose to claim his second NASCAR Cup Series career victory and snap a one-year winless drought.
In September 2024, Joey Logano qualified seventh and commenced the 2024 NCS Playoffs on a high note by fending off the field in overtime to win the Quaker State 400. Logano led twice for nine of 266 over-scheduled laps, held off the field on the race’s final two laps, and raced his way into the Playoff’s Round of 12. If Logano wins, it will be the first time a driver has won back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series events at the mile-and-a-half track since Jimmie Johnson did it in the fall race of 2015 and the spring race in 2016.
Track Information
Season Race #: 2 of 36 (February 23, 2025)
Race Name: Ambetter Health 400
Race Purse: $11,055,250
Track Size: 1.54-miles
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 28 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 28 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch & Backstretch: 5 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 2,332 feet
Backstretch Length: 1,800 feet
Race Length: 260 laps / 400 miles
Stage 1 Length: 60 Laps
Stage 2 Length: 100 Laps (Ends Lap 160)
Final Stage Length: 100 Laps (Ends Lap 260)
Who to look out for in Atlanta?
- Ryan Blaney: Driver Rating of 100.7, series-best, with one win, six top fives, and eight top 10s.
- Chase Elliott: Driver Rating of 93.2, fourth-best, with one win, two top fives, and eight top 10s.
- Denny Hamlin: Driver Rating of 92.8, fifth-best, with one win, six top fives, ten top 10s and one pole.
- Kyle Busch: Driver Rating of 92.7, sixth-best, with two wins, ten top fives, 15 top 10s and one pole.
- Brad Keselowski: Driver Rating of 90.1, seventh-best, with two wins, five top fives, and 11 top 10s.
- Joey Logano: Driver Rating of 88.0, eighth-best, with two wins, four top fives, eight top 10s and two poles.
- Kyle Larson: Driver Rating of 85.8, ninth-best, with two top fives, and four top 10s.
- Austin Cindric: Driver Rating of 84.4, 10th-best, with two top fives, and three top 10s.
- William Byron: Driver Rating of 82.8, 11th-best, with two wins, two top fives, and four top 10s.
- Alex Bowman: Driver Rating of 79.1, 12th-best, with three top fives, and four top 10s.
- Ty Gibbs: Driver Rating of 77.2, 13th-best, with two top 10s.
- Christopher Bell: Driver Rating of 75.1, 14th-best, with two top 10s.
In 14 starts at Atlanta in the NCS, Kyle Larson leads all active drivers in average starting position at 8.286. Joey Logano (2015 and 2023) and Michael McDowell (2024 sweep) also lead all active NCS drivers at Atlanta with two poles each.
Joey Logano, William Byron, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch all have two wins and lead the active drivers list for race winners at Atlanta.
Qualifying and Start Times
Qualifying will be held on Saturday, February 22nd, at 11:30 a.m. ET and the Ambetter Health 400 will start at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 23rd, on FOX, MAX, Performance Racing Network (PRN), and SIRIUS XM NASCAR channel 90.
The NASCAR Cup Series Driver Playoff Outlook Following Race No. 1 (Daytona)
| Rank | Driver | Points | Wins | Stages | Playoff Pts | Pts from Cutoff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Byron | 50 | 1 | 0 | 5 | In On Wins |
| 2 | Ryan Blaney | 51 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 30 |
| 3 | Austin Cindric | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
| 4 | Tyler Reddick | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| 5 | Alex Bowman | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| 6 | Chris Buescher | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| 7 | Erik Jones | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| 8 | Jimmie Johnson | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 9 | John H. Nemechek | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 10 | Chase Briscoe | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 11 | Chase Elliott | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 12 | Ty Dillon | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 13 | Daniel Suarez | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 14 | Michael McDowell | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 15 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 16 | Ty Gibbs | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
