ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY (1.54-MILE OVAL)
LOCATION: HAMPTON, GEORGIA
EVENT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 2 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 1 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, MARCH 1 (FOX/PRN RADIO)
No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS / Kasey Kahne
Driver Kasey Kahne Hometown Enumclaw, Washington
Age 34 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2015 Season
9th in standings
1 start
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
0 laps led
Career
397 starts
17 wins
26 pole positions
83 top-five finishes
147 top-10 finishes
4,541 laps led
Atlanta Career
18 starts
3 wins
2 pole positions
7 top-five finishes
9 top-10 finishes
353 laps led
Kasey Kahne will be available to members of the media in the Atlanta Motor Speedway media center on Friday at 12 p.m. ET.
SEASON-TO-DATE: After the Daytona 500, Kasey Kahne currently ranks second in green-flag speed, second in quality passes (379), fifth in fastest drivers late in a run, fifth in fastest speed in traffic, sixth in laps in top 15 (183), sixth in average running position (9.143), seventh in driver rating (104.5) and 10th in fastest drivers early in a run.
THREE-TIME ATLANTA WINNER: Kahne has earned a total of three Sprint Cup wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which ranks as his second-best track in career wins. In 2006, he started from the pole position, led 85 laps and crossed the finish line as the winner. Kahne’s second victory at the 1.54-mile track happened in 2009, when he led a total of 60 laps. In August 2014, Kahne earned his third straight Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup appearance with Hendrick Motorsports – the fifth of his career – after leading 25 laps and winning at Atlanta.
ATLANTA LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR loop data, during the last 16 Sprint Cup Series races at Atlanta, Kahne ranks eighth in laps led (349). His 252 fastest laps run there rank him seventh among the competition.
INTERMEDIATE STATS: Kahne has collected 10 of his 17 career Cup wins and 15 of his 26 pole positions at oval tracks one-to-two miles in length. In 191 starts on these tracks, he has posted 44 top-five finishes and 75 top-10 finishes.
ATLANTA CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew chief Keith Rodden has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-911 for Sunday’s race. Kahne last drove the car to a 10th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October 2014.
No. 24 3M Chevrolet SS / Jeff Gordon
Driver Jeff Gordon Hometown Pittsboro, Indiana
Age 43 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2015 Season
28th in standings
1 start
0 wins
1 pole position
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
87 laps led
Career
762 starts
92 wins
78 pole positions
320 top-five finishes
454 top-10 finishes
24,751 laps led
Atlanta Career
41 starts
5 wins
2 pole positions
16 top-five finishes
26 top-10 finishes
1,297 laps led
Jeff Gordon will be available to members of the media in the Atlanta Motor Speedway media center on Friday at 3:15 p.m. ET.
FIRSTS AT ATLANTA: On March 14, 1992, Jeff Gordon won from the pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway to capture his first ever NASCAR victory in what is now known as the XFINITY Series. His first start in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series occurred at Atlanta in the 1992 season finale, which also marked Richard Petty’s final race. Gordon also clinched his first Cup Series championship at Atlanta in the final race of 1995.
20TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST ATLANTA VICTORY: On March 12, 1995, Gordon led 250 of 328 laps to capture his first Atlanta Motor Speedway victory at the Sprint Cup level.
THIRD ALL-TIME WITH 85TH AT ATLANTA: Gordon’s 85th career Cup victory occurred at the Georgia track on Sept. 6, 2011. That win moved the No. 24 Chevrolet SS driver into sole possession of third all-time in career Sprint Cup victories.
ACTIVE ATLANTA LEADER: The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion leads active drivers in top-five finishes, top-10 finishes and laps led in 41 Cup starts at the 1.54-mile track.
ATLANTA CHASSIS: Crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 24-914 for Sunday’s race. The chassis has been raced once, with Gordon leading 161 laps from the pole position en route to a 10th-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2014.
No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS / Jimmie Johnson
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 39 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2015 Season
5th in standings
1 start
0 wins
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
1 top-10 finish
39 laps led
Career
472 starts
70 wins
33 pole positions
194 top-five finishes
293 top-10 finishes
17,190 laps led
Atlanta Career
23 starts
3 wins
0 pole positions
12 top-five finishes
14 top-10 finishes
440 laps led
JOHNSON AT ATLANTA: Johnson has a few series bests at Atlanta. He owns the series-best average running position (9.1), the series-best average green flag speed of 171.523 mph and the series-high laps in the top 15 with 4,381 or 84 percent. Johnson also has the second-best driver rating at the 1.54-mile track with a 104.9.
ATLANTA CHASSIS: For the race in Atlanta, Knaus selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 48-910, which is the Chevrolet SS Johnson raced to victory at Texas in November 2014. The backup car is No. 48-824, which last saw action at Pocono in June.
NATIONAL ENGINEERS WEEK: This week marks National Engineers Week. The purpose of National Engineers Week is to call attention to the contributions to society made by engineers. Team Lowe’s Racing welcomes new engineers to the No. 48 team this season: Chais Eliason, who attended Michigan Technological University; Cliff Daniels, who attended University of North Carolina at Charlotte; and Julian Pena, who attended Stanford University. All three engineers have degrees in Mechanical Engineering.
FOURTEEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY: Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus, car chief Ron Malec and sponsor Lowe’s will celebrate their 14th full season together as a team. Lowe’s is currently the longest-running primary sponsor in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The sponsor-driver-team combination came together for Johnson’s rookie year in 2002.
No. 88 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet SS / Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hometown Kannapolis, North Carolina
Age 40 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2015 Season
3rd in standings
1 start
0 wins
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
1 top-10 finish
32 laps led
Career
542 starts
23 wins
13 pole positions
128 top-five finishes
225 top-10 finishes
7,879 laps led
Atlanta Career
27 starts
1 win
2 pole positions
8 top-five finishes
12 top-10 finishes
632 laps led
POINTS REPORT: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet SS, ranks third in the driver standings. He trails leader Joey Logano by five points after finishing third in the season-opening Daytona 500.
KELLEY BLUE BOOK: Kelley Blue Book, the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry, will adorn the hood of Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevrolet SS this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
PERSONAL BEST: Earnhardt’s two pole positions at Atlanta tie his personal best at a track. He holds the same number at Michigan International Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. His average finish of 12.3 at Atlanta is his best at any track.
CHASSIS CHOICE: This weekend, crew chief Greg Ives and the No. 88 team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-920. This is a brand new chassis that has not been raced.
Hendrick Motorsports
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT ATLANTA: Hendrick Motorsports has 12 wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which ranks the organization second all-time. Kahne most recently won for Hendrick Motorsports at the 1.54-mile oval in 2014, assuring all four of the organization’s drivers a place in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup for the third consecutive season.
SIX DRIVERS FIND VICTORY LANE AT ATLANTA: Car owner Rick Hendrick’s first Atlanta Motor Speedway Sprint Cup win came on March 19, 1989, with driver Darrell Waltrip. The organization has posted Atlanta victories with six different drivers: Waltrip, Ken Schrader (1991), Gordon (five wins), Jerry Nadeau (2000), Johnson (three wins) and Kahne (2014).
ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 231 victories, 201 pole positions, 944 top-five finishes and 1,565 top-10 finishes in Sprint Cup competition. Its teams have led 63,999 laps since 1984.
NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHED: In time for the new NASCAR season, Hendrick Motorsports has re-launched its official website. HendrickMotorsports.com, which has presenting sponsorship from Bank of America, includes fresh team pages, an updated schedule area, responsive design and a completely revamped content platform. The organization has invested heavily in its digital programs in recent years. In 2013, the team opened a new studio to bolster its in-house video production capabilities and launched the Digital Dashboard social media command center. It also has added dedicated personnel and forged partnerships that support digital efforts with state-of-the-art equipment and advanced analytics.
QUOTABLE /
“I love racing at Atlanta. I won my first ever Busch (now XFINITY) Series race there and it was also the site of my very first Sprint Cup Series start more than 22 years ago. We’ve won races and clinched championships there.
“Atlanta Motor Speedway holds a special place in my heart.”
Jeff Gordon on Atlanta Motor Speedway –
“Running fifth at Daytona was a great way to start the season for this Lowe’s team. It was a great effort from everyone at Hendrick Motorsports for all of Speedweeks. I hate we didn’t come out of there with a trophy, but we put on a good show. We’re looking forward to the test session on Thursday at Atlanta and seeing what we have for the 2015 season.”
Jimmie Johnson on starting the season with a top-five finish
“We had a really fast car — maybe the best car here. So I had a lot of confidence to keep digging and we got some of those spots back. Just a little disappointed I let the guys down. We should have won the race.”
“We are ready to go to Atlanta. It’s going to be a fun year.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his top-five finish at Daytona
TRENDING /
Had a great time today flying with the @afthunderbirds. I have always wanted to see what it would feel like to be in something so fast and demanding.
@KaseyKahne via Instagram
2/18/15
I have the best sponsor. Ever.
@JimmieJohnson via Twitter
2/20/15 at 6:19 p.m.
