NASCAR Cup Series

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Chase Elliott topped the chart in the final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Ford and Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski was a very vocal proponent of the new aero package instituted by NASCAR for 2017 which reduces the downforce on the race cars. Ford Performance caught up with Keselowski to discuss his thoughts after hitting the track in Atlanta under the new rules.

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Atlanta Motor Speedway has been dominated by a number of drivers over the years. There was Dale Earnhardt with nine wins, Bobby Labonte with six and Jeff Gordon with five. Now Jimmie Johnson owns the deed to the Hampton, Georgia facility.

This weekend all three NASCAR series head to Atlanta Motor Speedway culminating with Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. But did you know that this race will mark a milestone in the series as the 2,500th Cup race?

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Kevin Harvick will lead the field to the green flag in Sunday's Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Kevin Harvick claimed just his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway with a qualifying time of 29.118 Friday night.

KEVIN HARVICK (No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion) -- WALK THROUGH THAT FINAL ROUND QUALIFYING LAP. “Yeah, that was the best our car had been and for me the most comfortable because I could see where I was going into turn one.

Ryan Newman led the charge for Team Chevy in qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) laying down a lap of 29.199 seconds/189.870 mph in the final round of knock-out qualifying for Sunday’s Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race, the second event of the 2017 campaign. Newman leads all active drivers with seven career poles at the 1.5-mile, Hampton, Georgia track. The driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS led a contingent of five Bowtie branded drivers in the final qualifying order.

KEVIN HARVICK (No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion) - Qualified 1st “We have had two different styles of body on this chassis so I think that says a lot about our team. Rodney (Childers) and everybody on this No. 4 Jimmy John’s Busch Ford do a good job. We didn’t spend very much time at all on qualifying today."

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 2nd - WHEN WE’VE GOT DAYTONA BEHIND US AND YOU’VE GOT SPEED AT ATLANTA, HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL ABOUT THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS? “’Well, it’s big. I’m just proud of everybody at RCR and ECR with this Caterpillar Chevrolet. We were so close. I really wanted to beat my old buddy, Buddy Baker’s record there. Been tied with him for a while so that was kind of rough. But I’m just proud of the guys and proud of the effort. It is the litmus test for us for a lot of the rest of the season. It was a good start for sure.”