Kurt Busch, who was suspended by NASCAR on Feb. 20, will actively pursue reinstatement. He agreed to NASCAR’s terms and conditions last Friday to begin the process.
Johnson started beyond 30th, as did 13 others who failed to even make it through tech inspection, never mind even attempting to qualify. Jeff Gordon failed four times.
Austin Dillon said at the beginning of the year that he wanted to be more aggressive and run towards the front to put himself into contention for the Championship. The sophomore competitor wouldn't get to do to that on Sunday as tire issues would plague his run towards the front of the field.
With drivers out of cars due to injury, surgery and suspension, there have been plenty of subs needed in just the first two events of the year. At Atlanta Motor Speedway, four sub-drivers took to the track and in the end, it was a rookie topping them in performance.
With several of the sport’s biggest names starting from the back of the field, from missing qualifying sessions to missing driver introductions, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 56th annual Folds of Honor Quicktrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Dave Elenz would make the right adjustments throughout Saturday afternoon and with the pit crew handing Harvick the lead off of the final round of pit stops, Harvick was able to hold off Joey Logano for the win. While it marks Harvick's 45th career XFINITY Series victory, it marks the first as a crew chief for Elenz.
Whether it's Jeff Gordon's farewell tour, domestic violence in the sport, driver safety, stolen race cars, or the qualifying fiascoes, the 2015 is quickly creating its own identity just two weeks into the eleven-month racing season.
This time, former champions could not get through inspection to qualify on Friday. Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, and Tony Stewart didn’t make the cut and will start far back in the field. Much of it had to do with camber, according to several sources. It seems that some teams were pushing the envelope.
Although it’s not uncommon for a race car to not get through pre-qualifying inspection on the first try, it is pretty uncommon for multiple race cars to miss qualifying.
Katherine Legge will make her first NASCAR Cup Series start of the 2026 season over Mother’s Day weekend, piloting the No. 78 e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevrolet for Live Fast Motorsports in the Go Bowling at The Glen event.
Select high quality, durable reflective tapes from reputable manufacturers like 3M, Avery Dennison, Oralite, or Nikkalite, and consider other reliable manufacturers such as Toptend
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. has been named as the Official Circuit Partner of NASCAR San Diego Weekend presented by Anduril and will serve as the naming rights partner of the soon-to-be constructed race track at Naval Base Coronado.
