NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Overview: Event: Fr8 208, Race 3 of 23, 134 Laps – 30/30/75; 207.9 Miles Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile quad-oval) Date/Broadcast: March 18, 2023, at 2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
Get to Know Jack:
Jack Wood will make his second start for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) behind the wheel of the No. 51 Logitech Chevrolet in Saturday’s Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Wood finished 13th last year in his lone Truck Series start at the Georgia track.
The Atlanta race will be part of a 13-race schedule for Wood who qualified third in his KBM debut at Daytona International Speedway but was relegated to a 27th-place finish in the rain shortened-event after his team was employing a strategy of riding near the back of the field to avoid the wrecks that Daytona is notorious for in the early part of the Final Stage. The plan was working as he missed two big accidents at the beginning of the stage, but unfortunately rain rolled into the area and brought out red-flag conditions and the race never went back to green-flag conditions.
Logitech G will be the primary sponsor on Wood’s No. 51 this weekend at Atlanta. Logitech G, a brand of Logitech, is a global leader dedicated to serving the needs of Gamers and Creators with award-winning hardware, software, and solutions. Logitech G’s industry-leading products include keyboards, mice, headsets, mousepads, simulation products such as wheels and flight sticks, webcams, lights and microphones, and specialized furniture solutions; all made possible through innovative design, advanced technologies and a deep passion for gaming and creator communities.
Wood will be looking to etch his mark in the KBM historical archives this weekend at Atlanta as he looks to collect the organization’s 100th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory. KBM-owner driver Kyle Busch collected the KBM’s record-extending 99th-career victory with his dominant victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway leaving his organization one shy of the century mark. William Byron collected KBM’s record-breaking 51st Truck Series victory in July of 2016. Overall, 18 different drivers have won at least race behind the wheel of a KBM truck, led by Busch’s 47. Four drivers rank second on the list with seven victories: Byron, Christopher Bell, Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek. Four of KBM’s wins have come at Atlanta Motor Speedway, most recently with first-time winner Corey Heim in last year’s event. Heim’s win, along with Busch’s win in 2022, both came with the same chassis that Wood will pilot on Saturday, KBM-66.
In addition to his time behind the wheel of the No. 51 Silverado in the Truck Series, Wood is running a part-time schedule for Rev Racing in the ARCA Menards Series. The 22-year-old driver qualified second in his most recent outing at Phoenix Raceway and was battling for the lead just past the halfway point when he got tagged from behind and sent crashing into the outside wall. With severe damage he was unable to continue and relegated to a 28th-place finish. Wood also piloted the No. 6 Chevrolet in the ARCA season opener at Daytona where he came from the 36th starting spot to finish eighth.
Veteran crew chief Brian Pattie will call the shots for the No. 51 team this year in his first season at KBM after spending the last 14 seasons atop the pit box in the NASCAR Cup Series. It took the veteran signal caller just two races to get his first win at KBM, winning with KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In the Cup Series, his drivers produced six wins, nine poles, 57 top-five and 131 top-10 finishes across 528 starts. In 2012, he guided Clint Bowyer to three victories and a runner-up finish in the Cup Series championship standings. In 2017, he guided Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to two wins and a berth in the playoffs. The Florida native has also recorded 11 wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and he now has two wins as a crew chief in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Pattie’s drivers have recorded two top-five and three top-10 finishes across 18 starts in Cup Series action at Atlanta. He won an Xfinity Series race with Joe Nemechek driving in March of 2001. This will be his first race atop the pit box for a Truck Series event at Atlanta.
KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch returns to the No. 51 Zariz Transport Silverado March 25 at Circuit of the Americas for his second of his five starts this season. It was also announced recently that William Byron will run the No. 51 HendrickCars.com Silverado for three races, beginning April 8 at the Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Jack Wood, Driver Q&A: Jack Wood | Atlanta Motor Speedway Preview Will having a strong qualifying run and good speed in the ARCA race at Phoenix give you a confidence boost getting into the truck at Atlanta? “Yeah, for sure. I think that was one of the biggest reasons for us for to go and run ARCA this year was to just kind of build confidence back up. I think that it will translate over to the truck for sure.”
Do you like the new style of racing at Atlanta? “It’s fun. Looking at the race from last year, all the KBM trucks were really, really fast, so if we do get a chance to qualify I think we’ll be at the front of the field will help us out. I think it will be a fun race, but you just have to be smart and stay out of the stuff the same way Corey (Heim) did last year and just kind of be there at the end.”
Do you think that the style of racing will change at all going back for a second year on the new surface? “I don’t know. It’ll be curious going back to the track for a second time and how much the asphalt has changed over a year with all the weather in Atlanta these past 12 months. I think it will race pretty similar – probably have a little less grip If I had to guess, but I think it will be pretty much the same race that we saw last year.”
Jack Wood Career Highlights:
Has produced one top-10 finish across 36 career starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Posted a series-best 10th-place finish in August of 2021 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
Has compiled five laps led, one top-five and five top-10 finishes across 11 career ARCA Menards Series events.
Has totaled one top-five and four top-10 finishes across nine ARCA Menards East Series races.
Has totaled two top-five and seven top-10 finishes across 10 career starts in the ARCA Menards West Series.
Compiled one top-five and three top-10 finishes across 24 starts in the SRL Spears Southwest Tour from 2017 to 2021.
Jack Wood’s No. 51 Logitech Chevrolet Silverado RST:
KBM-66: The No. 51 Logitech team will unload KBM-66 for Saturday’s race at Atlanta. This chassis has been victorious in the last two Truck Series events at Atlanta, winning with Corey Heim last year and with KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch in 2021. Heim compiled an average finish of 4.7 with KBM-66 across his four starts last season, all results of seventh-place or better. It most recently finished seventh with Heim in the 2022 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
KBM Notes of Interest:
KBM drivers have collected four wins, two poles, 743 laps led, 12 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.5 across 29 starts at Atlanta. Corey Heim edged out his KBM teammate Chandler Smith for the victory last year, KBM Owner-driver Kyle Busch has two wins (2019 and 2021), while Christopher Bell brought home the trophy in 2017.
KBM holds the Craftsman Truck Series records for most career wins (99) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway last year, Corey Heim became the 18th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
With 40 victories, the No. 51 is the winningest number in KBM’s Truck Series fleet.
NASCAR Cup Series Next Race: Ambetter Health 400 The Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway The Date: Sunday, March 19 The Time: 3 p.m. ET The Purse: $8,725,965 TV: FOX, 2 p.m. ET Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 400 miles (260 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 260)
NASCAR Xfinity Series Next Race: RAPTOR King of Tough 250 The Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway The Date: Saturday, March 18 The Time: 5 p.m. ET The Purse: $1,274,624 TV: FS1, 4 p.m. ET Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 251.02 miles (163 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 40), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 80), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 163)
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Next Race: Fr8 208 The Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway The Date: Saturday, March 18 The Time: 2 p.m. ET The Purse: $673,693 TV: FS1, 1 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 207.9 miles (135 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 135)
NASCAR Cup Series
Red Hot William Byron heads to Atlanta looking for third straight victory in 2023
The last two NASCAR Cup Series races have seen cautions in the final laps giving Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron the last chance opportunities he needed to snag the two victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. Now, the 25-year-old, Byron, heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Ambetter Health 400 on Sunday, March 19 at 3 p.m. ET (FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) looking for his third straight victory in the NASCAR Cup Series. If he accomplishes the feat this weekend, he will become just the sixth active driver to win three or more consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races and the 25th all-time. Byron is the defending spring race winner of the newly remodeled Atlanta Motor Speedway, taking the win over second-place Ross Chastain by a scant 0.145-second last season – the fourth closest finish in the series at Atlanta all-time.
The five active drivers that have won three or more consecutive Cup races are Kyle Larson (twice in 2021), Kyle Busch (2015, 2018), Brad Keselowski (2018), Kevin Harvick (2018) and Joey Logano (2015).
In four starts this season, Byron has put up two wins (Las Vegas, Phoenix) and has led 240 laps. His average finish this year is 15.3. His season-to-date driver rating is 107.2 (series-best), his average running position is 7.8 (second-best) and he has spent 84.1% of his laps completed running in the top-15.
Looking ahead to this weekend at Atlanta, Byron has made seven series starts at the 1.54-mile track posting one win (2022), one top five and two top 10s.
Atlanta Motor Speedway gears-up for Cup
The NASCAR Cup Series and Atlanta Motor Speedway go way back, 63 years to be exact.
Originally called Atlanta International Raceway, the track was then a 1.5-mile paved speedway, and it hosted its first NASCAR Cup Series race on July 31, 1960. The inaugural Cup race was a 300-mile/200 lap event that had 45 competitors and was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts from the pole position in a 1960 Pontiac. Cotton Owens led the most laps that day (52), but Roberts took the lead with just 13 to go to grab the victory.
From 1960 – 2010, Atlanta Motor Speedway hosted multiple NASCAR Cup Series races during each season; starting in 2011 the series began only visiting Atlanta once a year (2011-2020). The 2021 season marked the first time since 2010 that the series visited the facility more than once a year. Also, from 1987 to 2000 Atlanta Motor Speedway held the final championship race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
In total, there have been 117 NASCAR Cup races at Atlanta Motor Speedway since the first race there in 1960. The 117 NASCAR Cup Series races have produced 53 different pole winners and 47 different race winners. Seven of the 53 NASCAR Cup Series Atlanta Motor Speedway pole winners are active this weekend.
Active Atlanta Pole Winners (7)
Poles
Season
Kevin Harvick
2
2017, 2014
Aric Almirola
1
2019
Kyle Busch
1
2018
Joey Logano
1
2015
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
1
2013
Denny Hamlin
1
2010
Martin Truex Jr
1
2009
NASCAR Hall of Famer Buddy Baker (1968, 1971, 1976, 1979 sweep, 1980, 1984) and Ryan Newman (2003 sweep, 2004 sweep, 2005 sweep, 2007) are tied for the NASCAR Cup Series most poles at Atlanta Motor Speedway with seven each. Kevin Harvick leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in Atlanta poles with two (2014, 2017).
Six of the 47 NASCAR Cup Series Atlanta Motor Speedway race winners are active this weekend.
Active Atlanta Race Winners (6)
Wins
Seasons
Kevin Harvick
3
2020, 2018, 2001
Brad Keselowski
2
2019, 2017
Kyle Busch
2
2013, 2008
William Byron
1
2022
Ryan Blaney
1
2021
Denny Hamlin
1
2012
NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway with nine victories (1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 2000). Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick leads all active NASCAR Cup Series winners at Atlanta Motor Speedway with three victories (2001, 2018, 2020).
All the NASCAR Cup Series on-track activity at Atlanta Motor Speedway begins this Saturday, March 18 with Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 11:30 a.m. ET on FS1.
Keeping The Streak Alive: Chevrolet has won the first four Cup races of 2023
The first four races of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season have seen only one manufacturer in Victory Lane – Chevrolet.
This season from the Chevrolet camp, JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the DAYTONA 500, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch won at Auto Club Speedway and Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron has won the last two races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway.
In the Modern Era (1972-2023), a manufacturer has only swept a season’s first four races four times and Chevrolet drivers are responsible for three of them – Chevrolet (1995, 2001, 2023) and Ford (1992).
A manufacturer has only swept the first five races of a NASCAR Cup Series season in the Modern Era (1972-2023) twice – Chevrolet (1995) and Ford (1992).
The record for the most consecutive wins by a manufacturer to start at NASCAR Cup Series season in the Modern Era (1972-2023) is nine straight victories by Ford in the 1992 season.
The most consecutive victories to start a NASCAR Cup Series season by Chevrolet was seven straight wins in the 1995 season – second-most in the Modern Era.
Alex Bowman is the only driver with four consecutive top-10 finishes this season
Consistency is paying off for Alex Bowman and the Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 Chevrolet team, as they are the only NASCAR Cup Series team this season to score four consecutive top-10 finishes in as many races.
In four starts this season, Bowman has put up two top fives and four top 10s. He leads the series in average finish this year with a 6.3. Plus, his season-to-date driver rating is 95.7 (sixth-best), his average running position is 10.6 (sixth-best) and he has spent 81.4% of his laps completed running in the top-15 (sixth-best).
Bowman will look to keep the early success going this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he has made nine series starts posting two top fives and three top 10s. His average finish at the 1.54-mile track is 17.1.
Atlanta Motor Speedway’s new configuration produced some stellar racing last season
When the NASCAR Next Gen car took to the newly reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway last March the expectations were really high, and the NASCAR Cup Series delivered – setting new statistical records even.
The race was won by Hendrick Motorsports’ driver William Byron, but not before seeing a track record 46 lead changes among a track record 20 different leaders.
The Atlanta Motor Speedway NASCAR Cup Series race on March 20, 2023 also produced a series record for green flag passes for the lead on 1.5-mile tracks with 141 green flag passes for the lead (GFPL). The previous record for green flag passes for the lead on a 1.5-mile track in the NASCAR Cup Series was held by Texas Motor Speedway with 57 GFPL.
Atlanta Motor Speedway’s 2022 spring race also produced a NASCAR Cup Series record for total green flag passes on 1.5-mile tracks with 6,439 total green flag passes. The previous record for total green flag passes on a 1.5-mile track in the NASCAR Cup Series was held by Charlotte Motor Speedway with 4,520 total green flag passes.
Last six Cup races at Atlanta have produced different winners
In the last six NASCAR Cup Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway have produced six different winners – Brad Keselowski (2019), Kevin Harvick (2020), Ryan Blaney (Spring 2021), Kurt Busch (Fall 2021), William Byron (Spring 2022) and Chase Elliott (Fall 2022). Now, with the series rolling into Atlanta this weekend, will the fans get to see a seventh different winner?
A total of six NASCAR Cup Series Atlanta Motor Speedway race winners are active this weekend, led by Kevin Harvick (2001, 2018, 2020), and followed by Brad Keselowski (2017, 2019), Kyle Busch (2008, 2013), William Byron (2022), Ryan Blaney (2021) and Denny Hamlin (2012). The most recent winner at Atlanta, Chase Elliott, is sidelined this weekend with a broken leg from a snowboarding accident in Colorado.
One driver looking to add their name to the winners list at Atlanta Motor Speedway is Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, who finished runner-up in both of the NASCAR Cup Series races at the 1.54-mile track last season.
Harvick is one of a few first-time Cup winners at Atlanta Motor Speedway
The NASCAR Cup Series has seen six different drivers win their first series career race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and probably the most memorable was Kevin Harvick’s 2001 victory after replacing a late Dale Earnhardt at Richard Childress Racing.
The six drivers earning their first win at Atlanta are Carl Edwards (2005), Kevin Harvick (2001), Jerry Nadeau (2000), Jim Hurtubise (1966), Bob Burdick (1961), Bobby Johns (1960).
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick has made 34 career series starts at Atlanta posting two poles, three wins, nine top fives and 16 top 10s – all are series highs among the active drivers.
NASCAR Cup Series, Etc.
Sunoco Rookie of the Year Update: Gibbs grabs third rookie of the race award at Phoenix – Through four races this season, Joe Gibbs Racing’s driver Ty Gibbs has won three Sunoco Rookie of the Race Awards and holds the rookie standings lead by 19 points over Legacy Motor Club’s Noah Gragson.
This season, Gibbs has put up one top-20 finish (16th at Auto Club) and has an average finish of 22.8. Gibbs will be making his series track debut at Atlanta this weekend.
In four NASCAR Cup Series races this season, Gragson has posted two top-25 finishes (24th at Daytona and 22nd at Auto Club) and has an average finish of 26.3. Gragson has made two series starts at Atlanta posting an average finish of 35.5.
Parmalee to perform pre-race concert at Atlanta Motor Speedway – Country music stars Parmalee will perform a live pre-race concert for the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 19.
The Platinum-selling band of brothers will play their catalog of chart-topping hits. The North Carolina natives have enjoyed success with hits like their PLATINUM-certified No. 1 single with Blanco Brown, “Just the Way,” and follow-up single “Take My Name” from their most recent album For You. Since debuting on country radio, Parmalee has earned more than 1 billion on-demand streams.
SAG Award-winning actor Jesse Metcalfe named Co-Grand Marshal for Atlanta – SAG Award-winning actor and producer Jesse Metcalfe – one of the stars of Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming film On a Wing and a Prayer, streaming April 7 – will give drivers the command to start their engines for the Ambetter Health 400.
Metcalfe will utter the most famous words in motorsports as part of his Co-Grand Marshal duties for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 19.
“As a big NASCAR fan and avid car enthusiast, I am super excited to be joining the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series here in Atlanta and uttering the most famous words in Motorsports,” said Metcalfe.
Tyler Reddick & 23XI Racing partner with Xfinity 10G – Tyler Reddick and the 23XI Racing team are announcing their newest partner, Xfinity and the provider’s most powerful internet connection: Xfinity 10G.
The new partnership will debut on track at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 19 and in addition to the sponsorship on the car the partnership will include Xfinity 10G network integration and Xfinity Rewards customer fan experiences such as Pit Box VIP access, driver meet-and-greet appearances with Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick and more.
Reddick has made five NASCAR Cup Series starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway posting one top-10 finish.
Cup Series driver milestone starts to watch for – Over the next few races several drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series will reach milestones starts if they continue to run fulltime in the series.
This weekend on March 19, Hendrick Motorsports’ driver Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, will be making his 300th career NASCAR Cup Series start at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Next weekend at Circuit of The Americas on March 26, Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger will be making his 400th career NASCAR Cup Series start.
Then at Richmond Raceway in two weeks on April 2, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric will be making his 50th career NASCAR Cup Series start.
And at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt on April 9, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch will be making his 650th NASCAR Cup Series career start. Busch will become the 27th different NASCAR Cup Series driver all-time to make 650 or more starts.
Then at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick will be making his 800th career NASCAR Cup Series career start. Harvick will become just the 10th different NASCAR Cup Series driver all-time to make 800 or more starts in the series.
Jimmie Johnson announces two more stops on his 2023 schedule – This week seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and Legacy Motor Club owner/driver Jimmie Johnson announced the next two races he will be competing in this season – Circuit of The Americas (March 26) and the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Coca Cola 600 (May 28).
“COTA has been on my racing ‘bucket list’ for a very long time,” said Johnson. “But my timing was off by a year or so. I was hoping it was going to be on the INDYCAR schedule – and it wasn’t – and then they added it to the NASCAR schedule after I left. I’m excited to finally be able to check this one off the list and thankful to Club Wyndham for making it happen. From everything I’ve heard, NASCAR drivers have had a lot of fun racing at COTA, so to say I’m looking forward to it is an understatement.”
Johnson made his return to the series in the season opening DAYTONA 500, where he started 39th and finished 31st.
Johnson has gone on record saying he plans to run 10 races on a part-time schedule this season for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB. With Daytona, COTA and Charlotte already lined-up Johnson plans to announce the remainder of his schedule at a later date.
Cup Series Featured Matchups: 2023 Ambetter Health 400 – Below is a close look at the featured matchups fans can bet on heading into this weekend’s event.
William Byron vs. Kyle Larson
Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson will face off this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Byron is red hot right now winning the last two races on the 2023 schedule. But Larson has been upfront leading the most laps this year and posting two top fives. Byron might have the slight edge this weekend at Atlanta as he is the defending winner of this race, but Larson has the better career average finish (14.8) than Byron (18.1) at the 1.54-mile track.
Kevin Harvick vs. Tyler Reddick
Another great matchup this weekend is with the outgoing veteran Kevin Harvick vs. the rising star Tyler Reddick. Reddick got his first top-five of the season last weekend at Phoenix, and might have some momentum on his side, but it will be hard to pick against Harvick at Atlanta. Harvick leads all active drivers in wins (three), top fives (nine) and top 10s (17) on the 1.54-mile track. Reddick will have his work cut out for him this weekend at Atlanta, as the 23XI Racing driver was caught in incidents in both Atlanta races last season and did not finish.
Brad Keselowski vs. Bubba Wallace
Two top notch superspeedway racers will face off this weekend, RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace. Both drivers have won superspeedway races in the NASCAR Cup Series but when it comes to performances at Atlanta, the nod goes to Keselowski. In 16 series starts Keselowski has managed two wins, four top fives and nine top 10s. His average finish at Atlanta is 15.1. Bubba Wallace on the other hand has only made seven starts at Atlanta posting a career-best finish of 13th in this race last season. Wallace’s average finish at Atlanta is 19.5.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. vs. Austin Dillon
Another batch of great superspeedway winners are paired up this weekend for fans to bet on with Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and 2023 Daytona 500 champion and JTG Daugherty Racing driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. going at it. Looking ahead to Atlanta both Stenhouse (21.1) and Dillon (21.6) are in a near tie in average finish. Both drivers suffered DNFs in both Atlanta races last season, so it will be interesting to see which of the two drivers will rebound better this weekend.
Ryan Blaney vs. Daniel Suárez
Two drivers that jump started their 2023 seasons and will go head-to-head this weekend are Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suárez. Both drivers have run well at Atlanta, but Blaney might be the one you will want to lean towards this weekend. Suárez has made eight starts at Atlanta posting one top fives and three top 10s. He posted his career best finish at Atlanta in this race last season (fourth). Blaney has made nine starts at Atlanta posting one win (2021) and four top fives.
Georgia has welcomed NASCAR since the early years – The state of Georgia has hosted a total of 176 NASCAR Cup Series races among 12 different tracks dating as far back as 1951.
Georgia Track Names
City
Cup Races
First Year With NASCAR Race
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Hampton
117
1960
Augusta International Speedway
Augusta
12
1962
Lakewood Speedway
Atlanta
11
1951
Savannah Speedway
Savannah
10
1962
Middle Georgia Raceway
Macon
9
1966
Central City Speedway
Macon
7
1951
Jeffco Speedway
Jefferson
2
1968
Valdosta 75 Speedway
Valdosta
3
1962
Oglethorpe Speedway
Savannah
2
1954
Augusta International Raceway
Augusta
1
1964
Columbus Speedway
Columbus
1
1951
Hayloft Speedway
Augusta
1
1952
Totals
176
The first NASCAR Cup Series race held in the state of Georgia was on June 10, 1951 and held at Columbus Speedway, a half-mile dirt track, in Columbus, Georgia. The inaugural event in the state was a 100 mile / 200 lap feature that saw Atlanta, Georgia native Tim Flock win the race.
Atlanta Motor Speedway has hosted the most NASCAR Cup Series races of any track in the state of Georgia at 117 events.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Rookie Sammy Smith adds his name to the Xfinity Series winners list
With a near pole win last November in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Phoenix Raceway, we learned that part-time driver Sammy Smith had speed at the Arizona one-mile track, and after posting a top-10 finish in that Xfinity Series championship race, we knew he could handle himself in a Xfinity Series car.
Now in his first full-time season with Joe Gibbs Racing, Smith went back to Phoenix Raceway to post his first win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series last weekend, becoming the youngest Xfinity Series winner at the track at 18 years old.
The win now puts Smith in sixth in the driver standings with 128 points, 67 points back from Austin Hill who currently leads the Xfinity Series driver standings. The victory also makes Smith the third different driver this season to already earn his spot in the Playoffs; joining Austin Hill (Daytona, Las Vegas) and John Hunter Nemechek (Fontana).
Smith will have a few days to enjoy the spoils of his victory before preparing to make his first start at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Although this will be his series track debut at Atlanta, he does have some experience on 1.5-mile tracks.
Last season, he posted a top-10 finish (eighth) at Kansas Speedway. If Smith goes back-to-back and takes the checkered flag this weekend, he will also go down as the youngest winner at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a title currently held by Ty Gibbs at 19 years, 5 months and 15 days.
Up Next: Atlanta Motor Speedway
With the conclusion of the West Coast Swing, the NASCAR Xfinity Series now sets its eyes on Atlanta Motor Speedway for the RAPTOR King of Tough 250 on Saturday, March 18 at 5 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR radio as part of a doubleheader Saturday with the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race, the FR8 208, at 2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
There have been 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway producing 21 different race winners and 18 different pole winners. Seven races have been won from the pole or first starting position, most recently by Kyle Busch in 2021.
NASCAR Cup Series regular Kevin Harvick holds just about every Xfinity Series record at the Atlanta, Georgia track – most wins (five), top fives (11), top 10s (13), lead lap finishes (13), laps completed (3,135) and laps led (973).
Two previous winners are entered in this weekend’s RAPTOR King of Tough 250 – JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier (2021) and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill (2022).
Allgaier snagged his win in 2021. In his 14 starts at the 1.5-mile track, he has posted one win, three top fives and nine top 10s.
Hill made the trip to Victory Lane in just his second start at Atlanta Motor Speedway after finishing runner-up in his first start as a rookie in the Xfinity Series.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will be skipping practice this weekend and heading straight for qualifying on Friday, March 17 at 4:35 p.m. ET airing on FS1.
Who will be the “King of Tough”?
Obviously, the two favorites this weekend are the former Atlanta winners – Justin Allgaier and Austin Hill – but three drivers in the field that will be sure to give them a run for their money this Saturday are Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric and Justin Haley.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst has given the Atlanta track a go five times in the Xfinity Series and has posted one top five and three top 10s. In last year’s Spring Atlanta race, he raced his way up to a fourth-place finish after starting in the 24th position.
Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric has also put up some good stats at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In his seven starts, he’s posted two top fives and four top 10s. Most recently, he worked his way up to a fifth-place finish after starting the race in the 16th position.
Cup Series regular Justin Haley will be pulling double duty and driving the No.10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet in this weekend’s Xfinity Series race at Atlanta, a track that has treated him well. In his four Xfinity Series starts, he has posted two top fives and four top 10s. His most recent Xfinity Series stint at Atlanta Motor Speedway was in 2021 where he finished fourth.
Xfinity Playoff picture heading into Week 5
As NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers head into their fifth race of the season, Austin Hill leads the standings with his two wins (Daytona, Las Vegas) and 195 points. In second is John Hunter Nemechek who clinched his spot in the Playoffs with his win at Auto Club and currently sits with 165 points.
Justin Allgaier (156 points) and Chandler Smith (155 points) assume the third and fourth place spots in the standings heading into this weekend’s race. Both drivers have posted three top fives and three top 10s this season thus far. Riley Herbst sits in the fifth position, tied with Smith on points (155).
Sammy Smith’s win last weekend at Phoenix Raceway bumped him to sixth in the standings (128 points). Sam Mayer (128), Cole Custer (118), Josh Berry (114), Daniel Hemric (106), Sheldon Creed (105) and Parker Kligerman (99) round out the current Playoff outlook.
Just outside the cutline is Brett Moffitt (-12) and Ryan Sieg (-13).
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
Chad Chastain to make NASCAR Xfinity Series debut – Chad Chastain, brother of NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain, will be making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Chad Chastain will be behind the wheel of the No. 91 Chevrolet for DGM Racing.
“I’m thrilled to make my NASCAR Xfinity Series debut with DGM Racing, a Florida-based team, driving a ‘Protect Your Melon’ Chevrolet just like I watched my brother do for years,” said Chastain.
Though this will be Chastain’s first Xfinity Series start, he had made four starts in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series posting a best finish of 30th at Indianapolis Raceway Park and Homestead-Miami.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
CRAFTSMAN Truck Series kicks off doubleheader Saturday at Atlanta
After an action-packed weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series teams had a week to rest up and prepare for the Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which will kick off a doubleheader Saturday on March 18 at 2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, followed by the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, the RAPTOR Kings of Tough 250 at 5 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
There have been 21 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at the 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway track, producing 15 different race winners and 11 different pole winners. Five races have been won from the pole or first starting position, most recently by Christopher Bell in 2017.
Kyle Busch has made the most trips to Victory Lane (six) and has also posted the most top fives (nine) in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series at Atlanta. NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. and Mike Skinner are tied for most poles at the track (three each); while Matt Crafton holds the record for most top 10s (11), lead lap finishes (16) and laps completed (2,656).
TRICON Garage’s Corey Heim is Atlanta Motor Speedway’s most recent winner in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series after snagging the lead from then Kyle Busch Motorsport’s teammate Chandler Smith on the final lap.
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series will get the weekend jump started with qualifying on Friday, March 17 at 3:05 p.m. ET on FS1.
Atlanta Motor Speedway’s fabulous four
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series drivers had last weekend off, but fans can be sure to expect some action-packed racing this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway as four previous winners are entered in the Fr8 208 (March 18 at 2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – Corey Heim, Grant Enfinger, John Hunter Nemechek and Matt Crafton.
Heim is the most recent winner at the track (2022). He posted the win in his first and only start at Atlanta Motor Speedway. If he goes back-to-back, he will be the second driver in CRAFTSMAN Truck Series history to post consecutive wins at Atlanta, after only Kyle Busch (2007, 2008).
Enfinger has seven starts at the track with one win (2020), three top fives and five top 10s. In last season’s Atlanta race, he led 14 laps and ultimately finished in 12th.
Nemechek, who is running fulltime in the Xfinity Series this season, will be piloting the No.17 Toyota for TRICON Garage this weekend. In his five CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Atlanta, he’s posted one win (2016), two top fives and two top 10s.
Crafton has started 21 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, posting one win (2015), six top fives and 11 top 10s. He has led for a total of 188 laps and has an average start of 12.0 and an average finish of 12.2 at the 1.54-mile track.
Fast start for defending series champ Zane Smith
Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith made a name for himself last season with his season-opening win at Daytona and his victory in the championship at Phoenix Raceway.
Smith made sure to ride that momentum into the 2023 season and pulled off yet another season-opening win at Daytona and a runner-up finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Now as the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series gears up for this weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Smith can be sure that his name is on everyone’s minds as a possible winner.
Although he’s only made three starts at the 1.54-mile track, he’s posted two top fives and three top 10s. Last season, he even managed to work his way up to a fifth-place finish after starting in the 25th position.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, Etc.
Sunoco Rookie class update – The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year class now has two races marked off and they’re all sitting close in the standings.
Nick Sanchez currently leads the rookies with 31 points. He won the pole in the season-opener at Daytona and has posted a best-finish of 26th this season. He will be making his series track debut this weekend at Atlanta.
Jake Garcia takes the second-place spot just four points behind Sanchez (27). He posted his first top-10 finish in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and will look to make his first start at his home track of Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend.
Just one point behind Garcia is Rajah Caruth (26). He’s posted 29th-place finishes in both races this season. He will be making his first start at Atlanta Motor Speedway in this weekend.
William Byron to run select races for Kyle Busch Motorsports – NASCAR Cup Series regular and KBM alum William Byron will be running a three-race schedule behind the wheel of the No. 51 Chevrolet in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
His three-race stint will start at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt on April 8, followed by Darlington Raceway on May 12 and North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 20.
HAMPTON, Ga. (March 15, 2023) – As NASCAR makes its first of two visits to Atlanta in 2023, dignitaries and special guests will also converge on Atlanta Motor Speedway to help kick off the Ambetter Health 400.
Ambetter Health 400 (Sunday, March 19) Dignitaries:
Co-Grand Marshals: Defending champions from the University of Georgia football team Smael Mondon, Jr., Mykel Williams, Kamari Lassiter will be Co-Grand Marshals for Sunday’s race alongside award winning actor and producer Jesse Metcalfe. Metcalfe will give the command to fire engines before the Ambetter Health 400.
Honorary Starter: Katherine Kirby will waive the green flag to start the Ambetter Health 400. Kirby is the Chief Operating Officer of Ambetter Health, which is sponsoring Atlanta’s spring NASCAR Cup Series event for the first time in 2023.
National Anthem Singer: Singer, songwriter, and record producer Blanco Brown will perform the Star Spangled Banner ahead of Sunday’s race.
Flyover: Four T-38s from the 2nd Fighter Training Squadron “American Beagles” from the Florida Air National Guard will be piloted above the speedway during the national anthem.
Pre-race concert: Country stars Parmalee will perform on the pre-race stage on Sunday afternoon. The North Carolina natives have enjoyed chart-topping success with hits like their PLATINUM-certified No. 1 single with Blanco Brown, “Just the Way,” and follow-up single “Take My Name” from their most recent album For You.
VIP Guests: Desmond Ridder, Richie Grant, Lorenzo Carter, Timmy Horne, and DeAngelo Malone from the Atlanta Falcons, NASCAR legends Richard Petty, Bill Elliott, and Jeff Gordon, and NFL Hall of Famer Warrick Dunn.
Atlanta’s upcoming NASCAR weekend features 858 miles of racing and three days of entertainment.
On-track action kicks off Friday with qualifying for the Fr8 208 and RAPTOR King of Tough 250 followed by the Camper Appreciation Party in Bootleggers.
Saturday has NASCAR Cup Series qualifying and 458 miles of racing between the Fr8 208 and RAPTOR King of Tough 250. The day’s slate of activity is wrapped up by the Peach Pit infield party Saturday night.
Sunday features the main event of the weekend: the Ambetter Health 400. The race is preceded by a day full of things to see and do all around the facility, from driver appearances and Q&As, carnival rides, and live attractions in the AMS Fan Zone to Parmalee’s pre-race concert and driver introductions on the frontstretch.
For more information or to purchase tickets, fans should visit AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com or call 877-9-AMS-TIX.
About the Ambetter Health 400 weekend:
Atlanta’s spring NASCAR weekend is headlined by the Ambetter Health 400 on Sunday, March 19, with intense, door-to-door racing around the historic high banks of Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The race weekend also features Atlanta’s same-day NASCAR doubleheader on Saturday, March 18, 2022. The thrills of the Fr8 208 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race and the RAPTOR King of Tough 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race all happen in one action-packed day that race fans look forward to every year.
More information on the March 17-19, 2023, Ambetter Health 400 weekend and ticket availability can be found online at AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com.
Follow Atlanta Motor Speedway:
Keep track of all of Atlanta Motor Speedway’s events by following on Twitter, Instagram, and become a Facebook fan. Keep up with all the latest news and information with the Atlanta Motor Speedway mobile app.
Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series Atlanta 1 Advance | Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, is coming off his first Top 10 finish of the season after running seventh at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. He was this week’s guest on the Ford Performance media call and talked not only about that run, but this weekend’s event at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang – HOW DO THINGS LOOK FOR THIS WEEKEND? “I’ve been on the simulator since 8:00 a.m., so just got off of it about a minute ago. We spent a lot of time today running COTA, running Atlanta, post Phoenix, so it was a busy and productive day from that side of things. I’m excited, truthfully, to be back on the East Coast. It’s a little bit easier travel, but, for us, it was nice to kind of finally have just a good, solid, overall run this past weekend – being able to hopefully build on that and continue to build that momentum going into the rest of the regular season. Obviously, our point situation was 34th going into Phoenix and now I think we’re 21st or something like that, so we just need to have more and more of those days and continue to try and climb up and looking forward to this weekend at Atlanta. I thought our cars there last year drove relatively pretty good in the pack. The Fords were really good at Daytona and hopefully we can carry that over to Atlanta.”
IS THAT TOP 10 A SIGH OF RELIEF? “Yeah, for sure – a sigh of relief. We knew that we were gonna be in a good situation going into Phoenix. That’s one of our better racetracks as a company, so we knew if we were gonna turn our season around that was gonna be a great opportunity to do it. I think we’ve all been surprised by the speed and things that we’ve kind of struggled with this year, so it was nice to just have an overall clean day, a day where I think the whole day we went forward and never went backwards. We just had a really good car and that’s something we haven’t been able to say all year long, so it was good to get that. It was a couple weeks late, but glad that we were finally able to get that done and just have a good, overall solid day. Hopefully, we can build on that. I think, as a team, our confidence is still high, so we just need to continue to build on our results and there’s no better place to do it than this weekend at Atlanta.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE NEW SHORT TRACK PACKAGE AND HOW WILL IT BE AT RICHMOND AND MARTINSVILLE? “I’m probably biased as far as the old package. I thought our stuff was extremely good there, but, honestly, I would still vote to go to the lower downforce. I felt like as a race car driver we made more of a difference. We were definitely slipping and sliding around a lot more. The cars were a lot harder to drive. It was still a challenge to pass to a certain extent, but I feel like Phoenix in general is a hard racetrack to pass at, so I’m definitely excited to see it at a place like Richmond and at a road course. I think it’s definitely the right direction. I think that we could lose even more downforce. I think we could still add a lot more power and it would just continue to get better and better, but I do think it’s a good baseline. Dirty air is always gonna be a problem no matter what we do, but anything we can do to make it even five percent better or 10 percent better is gonna be better for racing. I felt like this past weekend was a little bit easier to pass. It was still difficult, but it’s gonna be difficult when you have that many guys that are really good in that many good race cars. When there’s not a ton of difference in the field from a lap time standpoint, it’s gonna be hard to pass. That’s what you get when you have the parity that we do now, where a lot of different guys can win on any given weekend. It makes it to where a lot of guys are gonna be fast and when you have a lot of guys that are close on lap time, it makes it hard to pass. I thought it was an improvement from a driving standpoint. It was a lot harder to drive, and I think all the drivers want it to be harder to drive, but I also thought it was easier to pass, as difficult as it still was.”
IN GENERAL, WHERE ARE THE FORDS RIGHT NOW COMPARED TO THE OTHER MANUFACTURERS? “I would say, truthfully, my focus has been more on just our team. I think collectively on the mile-and-a-halves at least there is some speed that still needs to be found, but, for us, on the two intermediate style racetracks we’ve been so off – even the top Fords that that’s truthfully been our main focus. Once we get to be that top three Ford team, then we’re focused on our gap to maybe the other manufacturers, but for right now, at least on the 14 car, we’re just trying to get closer to the top Fords and until we do that I don’t think we need to worry about the other manufacturers.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE LARGER RESTART ZONE OVER THESE FIRST FOUR RACES? “I was all for it going into it. I haven’t had the opportunity this year to be in the lead or even on the front row to really kind of see how much different it is. I know that farther back in the pack I do feel like we probably have a little bit more stack ups. Before the zone was relatively small and pretty much everybody knew in a five to 10 car length window where guys were gonna go, so you would just lag back and you would have a big run, where now with the zone much larger we all still try to anticipate it and when that front guy doesn’t go, that’s when the big stack up starts. I would be very curious to see what it’s like starting on the front row. I think as the leader you definitely have more of an advantage the bigger that zone is because there are just more options for you to go. I don’t know. I’m kind of torn on it. In the back, it probably is a little bit worse just from a stack up standpoint, but I do think up front it probably gives the leader a little bit more of an advantage, and I feel like if you are the leader, you deserve to have an advantage.”
YOU ARE 21ST IN POINTS NOW. DO YOU STILL FEEL YOU ARE IN A MUST-WIN SITUATION AND DO YOU FEEL THE GUYS WHO ARE NOW BEHIND YOU WILL STILL WIN RACES? “I still think it’s a must-win. I just think that there is the possibility that we have 16 winners or right at it again, so last year having 15 winners I think there’s definitely an opportunity for that to present itself again. From that side of it, I still think it’s a must-win. I don’t think you want to rely on points. Even if there are 10 winners, that’s six guys that aren’t in on points so you need to be riding around 16th in points or even a little higher than that sometimes to lock yourself in. That’s my biggest thing for being in a must-win. It’s nice being 21st in points versus 34th. That definitely makes you breathe a little bit easier, but at the same time I just think you’re gonna still have to win to guarantee yourself a spot, but those guys had such a big points gap on us before, I don’t know what it was, but even with a 100-point penalty, I’m sure they’re not too far behind us. A solid points day for the 14 to move up a couple spots on a Wednesday, but, overall, we definitely need to be better. If we could have just gotten a better start to our year, if we do like we did at Phoenix last week consistently week in and week out, then you don’t really have to worry about it as much. But I still think you’re gonna have to win just to obviously solidify yourself in the playoffs.”
HOW IS ATLANTA DIFFERENT FROM DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA AND WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO DIFFERENTLY THERE FROM THOSE OTHER TWO TRACKS? “I feel like Atlanta is probably the most mentally draining place that we go to now. It’s kind of a hybrid. It’s obviously a shorter track by an entire mile versus a Daytona or Talladega, but it’s the same concept of racing. You’re in a pack, but with being a mile shorter things just happen so much faster. Your reaction time has to be better. The runs develop so much faster and quicker. Your spotter has to be able to communicate to you a lot quicker and your brain has to process things a lot quicker, so I feel like mentally draining-wise last year both Mondays after the Atlanta race I was just exhausted and drained from a mental side of things. But from the driving side it’s a little bit of a hybrid in a sense where we are in a pack, but at a Daytona or Talladega your car is always gonna be able to run wide-open just because of how big the racetrack is and the corners are so long, where at Atlanta balance is certainly an issue. The handling of the car is very important. Hardly anybody can run wide-open unless you’re in the lead, so balance comes into place. The longer the run goes on your car starts slipping and sliding around a lot more, so it’s just a lot different than a Daytona or Talladega, so that part makes it interesting because the car is so important. At Daytona and Talladega it’s maybe not as important, so that side of it is fun because you do get a little bit of mix from both styles of racing, but from a mentally draining side it is extremely exhausting to run Atlanta because your mind is constantly working. At Daytona and Talladega, you can kind of get a little bit of a break or relax down the straightaways because you kind of know where the runs are gonna develop, but at Atlanta there is no time to take a breather.”
HOW WILL THE NEW PIT ROAD ENTRY AFFECT THE RACE AND HAVE YOU RUN ANY SIMULATION WITH THE NEW LAYOUT? “Yeah, I did today actually. It’s definitely a long, long pit road. I would say under green it’s for sure gonna change the strategy. If you think about coming down early, as long as you’re gonna be on pit road now, you could easily find yourself three or four laps down, so if you come down in one of the first two packs to pit together and then the caution does come out for whatever reason, you’re gonna be stuck four laps down. You might be able to wave around for one, but you’re not gonna be able to get three, so there’s gonna be a lot of strategy in that from a fuel saving side to make sure you can be one of the last guys to pit if we do get to that situation, and then under caution I didn’t really think about it until you asked about it. It’s definitely gonna change a little because normally if there’s a split-decision, the spotter can easily call it out and tell you to stay or come, where being on the back straightaway he’s not really gonna have a very good visual of that, so it’s gonna kind of be up to the driver. That will change a little bit even from the yellow side of thing, so it’ll be interesting for sure having it in turn three. It’s gonna make it more challenging and a lot more complexion to it, so it’ll be fun to watch.”
ARE THERE ANY PERFORMANCE ISSUES YOU GUYS ARE DEALING WITH NOW? “For us, we just didn’t get a great start to the season. We kind of struggled more than I thought we would have. We’ve had a little bit of bad luck, but more or less just have struggled from an overall speed standpoint. Going to the Clash, we were OK. We weren’t great. I think we got wrecked running sixth or seventh and then you go to Daytona and I was in a good opportunity to potentially have a really good run. I think we were running seventh or eighth with 15 to go and got caught up in a crash, so you go from running seventh or eighth to now finishing 34th. And then Fontana and Vegas we just didn’t have the speed. Our car didn’t drive that bad, we were just extremely slow. It was a head-scratching moment for us trying to figure out what we could do to get more speed in the car and then obviously going to Phoenix we were able to rebound a little bit and save that front quarter of our season. That West Coast swing is a good chunk of our regular season, so for us to be able to rebound and finish strong before coming back the East Coast is important for us and we were able to do that.”
DOES IT FEEL SAFER PEELING OFF ON THE ENTRANCE TO PIT ROAD IN TURN THREE? ON A GREEN FLAG RUN WILL IT REDUCE THE RISK OF A POTENTIAL CRASH? “I would say it’s probably gonna be a little easier if we do come to pit road under green. It’ll probably be a little bit easier to get down and not cause a wreck there. If we somehow would have wrecked coming in off of turn four, the whole field is probably gonna be in it, where on the straightaway there’s a little bit more room to kind of spread out. I think it’s gonna be easier for guys to get out of the way and be able to go down to the apron and slow down, so I do think that side of it is gonna be better. For whatever reason, if you’re on pit road or on the apron of three and four going slow and they wreck on the racetrack, that could be fairly big. If somebody hits you at 170 and you’re rolling going 45 miles an hour, but that’s part of it with the layout it has to be to be able to make it safer for under green pit stops. Hopefully, we don’t run into any of those issues. I think it’s one of those things where we go and trial it. It might work or we might not even see it if we don’t have a green flag pit stop, but I think we had to probably do something because it was gonna be extremely challenging and difficult if we had to do it off of turn four, and not only the slowing down part was gonna be challenging, but just the transition from the bank to the flat is really, really hard in these cars, and I think that was a lot of the reason for it, too.”
WAS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A 500-MILE RACE AND A 400-MILE RACE FROM LAST YEAR AT AMS? “Yeah, I thought so. I thought the race, that 500-mile race, to me, felt longer than the Coke 600. Like I said, it was extremely mentally draining. I think for sure this race can be 400 miles, if not even shorter. There was really no need for it to be 500 miles, at least in my opinion. I would say the intensity was probably a little bit higher the second race than the first one. Some of that was just everybody kind of knew what to expect to that point. Guys knew the playoff situation a little bit more, but I don’t know if you’re really seeing any difference now just because we all kind of know what to expect. I was glad when I saw it went to 400 miles for sure.”
TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE LOW 50S AND CLOUDY ON SUNDAY. HOW WILL THAT AFFECT THE RACING? “If it was the old Atlanta, I would say it would probably affect it quite a bit, just because you would have had a lot more grip. You probably wouldn’t have been slipping and sliding around as much, but with the new style of racing that we do there, I mean, yeah, it’s gonna make a tiny bit of difference from a grip standpoint, but you’re gonna have so much grip regardless because of the amount of downforce we go there with, the lack of power and things like that, so I don’t think it’ll really change it at all. Your car will probably handle a little bit better. You’re gonna have a little more power because of the cooler temperatures, but, outside of that, it’s probably gonna drive relatively the same, at least I would think from whether it was 85 degrees there or 50.”
NASCAR released its penalty report that nails two organizations and a veteran competitor with major penalties following this past weekend’s Cup Series event at Phoenix Raceway.
For the penalties involving two organizations, Hendrick Motorsports and Kaulig Racing were sanctioned L2-level penalties for unapproved modifications pertaining to violating Sections 14.5.4.2.A, which highlights the assembly of radiator duct, from the NASCAR Rule Book. The issue first occurred as NASCAR confiscated the hood louvers from all four Hendrick cars (No. 5 driven by Kyle Larson, No. 9 driven by Josh Berry, No. 24 driven by William Byron and No. 48 driven by Alex Bowman) and one Kaulig entry (No. 31 driven by Justin Haley) at the conclusion of last Friday’s practice session at Phoenix and prior to Sunday’s main event.
As a result, all five entries between Hendrick and Kaulig were assessed a 100-point dock towards the driver’s and owner’s standings along with the loss of 10 Playoff points. In addition, each crew chief from each entry (Cliff Daniels, Alan Gustafson, Rudy Fugle, Blake Harris and Trent Owens) were fined $100,000 and issued a four-race suspension.
The penalties for the Hendrick organization come after William Byron piloted the No. 24 entry to his second consecutive Cup victory of this season at Phoenix. Amid the penalties, Byron along with teammates Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman, who initially assumed the lead in the regular-season points standings, have dropped to being outside of the top 20 in the standings. As a result, Kevin Harvick assumes the lead in the regular-season standings by three points over Ross Chastain and 14 over Christopher Bell.
In terms of the penalty involving the veteran competitor, Denny Hamlin was fined $50,000 and docked 25 points following his on-track actions at Phoenix, where he made contact with Ross Chastain during the overtime attempt, a move he admitted to being intentional and deemed a violation of Sections 4.4 in the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct. The contact occurred after Hamlin drifted up the track entering Turns 1 and 2 and squeezed Chastain against the wall, which stalled their progress towards the front. Hamlin then proceeded in bumping Chastain’s rear bumper three times through the backstretch and entering Turn 3 before overtaking him. As a result, Hamlin and Chastain, both of whom were battling for potential top-five spots, fell back to 23rd and 24th in the final running order.
NASCAR also issued two-race suspensions for two crew members (Sean Cotten and Ryan Mulder) for the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang piloted by Aric Almirola for violating Sections 8.8.10.4 A&C from the NASCAR Rule Book that highlights a safety violation. This comes as a result of a wheel that came off of Almirola’s car in Turn 4 on Lap 137 of 317, where Almirola wrecked prior to losing the wheel. Following the on-track incident, Almirola was issued a two-lap penalty in his pit stall for the improper installed tire that came off on the track and ended up 33rd in the final running order.
With this past weekend’s event at Phoenix Raceway capping off a three-race West Coast swing, the NASCAR Cup Series teams and competitors travel to Atlanta Motor Speedway for their next scheduled event and for their first of two visits to the 1.5-mile speedway venue in Hampton, Georgia. The main event is scheduled to occur this Sunday, March 19, at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
AVONDALE, Ariz. - MARCH 12: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, leads the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 12, 2023, in Avondale, Arizona. Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images
None of you asked for it, but I’ll break down the news, its significance and un-answered questions of Hendrick Motorsports’ penalty.
The news
NASCAR handed HMS an L2-level penalty, Wednesday, for unapproved modifications to the body of its cars, last weekend, at Phoenix Raceway. Each car’s crew chief (Cliff Daniels, Rudy Fugle, Alan Gustafson and Blake Harris) was handed a four-race suspension and fined $100,000. Furthermore, NASCAR docked each team 100 owner/driver points and 10 playoff points. Excluding the No. 9 team, which Josh Berry (who earns points in the XFINITY Series) drove in place of the injured Chase Elliott.
These penalties drop Alex Bowman from the points lead to 23rd, William Byron to 29th and Kyle Larson to 32nd. Aside from Byron, this reset Larson to zero playoff points. Byron, however, resets to three.
HMS announced it plans to appeal the penalties, but won’t request deferrals of suspensions. So four substitute crew chiefs will sit on the war wagons, this weekend, at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Hendrick will not ask for a deferral in crew chief suspensions for this weekend at Atlanta but will appeal the penalty. https://t.co/JZjmlLKXjV
For most teams, this is a 10. With Hendrick, however, I doubt this holds them down. Considering that after NASCAR confiscated the parts, it still dominated Sunday’s race at Phoenix.
SPOILER WARNING FOR SEASON 6 OF “MY HERO ACADEMIA”
For NASCAR’s all-time winningest team, this isn’t Izuku Midoriya fighting Muscular during his forest lodge trip training. Rather, I suspect this will be Deku jobbing Muscular.
I’ll go a step further and predict that by the halfway point of the season, Bowman, Byron and Larson make up the points they lost with this penalty.
Un-answered questions
I can’t really think of anything Wednesday’s penalty announcement left un-answered. This was pretty cut-n-dry and NASCAR confiscated the parts, before it let the Hendrick cars race, Sunday.
On Friday at Phoenix Raceway, NASCAR identified louvers on our race cars during a voluntary inspection 35 minutes after the opening of the garage and prior to on-track activity. NASCAR took possession of the parts approximately four hours later with no prior communication. The situation had no bearing on Saturday’s qualifying session or Sunday’s race.
We are disappointed with today’s decision by NASCAR to issue penalties and have elected to appeal based on a variety of facts that include:
Louvers provided to teams through NASCAR’s mandated single-source supplier do not match the design submitted by the manufacturer and approved by NASCAR.
Documented inconsistent and unclear communication by the sanctioning body specifically related to louvers
Recent comparable penalties issued by NASCAR have been related to issues discovered during a post-race inspection
For the March 19 NASCAR Cup Series event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, our organization has made the strategic decision not to request deferral of personnel suspensions. Team rosters for this weekend will be updated as soon as substitute crew chiefs are determined.
CHASE BRISCOE Atlanta Advance No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing
Event Overview
● Event: Ambetter Health 400 (Round 5 of 36) ● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 19 ● Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway ● Layout: 1.5-mile oval ● Laps/Miles: 260 laps/400 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 60 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps ● TV/Radio: FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Notes of Interest
● Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway on an upward trend after earning his first top-10 finish of the season last Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. The result ended a streak of finishes outside the top-20 to start the year.
● Though his results at Atlanta haven’t been his best, Briscoe has a chance to change that in just his third start on the track’s superspeedway-style configuration. The track in Hampton, Georgia, underwent changes prior to the start of the 2022 season to create tighter, superspeedway-type racing on its 1.54-mile oval. The racing surface was repaved, and the track width was reconfigured to vary from 55 feet to 40 feet while the banking in the corners was increased from 24 to 28 degrees – the steepest intermediate track on the schedule.
● Briscoe started on the pole for the first race on the newly reconfigured Atlanta in March 2022 after qualifying was rained out. He drove to a 15th-place finish. He returned in July to finish 16th. Briscoe’s best finish of 15th in his two Cup Series outings on Atlanta’s original configuration came in July 2021.
● In three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Atlanta, Briscoe has a best finish of ninth in his most recent visit in June 2020, and a NASCAR Truck Series start there in March 2017.
● Transform Your IT –The blue-and-white colors of HighPoint, the leading IT infrastructure and solutions company, return to the No. 14 Mustang for the first time in 2023 after first appearing on Briscoe’s car in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2020. Briscoe earned four of his series-high nine wins that year in the HighPoint.com Ford Mustang for SHR.
Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
What did you learn about the new Atlanta configuration during last year’s two Cup Series visits there?
“There were plenty of unknowns going into Atlanta last year, and we learned it definitely races similar to Daytona and has that superspeedway feel. Two races don’t give you a whole lot of experience to fall back on, but I think that would be more of an issue if it were a typical 1.5-mile track. In this case, we at least know what this car is going to do on superspeedways and can look back to what we did at Daytona and last year’s races. You’ll have the same ‘anything can happen’ type of race and it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.”
We say that the new configuration produced superspeedway-style racing, but it’s still a mile-and-a-half track. What makes a race at Atlanta different from a typical superspeedway race?
“Balance is more important at Atlanta than it is at Daytona or Talladega. The car does rely a little more on the setup and the runs come together a lot quicker, so you don’t want to not have the car set up right. You don’t have as much time to react to what happens in front of you, so you really need the car to be handling the right way when you’re in the pack.”
You and the No. 14 team were finally able to knock out a top-10 finish last weekend at Phoenix. Does that give you a little boost after a challenging start to your season?
“We really needed that finish. It’s no secret that we struggled at Fontana and Las Vegas, but we knew going into Phoenix we had a good chance to turn things around. We just need to find that consistency that we ended last year with. There were some changes to the car that we’re still trying to figure out, but I know the guys are going to give me everything they’ve got at the end of the day, so as long as I do my part, we’ll be OK. There’s a long way to go before we get to the playoffs and every weekend is another chance to show that we belong and are capable of getting wins. We just have some things we need to work on to get there.”
No. 14 HighPoint.com Team Roster
Primary Team Members Driver: Chase BriscoeHometown: Mitchell, Indiana Crew Chief: John KlausmeierHometown: Perry Hall, Maryland Car Chief: J.D. FreyHometown: Ferndale, California Engineer: Mike CookHometown: Annapolis, Maryland Spotter: Joey CampbellHometown: Berlin, Connecticut
Over-The-Wall Members Front Tire Changer: Shayne PipalaHometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois Rear Tire Changer: Dakota Ratcliff Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Tire Carrier: Jon Bernal Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina Jack Man: Dylan MoserHometown: Monroe, North Carolina Fuel Man: Corey CoppolaHometown: Bluefield, West Virginia
Road Crew Members Underneath Mechanic: Stephen Gonzalez Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina Interior Mechanic: Trevor Adams Hometown: Naples, Florida Tire Specialist: Keith Eads Hometown: Arlington, Virginia Engine Tuner: Jon Phillips Hometown: Jefferson City, Missouri Transporter Co-Driver: Todd Cable Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina Transporter Co-Driver: Rob FinkHometown: Mocksville, North Carolina
· NCS/NXS/NCTS: Atlanta Motor Speedway – March 18-19
PLANO, Texas (March 15, 2023) – After three races on the West Coast, NASCAR teams travel closer to home with a stop at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend.
NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS | NCTS
Bell continues strong performance… Christopher Bell added another top-10 finish to his early season tally at Phoenix Raceway as the Oklahoma-native came across the finish line in sixth. Bell, who has finished a career-best of eighth place in the Cup Series at Atlanta, won the first-ever race for the Toyota GR Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the track in 2019 in dominating fashion, leading 142 of 163 laps, to earn the historic victory.
Reddick looks to add to strong Phoenix run… After a string of bad luck to start the season, Tyler Reddick had a strong run at Phoenix Raceway, earning his first top-five finish aboard a Toyota Camry TRD with a third place result for 23XI Racing. Reddick’s career-best result at Atlanta Motor Speedway came in 2021 as the California-native earned a sixth-place finish.
Smith ready to go back-to-back… Sammy Smith was very impressive in NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) action in Phoenix as the 18-year-old led 92 laps (of 200) on his way to his first-career NXS victory. The Toyota development driver looks to continue his stellar start to his rookie season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where the Iowa-native will make his track debut.
Nemechek goes for two… John Hunter Nemechek added another top-10 finish to his early season tally in Phoenix as his sixth-place run was his fourth top-10 in as many NXS races this season. Nemechek will run both legs of Saturday’s double-header in Atlanta as he makes his second start in the No. 17 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage before climbing back aboard his No. 20 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Heim looks for second straight Atlanta win… Corey Heim had many highlights during his Truck Series Rookie of the Year run, but the win at Atlanta Motor Speedway was one to remember. Heim, who is a Georgia-native, led 22 laps and passed his then teammate Chandler Smith on the final lap to score the win. The Toyota development driver has started the season strong in his first full-time Truck Series effort. Heim followed an eighth place run in Daytona with his fourth-place finish in Las Vegas.
Gray leads Toyota… Tanner Gray has gotten off to another strong start this season. Gray, who was the runner-up in Daytona, had a solid top-15 finish in Las Vegas. He currently leads Toyota in the Truck Series point standings as he sits in the ninth spot. The former NHRA Pro Stock champion finished eighth in this event one season ago.
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Award-winning country music singer/songwriter Parker McCollum will perform the pre-race concert for the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
McCollum is expected to perform his most popular hits including platinum-selling No. 1s “Pretty Heart” and “To Be Loved By You,” and songs from his forthcoming album, Never Enough.
McCollum will perform at approximately 5 p.m. from the pre-race concert stage located on pit road. Fans attending the race have the opportunity to enhance their experience by purchasing a “Pre-Race Track Pass” for $75 (plus tax) that provides stage-front access for the concert and driver introductions.
LEBANON, Tenn. (Mar. 14, 2023) – Award-winning country music singer/songwriter Parker McCollum will get fans at Nashville Superspeedway revved up for the Ally 400 when he takes the stage as the official pre-race concert performer on Sunday, June 25.
McCollum will perform at approximately 5 p.m. from the pre-race concert stage located on pit road. Fans attending the race have the opportunity to enhance their experience by purchasing a “Pre-Race Track Pass” for $75 (plus tax) that provides stage-front access for the concert and driver introductions, views down pit road, and the opportunity to view the race from within the infield. The Pre-Race Track Pass must be accompanied by a race day ticket.
“It’s really an honor to play the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway,” said McCollum. “I’ve always been a big fan of NASCAR and am excited to bring my show to the track in June. See y’all there.”
McCollum is expected to sing many of his popular songs including his No. 1 platinum-selling hits “Pretty Heart” and “To Be Loved By You” from his critically-acclaimed debut album Gold Chain Cowboy.
“We are thrilled to showcase Parker McCollum, one of country music’s fastest rising superstars, at Nashville Superspeedway prior to the green flag for the Ally 400,” said Matt Greci, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Nashville Superspeedway. “As the home for NASCAR Cup Series racing here in Music City, we always want to make sure we provide an amazing music performance before America’s best drivers hit the track for the Ally 400.”
The Texas native has been recognized as an “Artist to Watch” by Rolling Stone, Billboard, CMT and many others. McCollum got his start in Austin, Texas and has been selling out venues across the country since hitting the road in 2013. McCollum’s music incorporates genres as diverse as blues, roots rock, soul and folk rock to generate his custom sound. MusicRow listed McCollum as its 2021 Breakout Artist of the Year and in 2022 he was named the ACM New Male Artist of the Year in Las Vegas. His next album, Never Enough, will release on May 12 and features the chart-climbing lead single “Handle on You,” plus recent releases “Stoned,” “I Ain’t Going Nowhere” and “Speed.”
NASCAR TICKETS
Nashville Superspeedway’s 2023 race schedule includes (all times CT):
Sunday, June 25, 6 p.m.: Ally 400 NASCAR Cup Series race (NBC, PRN, Sirius NASCAR Radio) Saturday, June 24, 2:30 p.m.: Tennessee Lottery 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race (USA, PRN, Sirius NASCAR Radio) Friday, June 23, 7 p.m.: Rackley Roofing 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race (FS1, PRN, Sirius NASCAR Radio)
Call 866-RACE-TIX to discuss your options with an account representative or visit NashvilleSuperSpeedway.com.
Friday and Saturday tickets are FREE for kids 12 and under (with a paying adult) at Nashville and just $10 on Sunday.
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About Nashville Superspeedway:
Nashville Superspeedway, Middle Tennessee’s racing jewel, is a year-round family friendly destination in one of the fastest growing regions in the country, Nashville, TN. Through 2022, the 1.33-mile D-shaped oval with 14 degrees of banking has hosted two NASCAR Cup Series races, 23 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, 15 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events and eight Indy Racing League contests. The largest concrete-only track in NASCAR, Nashville Superspeedway is owned by Speedway Motorsports, LLC.
