FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: ATLANTA NOTES

A doubleheader highlights this weekend’s NASCAR action as the NASCAR Camping World Truck and NASCAR Xfinity Series take to the track on Saturday with the NASCAR Cup Series wrapping up the action on Sunday. Ryan Blaney is the defending champion of this weekend’s Folds of Honor 500, which capped a five-race win streak for Ford at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

This Week’s Schedule:
Saturday, March 19 – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, 2:30 p.m. (FS1)
Saturday, March 19 – NASCAR XFINITY Series, 5 p.m. (FS1)
Sunday, March 20 – NASCAR Cup Series, 3 p.m. (FOX)

FORD IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES AT AMS

· Ford has 35 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins at AMS.
· NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen won the Atlanta 500 three straight years (1962-64).
· Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Blaney have Ford wins at the track.
· Georgia native Bill Elliott is Ford’s all-time leader at AMS with five wins.
· The Wood Brothers rank second with 12 series wins at AMS.

FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT AMS

· Ford has 10 NASCAR XFINITY Series wins at AMS, all but two by RFK Racing.
· Kevin Harvick won at the track in 2018 and eventually swept the weekend.
· Jeff Gordon won his first series race, and the first one ever held at AMS, with Ford in 1992.
· Harvick leads all drivers with five series wins.
· Mark Martin has the most Ford wins with three while Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards have two each.

FORD IN THE CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES AT AMS

· Grant Enfinger recorded Ford’s first series win at the track in 2020.
· Ford has 107 all-time series victories.

BLANEY GOES FOR REPEAT WHILE FORD LOOKS TO START NEW WIN STREAK

Ford saw its five-race winning streak at Atlanta Motor Speedway come to an end in July, but Ryan Blaney’s victory in this event a year ago gave the manufacturer at least one win at the 1.5-mile track in five straight seasons. Blaney passed Kyle Larson eight laps to go and extended his lead the rest of the way as he took the checkered flag by 2.083 seconds ahead of Larson. Blaney led 25 laps on the day as he won for the first time in Atlanta and fifth time his career. He was going in the top 10 by fellow Ford drivers Chris Buescher (7th) and Kevin Harvick (10th). Ford’s AMS streak started when Brad Keselowski and Harvick alternated wins from 2017-2020.

THE FIRST TIME SINCE…

Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe have become first-time NASCAR Cup Series winners in the season’s first month. Cindric captured the season-opening Daytona 500 while Briscoe won last weekend’s Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix Raceway. This marks the first time since 2011 that multiple Ford drivers have recorded their first series win in the same season. On that occasion, Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500 with the Wood Brothers, David Ragan took the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, and Marcos Ambrose captured the road course event at Watkins Glen with Richard Petty Motorsports.

SIX FORD DRIVERS IN CUP TOP 10

Ford leads all manufacturers with six drivers currently in the top 10 of the NASCAR Cup Series point standings. Joey Logano leads the overall standings while fellow Blue Oval teammates Chase Briscoe, Aric Almirola, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric are fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively. Kevin Harvick, on the strengths of his season-best sixth-place run on Sunday, rounds out the top 10 in 10th.

AT LEAST ONE TOP 10 FINISH

Ford has 15 full-time teams competing in the NASCAR Cup Series this season and after four races all but five of them have at least one top 10 finish. Aric Almirola was the only driver to have a top 10 in the first three races and narrowly missed extending that to four after a 12th-place finish on Sunday. Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick each have a pair while Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buecher and David Ragan (No. 15 RWR) have one each.

FORD ATLANTA HIGHLIGHTS

KESELOWSKI GETS FIRST CUP WIN FOR MUSTANG

Brad Keselowski gave Mustang its first NASCAR Cup Series victory as he held off Martin Truex Jr. at the finish to win the Folds of Honor 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2019. Keselowski, who was battling an illness all weekend and had Austin Cindric standing by in case he needed relief, led the final 33 laps to post his 28th career victory. In all, Ford led 177 of the 325 laps and won for the third straight year at the 1.5-mile track.

HARVICK DOMINATES

Kevin Harvick led eight times for a race-high 181 laps in winning the Fold’s of Honor 500 in 2018 and completing a sweep of the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY races. After winning all three stages the day before in his Ford Mustang, Harvick took the first stage in the Cup race and then led the final 25 laps to post his 38th career victory and third with Ford. Brad Keselowski finished second and Clint Bowyer third to give Ford a 1-2-3 sweep. Ford dominated from start to finish as four drivers combined to lead 272-of-325 laps. Harvick became the first Ford driver to sweep a Cup/XFINITY weekend since Joey Logano did it in 2015 at Watkins Glen International.

SNOW DAYS

Morgan Shepherd captured Ford’s 400th series victory in 1993 when snow delayed the Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 for nearly a week. The original race date was Sunday, March 14, 1992, but a blizzard that would eventually be called the ‘Storm of the Century’ pounded the Atlanta area with 6-8 inches of snow. An estimated 82,000 fans came back the following Saturday, where they were greeted by souvenir rigs that sports t-shirts proclaiming ‘I Survived the Atlanta Blizzard 500.’ When the race started, Mark Martin had the dominant car as he led 140 of the first 225 laps, but engine problems put him out of the running and Shepherd took advantage as he stretched his fuel mileage to the finish, leading the final 12 laps and winning by a whopping 23.50 seconds. The win for Shepherd, who was 51 at the time, was his fourth and final victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

SWEEP DREAMS

Marvin Panch was the first driver to sweep both AMS races in a single season when he did it in 1965 with the Wood Brothers. Georgia native Bill Elliott posted a pair of season sweeps (1985 and 1992) and won five times overall while Carl Edwards registered the first win of his career at the speedway in 2005 and matched it later that fall.

LORENZEN LAPS THE FIELD

Ford went to victory lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the first time in 1961 when NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen captured the Festival 250 on July 9 while driving for Holman-Moody. He did it in dominating fashion as well by lapping the field. Lorenzen, who led 52 laps on the day, beat runner-up Bob Welborn by one lap in his 1961 Ford. Richard Petty finished third that afternoon, but was three laps down. That victory served as a springboard for Lorenzen’s future success at AMS, which included becoming the first driver to win the Atlanta 500 three straight years (1962-63-64).

FORD’S ATLANTA NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS

1961 – Fred Lorenzen

1962 – Fred Lorenzen

1963 – Fred Lorenzen

1964 – Fred Lorenzen and Ned Jarrett

1965 – Marvin Panch (sweep)

1967 – Cale Yarborough and Dick Hutcherson

1968 – LeeRoy Yarbrough

1969 – LeeRoy Yarbrough

1975 – Buddy Baker

1978 – Bobby Allison

1981 – Neil Bonnett

1985 – Bill Elliott (sweep)

1987 – Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliott

1990 – Morgan Shepherd

1991 – Mark Martin

1992 – Bill Elliott (sweep)

1993 – Morgan Shepherd

1994 – Ernie Irvan and Mark Martin

1997 – Dale Jarrett

2002 – Kurt Busch

2005 – Carl Edwards (sweep)

2008 – Carl Edwards

2017 – Brad Keselowski

2018 – Kevin Harvick

2019 – Brad Keselowski

2020 – Kevin Harvick

2021 – Ryan Blaney (1)

FORD’S ATLANTA NASCAR XFINITY WINNERS

1992 – Jeff Gordon

1997 – Mark Martin

1998 – Mark Martin

2000 – Mark Martin

2004 – Matt Kenseth

2005 – Carl Edwards

2008 – Matt Kenseth

2011 – Carl Edwards

2012 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

2018 – Kevin Harvick

FORD’S ATLANTA NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES WINNERS

2020 – Grant Enfinger

KEVIN HARVICK
Atlanta Advance
No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Folds of Honor 500 (Round 5 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 20
● Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway
● Layout: 1.54-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 325 laps/500.5 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 105 laps / Stage 2: 105 laps / Final Stage: 115 laps
● TV/Radio: FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Atlanta’s sports venues seemingly age quickly. The Georgia Dome, which played host to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and was the site of two Super Bowls (1994 and 2000) and the 1996 Summer Olympics, only lasted 25 years before being demolished in favor of the state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which opened its doors in August 2017. Nearby Turner Field was home to the Atlanta Braves for just 19 years before the MLB team moved to a brand-new stadium – Truist Park – just north of the city in March 2017. (Turner Field still exists, but it’s now a football stadium for Georgia State University, whose football program debuted in 2010.) Atlanta Motor Speedway has taken a page from the playbook of its stick-and-ball neighbors and reinvented itself for a second time after a massive reconfiguration back in 1997 changed the track from a regular, 1.522-mile oval to a quad-oval that measured in at 1.54 miles. That layout quickly became one of the fastest on the entire NASCAR Cup Series schedule, a point proven when Geoff Bodine ventured onto the new surface on Nov. 15, 1997 and turned a lap at 197.478 mph – a track record that was never broken. Now, 25 years later, like its Atlanta sports venue brethren, the Atlanta Motor Speedway we once knew is all new. It is still 1.54 miles in length, but the banking has been increased from 24 degrees to 28 degrees, and the track has been narrowed from 55-feet wide to 40-feet wide, and it’s all covered in fresh asphalt. The goal of the reconstruction was to re-create the kind of pack-style racing seen at the behemoth, 2.5-mile Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and the even bigger 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Will it work? We’ll find out when cars hit the track this Friday for practice before qualifying on Saturday and the Folds of Honor 500 on Sunday.

● The previous version of Atlanta Motor Speedway is all Kevin Harvick has ever known. The driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has made 32 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Atlanta – the most of any active driver. In fact, Harvick leads a bevy of categories at Atlanta….

• He has a series-leading nine top-fives at Atlanta. Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch are next best with eight top-fives apiece.
• He is tied with Kurt Busch for the most top-10s at Atlanta (16). Martin Truex Jr., is next best with 12 top-10s.
• He has led a series-high 1,348 laps at Atlanta. Kurt Busch is next best with 948 laps led.
• He has completed a series-high 10,127 laps at Atlanta. Denny Hamlin is next best with 6.983 laps completed.

● Who is the all-time leader at Atlanta? That’s none other than Richard Petty. They call him “The King” for a reason: 65 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Atlanta with six wins, 22 top-fives, 33 top-10s and 1,827 laps led with 17,513 laps completed.

● Harvick has three NASCAR Cup Series wins at Atlanta. His first at the track was the first of his career, and it came a little over 20 years ago on March 11, 2001. The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 was just Harvick’s third race in a Cup Series car. He started fifth in the 325-lap contest and led twice for 18 laps, including the final six. But Harvick had to earn the win on the final lap and hold off a then three-time champion in Jeff Gordon. Harvick succeeded, outdueling the eventual 2001 series champion to take the win by a scant .006 margin of victory – the seventh-closest finish in NASCAR history.

● Of course, the backstory to that first win is significant. Harvick wasn’t just driving any racecar when he won at Atlanta. He was driving the racecar that less than a month earlier had been piloted by the sport’s titan, Dale Earnhardt. The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion died on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Team owner Richard Childress tabbed Harvick, who was racing for him in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, to pull double-duty and take over Earnhardt’s Cup ride. The No. 3, made iconic by Earnhardt, was changed to the No. 29 and Harvick made his Cup Series debut Feb. 25 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham. Harvick started 36th that Sunday at Rockingham, but rain washed over the 1.017-mile oval just 51 laps into the 393-lap race. The race resumed at 11 a.m. ET on Monday, whereupon Harvick drove to a solid 14th-place finish. He then traveled to Las Vegas on Tuesday, married his wife, DeLana, on Wednesday, and was back in a racecar on Friday, competing in both the Xfinity Series and Cup Series events at Las Vegas. After finishing eighth on Sunday to score his first career top-10 in the Cup Series, Harvick headed to Atlanta where the first of his 58 career Cup Series wins was secured.

● Harvick is also incredibly good at Atlanta outside of the NASCAR Cup Series. He has five Xfinity Series wins at the track, including four in his last six starts at the 1.54-mile oval, the most recent of which ended in victory – February 2018 when he walloped the field, leading four times for a race-high 141 laps and cruising to the win with a 4.183 margin over second-place Joey Logano. In 17 career Xfinity Series start at Atlanta, Harvick has 11 top-fives and 13 top-10s with 973 laps led. And in his two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at Atlanta, Harvick has a win and a second-place finish. He finished second in his Truck Series debut at Atlanta in March 2009, where he led four times for a race-high 68 laps before coming up .122 of a second short of beating Kyle Busch for the win. But in Harvick’s Truck Series return to Atlanta in March 2010, he dominated by leading twice for a race-high 100 laps and this time besting runner-up Kyle Busch by 1.308 seconds.

● The Mobil 1 branding on Harvick’s No. 4 Ford Mustang goes more than skin deep as the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand gives Harvick an added advantage. Mobil 1 products are used throughout his racecar and they extend beyond just engine oil. Power steering fluid, transmission fluid, gear oil and driveline lubricants from Mobil 1 give Harvick a technical advantage over his counterparts by reducing friction, heat and rolling resistance. Mobil 1 is a sponsor whose technology makes Harvick’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang faster.

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang

How do you feel about the new Atlanta Motor Speedway?

“As a driver, there was nothing better than the Atlanta Motor Speedway and its old asphalt. Now it’s a new racetrack, and it’s obviously going to be different. But a lot of things this year are different, so it fits right into the theme.”

You’re going to a whole new Atlanta with a whole new car. How do you tackle that?

“Atlanta is a race where you have some actual practice, so that’s a good thing. It’s another element that you have to add in there with the grip level of the racetrack and the new asphalt and everything that comes with that, and where to run on the racetrack. So, you have things that are just going to chew up time on practice day as far as learning what you need to do from the driver’s seat, and that progression of the racetrack definitely affects the handling of the racecar. There are just so many challenges in the beginning of the year with new racetracks and new cars and logistics and you just have to be very open-minded. You have to take it one step at a time and not get too frustrated with everything that’s going to be going on because there’s going to be a lot to digest.”

Do you look forward to this challenge with all the experience the No. 4 Mobil 1 team has between you and crew chief Rodney Childers?

“Any moment can be the moment, right? So just approach it like any moment can be your moment. You have to be able to let everything go that happened in the last practice or the week before or the race before and apply yourself to the current, real-life situation of trying to achieve what everybody wants to achieve in that moment. So you have to stay in the moment and do the things that it takes to be successful right now.”

You’ve always embraced change. Do you feel that your willingness to accept change has you better prepared for this first race at the new Atlanta?

“That really goes back to when we started at SHR and that was a topic of conversation about the original building of the 4 team, and that Rodney (Childers) and I have always been open minded to progression and things that we haven’t done in the past and doing things differently – being open to doing things differently, even if you think they should be the same, and knowing the timing of when to change those things and talking through all those things. So, the communication part is going to be super important in order to not get lost with everything that’s going on. And being able to communicate that and work through it together is important because any moment can be your moment.”

You’ve written a lot of chapters in your career at Atlanta. Does the new Atlanta provide you with an opportunity to write a new chapter?

“Any place is a great place to have a moment, and that just shows the magnitude of our sport and the things that we do. Any town or any track can be a spectacular moment and a defining moment in your career. Obviously, you can’t ever repeat your first win, you can’t ever do that again. So that will always be there no matter what the facility looks like.”

How important is Mobil 1’s technology in the overall efficiency of your racecar, specifically in regard to reducing friction, heat and rolling resistance?

“Mobil 1 technology is a true difference maker, especially this year with the new car. With everyone essentially having the same parts and pieces, we have to maximize what we’ve got. Efficiency equals speed. The less friction, the less rolling resistance, the faster you’ll go. From the synthetic oil in the engine to all the lubricants throughout the car, it all adds up to a more efficient racecar, and that shows up on the stopwatch.”

No. 4 Mobil 1 Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Kevin Harvick
Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Crew Chief: Rodney Childers
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Car Chief: Robert “Cheddar” Smith
Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin

Engineer: Dax Gerringer
Hometown: Gibsonville, North Carolina

Engineer: Stephen Doran
Hometown: Butler, Pennsylvania

Spotter: Tim Fedewa
Hometown: Holt, Michigan

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala
Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith
Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Jeremy Howard
Hometown: Delhart, Texas

Jack Man: Stan Doolittle
Hometown: Ninety Six, South Carolina

Fuel Man: Evan Marchal
Hometown: Westfield, Indiana

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Richie Bean
Hometown: Bradford, Vermont

Mechanic: Nick DeFazio
Hometown: Orange, California

Tire Specialist: Jamie Turski
Hometown: Trumbull, Connecticut

Engine Tuner: Robert Brandt
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama

Transporter Co-Driver: Rick Hodges
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Stephen Mitchell
Hometown: Woodville, Ohio

KYLE BUSCH
Starting Over at Atlanta

HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (March 15, 2022) – The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend for the first of two races at the 1.54-mile oval this season. While the oval’s length remains the same, virtually every other aspect of the track that lies south of downtown Atlanta looks completely different than it did when the series last visited there in July.

Among the changes to Atlanta to go with new pavement to replace the worn-out surface are increases to its banking in the turns from 24 to 28 degrees, with the track width varying from 55 feet to 40 feet. The frontstretch width is now 52 feet, while the backstretch and turns are set at 42 and 40 feet wide, respectively.

What does this mean for the racing this weekend at Atlanta? It means the racing fans were used to seeing at Atlanta will look totally different and unlike any of the other 1.5-mile ovals on the schedule. While Atlanta is more than a mile less in length than Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval) and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval), the changes expected to make the racing Atlanta look more like those two tracks than the traditional 1.5-mile track.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), will head to the new-look Atlanta to take on the new track surface and configuration, and what the racing on it may bring. While it’s designed to facilitate more pack-style racing, there are countless other unknowns thanks to not only the new layout, but because it’s just the fifth points-paying race for NASCAR’s new NextGen racecar.

Busch returns to the facility this weekend where the winning for him began with JGR in 2008. That was his first year with JGR, and he headed to Atlanta for the fourth Cup Series race of the season aiming to bring home the maiden victory for the team’s two new partners – Mars Wrigley with its SNICKERS brand, and Toyota. After leading a race-high 173 laps, Busch broke through for the first time in NASCAR’s top series for Toyota, which was in its second year of Cup Series competition and its first with JGR. Busch added an Atlanta Cup Series win in 2013 to go with eight top-five finishes and 11 top-10s over his career there.

So, as the Cup Series head to new-look Atlanta this weekend, Busch and the M&M’S team hope to be fast learners on a new surface with a new car in bringing home a third Cup Series win at the track. It would be extra sweet in this final year with M&M’S on board as a primary partner to win again at Atlanta with also would mark Busch’s milestone 60th Cup Series victory.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

What are you expecting out of Atlanta this weekend with the big changes made to the track?

“Atlanta is going to be crazy. It literally got a facelift with a whole new track surface and layout and everything. Looking forward to getting to Atlanta. It’s going to be a different race than what we’ve had there in years past, where you have the old asphalt and really have fast lap times to fire off, and then you have a lot of fall-off where lap times go down throughout the run. That led to having some guys come up through the field and others drop through the field, whether or not they are fast early in the run or slow late in the run, or vice versa. This time around, it’s going to be more like a Daytona or Talladega speedway race. You are going to see a lot of pack racing with some guys two-wide and maybe three-wide, and we’ll have to see how wide the track gets in the time we have on it. Really paying attention and watching some of the Truck Series and Xfinity Series racing earlier in the weekend. It’s going to be helpful to see what we’ll have for Sunday. We’ll learn as much as we can and would like to figure out how to run up front and contend for the win with our M&M’S Camry TRD.”

What are your memories of racing at Atlanta?

“I’ve won a few Truck Series races there. That was fun. I won for the first time in an Xfinity race there a few years ago, so that was very cool. I finished second three or four times, so it had been an Achilles heel for me, I guess. The Cup races there, I’ve either been really good or really bad, it seems. Obviously, it’s a whole new ballgame there, so we can throw out our notes from the past since it won’t mean a ton for this weekend or going forward there.”

You gave Toyota its first Cup Series win by scoring a victory at Atlanta in March 2008. What do you remember about that?

“Running in Atlanta and being able to put Toyota in victory lane for the first time, that was special for me and for Joe Gibbs Racing and everybody. Certainly, that was neat. We’ve been fortunate to be able to put Toyota and Mars in victory lane a lot more times over the years. With it being the last year for Mars in NASCAR, it’s fun to look back at that win and see all that we’ve accomplished since then. It was really neat to get SNICKERS and Toyota to victory lane, but also having been able to sustain that with a lot more wins since then with M&M’S, Skittles, Doublemint and all the Mars Wrigley brands being able to go out there and win with them over the years.”

Event Overview:

● Event: Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (Round 5 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 20
● Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway
● Layout: 1.54-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 325 laps/500 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 105 laps / Stage 2: 105 laps / Final Stage: 115 laps
● TV/Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Meet the No. 18 M&M’S / Joe Gibbs Racing Team

Primary Team Members:

Driver: Kyle Busch
Hometown: Las Vegas

Crew Chief: Ben Beshore
Hometown: York, Pennsylvania

Car Chief: Nate Bellows
Hometown: Fairfax, Vermont

Spotter: Tony Hirschman
Hometown: Northampton, Pennsylvania

Race Engineer: Seth Chavka
Hometown: Soldotna, Alaska

Race Engineer: Jaik Halpainy
Hometown: Blockville, New York

Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Gas Man: Matt Tyrrell
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Front Tire Changer: Thomas Hatcher
Hometown: Middleburg, Florida

Jackman: Kellen Mills
Hometown: Mesa, Arizona

Tire Carrier: CJ Bailey
Hometown: Outer Banks, North Carolina

Rear Tire Changer: Lee Cunningham
Hometown: Leaf River, Illinois

Road Crew Members:

Engine Tuner: Dan Bajek
Hometown: Camden, New York

Truck Driver: Chris Miko
Hometown: Bronx, New York

Truck Driver: Mike Curtis
Hometown: Grandby, Connecticut

Mechanic/Tire Specialist: Justin Peiffer
Hometown: Lebanon, Pennsylvania

Mechanic: Scott Eldridge
Hometown: Warsaw, Indiana

Mechanic: Tony Hamm
Hometown: Walla, Walla, Washington

Notes of Interest:

● All in the Stats: Busch has two wins, eight top-five finishes, 11 top-10s and has led a total of 530 laps in 24 career Cup Series starts at Atlanta. Busch’s average Atlanta finish is 13.0.

● Early Look at Points: With Atlanta marking the fifth points-paying race of the season, Busch sits just four points behind series leader Joey Logano in the driver standings. Busch has three top-10 finishes in the four races contested so far this season.

● Close Calls: While Busch last won a Cup Series race at Atlanta in 2013, the two-time Cup Series champion has only finished outside the top-10 twice in his past 10 starts there. Along with his runner-up finish at Atlanta last July, Busch has scored three straight top-fives and five straight top-10s there.

● Feels Like the First Time: Back in 2008, his first year with JGR, Busch headed to Atlanta for the fourth NASCAR Cup Series race of the season aiming to bring home his first win for the team’s two new partners – Mars Wrigley and Toyota. After leading a race-high 173 laps, the Las Vegas native captured his first win for Mars Wrigley/SNICKERS®, as well as the first win in NASCAR’s top series for Toyota, which was in its second year of Cup Series competition and its first year with JGR.

● Making History at Atlanta: Busch’s history-making 2008 win at Atlanta also marked the end of a 147-race drought for JGR’s No. 18 team, and it was Busch’s first of 55 Cup Series wins for JGR, so far. Busch has now totaled 205 overall wins among NASCAR’s top three series driving Toyota vehicles – 55 in the Cup Series, 91 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and 55 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Add 21 overall wins prior to joining JGR at the beginning of 2008 and Busch is at 222 combined Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series wins, and counting.