TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
Atlanta Motor Speedway
February 22-23, 2025
With the 2025 NASCAR season officially in full swing, there is no rest for the drivers and teams in the sports’ national divisions as all three series will gear up for a trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway for back-to-back weekends of superspeedway racing.
Coming off a strong showing at the “World Center of Racing”, Chevrolet carries the momentum to yet another drafting-style circuit that has fared well for the Bowtie brigade in recent years. In three years of competition on Atlanta’s reconfigured surface, Chevrolet continues to be the only manufacturer to have found victory lane in all three national divisions – entering the weekend with four Cup Series wins, four Xfinity Series wins and two Truck Series wins.
CHEVROLET AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
Chevrolet is the winningest manufacturer at Atlanta Motor Speedway across all three NASCAR national series with 45 all-time Cup Series wins, 21 Xfinity Series wins and 11 Truck Series wins.
In NASCAR’s top division, Kurt Busch drove the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet to the victory in the series’ final race on the track’s old configuration (July 2021). Undergoing a massive reprofiling shortly thereafter, the Bowtie brigade picked up right where they left off with Hendrick Motorsports teammates, William Byron and Chase Elliott, sweeping the wins at the 1.54-mile Georgia venue during the 2022 season. In six races since the reconfiguration, Chevrolet has earned four checkered flags – most recently one year ago with Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, who took the triumph in a history-making three-wide photo finish with Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch.
In the Xfinity Series, Chevrolet has amassed four wins in six races on the reconfigured circuit – all of which have been earned with Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill. The 30-year-old Winston, Georgia, native is always an automatic favorite when it comes to superspeedway-style races, and his recent success at his home track of Atlanta Motor Speedway proves just that. Hill has finished no worse that second in five of his six starts since the track’s reprofiling.
In the Truck Series, the Bowtie brand will look to go three-straight at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. The manufacturer’s most recent Truck Series triumph at the track came in Feb. 2024 with two-time Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch, behind the wheel of a Spire Motorsports-prepared Chevrolet. The victory marked Chevrolet’s 11th Truck Series win at the Georgia oval – moving the manufacturer to the top of the all-time wins leaderboard at the track. The 39-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada, native will have the opportunity to defend his race winning title this weekend, with the Team Chevy driver jumping back into the Spire Motorsports entry for his first of five Truck Series starts of the season.
RELIVING HISTORY
The 2024 season delivered some of the closest, and even record-breaking, finishes in NASCAR history across all three national divisions. On that list includes the NASCAR Cup Series’ first of two appearances at the 1.54-mile Georgia venue last season. Daniel Suarez’s first-career oval victory in NASCAR’s premier series did not come without a fight. Taking the white flag, fellow Chevrolet driver, Kyle Busch, maneuvered his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to the middle lane between Suarez and Ryan Blaney. Exiting the final corner gridlocked side-by-side, it was Suarez who was able to edge his Chevrolet across the line first by a margin of 0.003 seconds over runner-up Blaney and 0.007 seconds over third-place Busch – setting the record for the closest three-wide finish in NASCAR history.
NEXT GEN NUMBERS
Heading into the Atlanta race weekend, Chevrolet owns a winning percentage of 63 percent in superspeedway-style racing in the Next Gen era. Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron is the most recent driver to add a tally to the manufacturer’s win count after becoming just the fifth driver in history to become a back-to-back DAYTONA 500 champion. The crown jewel triumph marked Chevrolet’s 12th win in 19 superspeedway races in the Next Gen era. Byron is one of seven drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations that have earned a trip to victory lane in the Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The reigning DAYTONA 500 champion leads the series with four superspeedway wins in the Next Gen car, two of which have come at Atlanta Motor Speedway (July 2023; Feb. 2024).
RCR DUO PROVING SUPERSPEEDWAY POWER
Richard Childress Racing continues to be an automatic frontrunner when NASCAR hits a drafting-style track. At Daytona International Speedway last weekend, an unfortunate mechanical issue ended Austin Hill’s streak at three-straight in the Xfinity Series’ season-opener race. But Hill’s teammate, Jesse Love, was able to keep Richard Childress Racing on top by earning the victory and the series’ first playoff berth. The win marked Love’s second career Xfinity Series victory, with his first also coming at a superspeedway in his rookie season (Talladega Superspeedway – Oct. 2024). The 20-year-old Menlo Park, California, native has already tallied five Xfinity Series pole wins in his young career, including both of the series’ events at Atlanta Motor Speedway last season. Hill is a 10-time Xfinity Series winner, with seven coming at a drafting-style track. The Winston, Georgia, native has finished no worse than second in five of his six Xfinity Series starts at the newly reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway, including four trips to victory lane.
REIGNING ROWDY
Kyle Busch will return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for five starts again this season, with the first coming up this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The series’ winningest driver will return to the seat of the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in hopes of going back-to-back at the 1.54-mile Georgia venue. His first of two Truck Series wins last season came at Atlanta Motor Speedway (Feb. 2024) – a victory that earned Chevrolet its now series-leading 11th win at the track. Throughout his storied career, Busch has found success across the NASCAR national ranks at Atlanta Motor Speedway with multiple wins in each division. Busch is one of just four active full-time drivers that is a two-time Atlanta winner in NASCAR’s premier series, while also earning seven Truck Series wins and three Xfinity Series wins at the track.
BOWTIE BULLETS:
- Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Atlanta Motor Speedway:
William Byron – two wins (July 2023; March 2022)
Kyle Busch – two wins (Sept. 2013, March 2008)
Daniel Suarez – one win (Feb. 2024)
Chase Elliott – one win (July 2022)
- In 121 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Chevrolet has recorded a series-leading 45 victories – most recently one year ago with Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez.
- Since the reconfiguration of Atlanta Motor Speedway prior to the start of the 2022 season, Chevrolet has been the only manufacturer to reach victory lane in all three of NASCAR’s national divisions – leading the way with four Cup Series wins, four Xfinity Series wins and two Truck Series wins.
- Since the debut of the Next Gen car in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022, Chevrolet has won 12 of the 19 superspeedway-style races – recorded by seven drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations.
- In 109 points-paying races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 53 victories – a winning percentage of 48.6%.
- With its 43 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 867 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.
TUNE-IN:
NASCAR Cup Series
Ambetter Health 400
Sunday, February 23, 3 p.m. ET
FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250
Saturday, February 22, 5 p.m. ET
CW, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Fr8 208
Saturday, February 22, 1:30 p.m. ET
FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Tell us about the evolution of racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“It’s amazing how much Atlanta has changed from the repave, and then to the new version of the car and how much we’ve had to adapt to the new style of racing at Atlanta. It’s kind of wild to think how Atlanta is now a drafting a track but it has created some exciting finishes. You look back at last year’s race with my teammate Daniel’s (Suárez) win and how close that finish was. It’s cool to see the fan’s excited for the racing at Atlanta and I hope to be the guy in victory lane this weekend with the Moose Fraternity Chevrolet.”
Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
“I enjoy Atlanta. The track is really starting to wear, I feel like there’s three grooves now. You really have to put an emphasis on making sure your handling is good. After getting our first race out of the way, we can only get better. I like where the 7 team is at and we are ready to get back out on the track.”
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
“Atlanta is kind of a crapshoot race in general with it now being a superspeedway race. It takes a lot of speed, but also a car that handles well to be successful there. You have to pick the right line at the right time to get yourself to get yourself where you can log some laps, especially in the middle stage of the race, and not get caught up in a crash when cars start to handle differently and mistakes are made. The superspeedway style of racing, there’s so many things that can change just in a given lap, let alone that whole race. Races at Atlanta have become ones to remember.”
Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
“Atlanta Motor Speedway, it’s been quite a different race the past few years since the repave. I feel like every time I’ve gone back there, I’ve gained more and more confidence on how to approach it. It’s not a total superspeedway feeling, but it’s not really a mile and a half race. It’s got its own unique approach to it. You have to be aggressive, but you also have to have a strong car to be able to make the moves you need to make. We came out of Daytona with a strong run and we’re really hoping for the same thing at Atlanta to really catapult our season in the right direction. The first two races are very important for starting on the right foot. So, I look forward to Atlanta. My luck hasn’t been that good, but it’s about time for it to turn around at the racetrack.”
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
“Coming off Daytona where our race cars were really fast, I’m looking forward to getting to Atlanta as it’s obviously a superspeedway type racetrack. We’ve had success in the past at Atlanta but there’s a lot of unknowns throughout the race. Hopefully, we can go there and have speed like we did in the (Daytona) 500 and have a solid race to rebound from the deficit that we are in now after Daytona. We’ll do all that we can to have a good qualifying effort and try to run up front and have a good finish.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
With the track repave prior to the 2022 NASCAR season, Atlanta is now more akin to a superspeedway versus a typical intermediate track. As someone that the sport has labeled a superspeedway ace, would you say this change helped you on a track where you once struggled in the Cup series?
“Yeah, I think so. I mean we won in the Xfinity Series there, and I always felt like that was one of my favorite racetracks. Then, we struggled in the NASCAR Cup Series a little bit. We had some good runs. I mean I really loved the racetrack even prior to the repave. It was one of my favorites that we went to. The repave definitely gives us a better opportunity to win though. We had two really good runs there last year. That was the first time since the repave that I really felt like we got the handling characteristics of our cars back to where they needed to be. I feel like this team has a good handle on the superspeedways and providing a car that is handling well and can hold the throttle down for a longer period of time. That’s where our benefit is. I’m looking forward to getting to Atlanta though. We finished sixth last February, and in the summer race we were really strong and ran up in the top five a lot, so I’m looking forward to it. It’s a fun racetrack for us.”
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Atlanta Motor Speedway is another drafting track like Daytona. How have you been able to learn drafting and what is it like to you?
“You can’t practice that in the simulator (laughs). It’s odd, you do qualifying one lap by yourself and it’s boring, you’re driving around with one hand blocking the air and all that, but when you’re in a pack, you’re doing four or five seconds a lap quicker. It’s unbelievable! Last year in my (Cup) races on drafting tracks, I had two yellow stripes on the back of my bumper, so people were ignoring me, so glad I don’t have that on my Chevrolet this year. But it’s (drafting) cool, once you learn and build a little bit of trust, people get confident around you. It’s a different way of racing.”
Your NASCAR career has accelerated really quickly over the last two years from winning the inaugural Chicago Street Race to now racing full-time in the Cup Series. Were you ready for all of this?
“It was always the plan. I am really glad I didn’t jump straight into Cup last year. It was a great transition year, learning Xfinity and then coming to Cup. I think I would have got eaten alive if I had jumped straight in (to Cup). I feel ready for it this year! The cars are very, very different so it will be a learning year again. Halfway through the year, I want to be pushing forward, especially on the ovals, and try to be towards the front.”
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Was it fun to rewatch the Atlanta finish for “So Damn Close: Atlanta ’24” Documentary that aired last week?
“It was a lot of fun, even more fun for me, right, because I was the one that won the race. Probably wouldn’t have been that much fun if I finished second or third. In general it was a lot of fun because it was the first time we got to sit down and actually see it together and talk about it, talk about what was on Blaney’s mind, what was in Busch’s mind, in my mind. Obviously everyone had a different mindset of what to do, what not to do.”
Take us through the final laps of your win in Atlanta. Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney were second-guessing what they should have done. What gave you the confidence to do what you did?
“Honestly, I didn’t have many options because Austin Cindric was the driver that was behind me. He was lifting a lot, just trying not to help me. Obviously his teammate was leading the race at that time. My options were very limited when it came to the second lane, trying to create a run. The No. 47 of Ricky (Stenhouse), he was being very aggressive on the rear bumper of the No. 2. Even with that, I can see it, I can feel it. I was able to see it on Monday after the race on SMT. He was doing everything possible not to help me, which is okay, right? That’s part of the game. I knew the run was not going to come from me, it was going to come from the inside. My job at that point was to try to slow down the 8 (Busch) as much as possible for the No. 23 (Bubba Wallace) to get to him. It’s a chess match a chess game to get to him and build the run. Hopefully I was going to be right there to take advantage of that run. Luckily it worked out like that. Any of us could have won that race. It was a matter of inches. It was just a matter of timing and fortunately the timing worked out good for me.”
Connor Zilisch, No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
How challenging do you think the racing will be at Atlanta?
“I’ve never been to Atlanta before so it’s going to be tough to get up to speed but I’ve watched races there in the past and seen how it races. It looks like a fun racetrack and I’m excited to get there and really feel it out for the first time. I learned a lot at Daytona and I’m looking forward to this weekend.”
There is no practice time scheduled for Atlanta. What are the challenges with just qualifying and going straight into the race?
“There’s no practice so I’m going straight into qualifying and straight into the race which is different from what I’m used to. It’s going to be the same for everybody. I don’t think it will be too big of a struggle.”
Since you have never raced at Atlanta, how important is it to lean on your teammates (especially Justin Allgaier) for advice?
“All season long it’s going to be important to lean on Justin (Allgaier) and all my teammates who have experience for advice and help. Justin is a veteran in the series. There’s a lot of questions that I’ll have that he will be able to answer throughout the year, especially going to Atlanta for the first time.” especially at Atlanta going there for my first time.”
Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2024): 43
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)
Most recent: 2024
Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Drivers Championships:
Total (1949-2024): 33
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)
Most recent: Kyle Larson (2021)
Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021
Event Victories:
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)
2025 STATISTICS:
Wins: 1
Poles: 0
Laps Led: 31
Top-Fives: 1
Top-10s: 3
Stage Wins: 0
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 867 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 753
Laps led to date: 252,742
Top-fives to date: 4,370
Top-10s to date: 9,010
Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:
General Motors: 1,201
Chevrolet: 867
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 840
Ford: 740
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 189
About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.
