RELATED: Full starting lineup
HAMPTON, Ga. -- Engines fired early Saturday morning at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with NASCAR XFINITY Series qualifying starting at 8:35 a.m.
It's cold (41 degrees) and bright -- and fast, which helped get the adrenaline pumping, at least, as some drivers suggested moving the session back to at least 10 a.m. ET next time around. The Heads Up Georgia 250 starts at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday (FS1, PRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.)
"I'm awake now," Ryan Reed said after laying down his first-round qualifying time. "Going 180 mph, 190 mph into Turn 1. But no, I'm not a morning person."
Darrell Wallace Jr. made it into the second round of qualifying, apparently with one hand tied behind his back -- or something like that.
"One eye is closed right now, you just can't see it," Wallace told FS1's Jamie Little, his sunglasses preventing him from proving it.
Ryan Sieg may have had the toughest morning, with flashing lights in his rearview before he even reached the track (he was running late.)
Sieg seemed to be none the worse for wear, qualifying eighth in the No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet for the afternoon XFINITY race. And he told reporters he got a warning -- he wasn't saying how fast he was going.