Posted on by Sean Montgomery

NASCAR Cup Series racing returns to Atlanta Motor Speedway this Sunday for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (2 p.m. ET on FOX/FOX Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Get up to speed on much-needed information as we explain how to watch the race, who to watch out for and much more ahead of this weekend’s event at Atlanta.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule | How to watch the race

TRACK DETAILS

Atlanta Motor Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta International Raceway, is a 1.54-mile intermediate quad-oval located just south of the city in Hampton, Georgia. Since the track’s completion and inauguration in 1960, Atlanta Motor Speedway has hosted 112 Cup Series races.

With a 2,332-foot frontstretch and an 1,800-foot backstretch, each quarter-mile turn is banked at 24 degrees. The asphalt surface is the third-oldest on the circuit, last repaved in 1997. Only Dover (1995) and Auto Club (1996) have gone longer without being repaved.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts took home the first-ever Cup Series checkered flag at Atlanta Motorspeedway, known then as Atlanta International Raceway, on July 21, 1960.

STAGE LENGTHS

Stage 1 is set to end on Lap 105, Stage 2 on Lap 210 and the Final Stage on Lap 325.

RULES PACKAGE

As racing shifts back to the 2020 intermediate track package, Cup Series cars will feature a 550 horsepower tapered spacer engine with aero ducts (an adjustment made after the 2019 Atlanta race), an eight- by 61-inch rear spoiler and a front splitter with a two-inch overhang.

GOODYEAR TIRES

An abrasive track means more tires. Cup Series teams will be allowed three sets of Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials for practice, one set for qualifying and 13 sets for the race (12 new race sets, plus one transferred from practice or qualifying). As one of the oldest and most worn tracks on the premier series circuit, tire management will be essential in maintaining track position and having enough momentum to have a strong finish in the final stage.

“Tires are always something teams and fans think about when NASCAR makes its annual stop at Atlanta Motor Speedway,” Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing, said in a release. “With the abrasive track surface, tires are an important part of the race. Tire management often comes into play as those drivers that are easier on their tires early in a run will profit from that later on. Teams will opt for four tires on every stop, even after just a handful of laps if the opportunity presents itself. That also draws in the team aspect of our sport as the pit crews will be very busy with 13 sets of tires for the race.”

KEY STATS

– Kevin Harvick led the most laps in five consecutive races at Atlanta Motor Speedway (2014-18), placing him in a tie with David Pearson for the longest streak of all-time.

– Six drivers have won 56 of the last 67 races at 1.5-mile tracks: Martin Truex Jr. (12), Kevin Harvick (10), Jimmie Johnson (10), Brad Keselowski (nine), Kyle Busch (eight) and Joey Logano (seven).

– Seven different drivers have won the last seven races on 1.5-mile tracks. Alex Bowman (Chicago-2019), Kurt Busch (Kentucky-2019), Martin Truex Jr. (Las Vegas playoff race-2019), Denny Hamlin (Kansas playoff race-2019), Kevin Harvick (Texas playoff race-2019), Kyle Busch (Homestead playoff race-2019) and Joey Logano (Las Vegas-2020).

– Bill Elliott is the only Georgia-born driver to win a race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with five career Cup Series wins at the track. After Chase Elliott’s four trips to Atlanta, he holds the best average finish among all active drivers at the track at 10.5.

– Hendrick Motorsports and Wood Brothers Racing are tied for the most drivers to win for their respective organization at Atlanta. Jimmie Johnson is the most recent winner of the group, last taking home the checkered flag during his 2016 title campaign for Hendrick.

Source: Racing Insights

LIVE COVERAGE

Tune in to television coverage from Atlanta Motor Speedway on FS1 and the FOX Sports App starting at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday — then switch over to FOX for the remainder of pre-race and in-race action. For complete radio coverage, listen in to PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on-air at 1 p.m.

For a more interactive experience, head over to NASCAR.com or the NASCAR app to check out an enhanced Race Center, live Lap-by-Lap coverage, the customizable live leaderboard with Scanner, and the return of Drive (featuring in-car cameras). Be sure to set your lineup in Fantasy Live and make your picks in the NASCAR Finish Line App!

Special this week: Watch a live stream of Friday’s first Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series practice on NASCAR.com at 1:35 p.m. ET.

2019 RACE WINNER

Brad Keselowski powered his No. 2 Team Penske Ford to Victory Lane in last season’s trip to Atlanta, marking his second win in the last three races at the track. Keselowski’s late-race charge resulted in 33 laps led and a tight .218 second margin of victory over Martin Truex Jr.

RELATED: Pre-Atlanta Power Rankings  

ACTIVE ATLANTA WINNERS

Jimmie Johnson (five); Kurt Busch (three); Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch (two); Denny Hamlin (one).

Posted on by RJ Kraft

NASCAR Finish Line, a free-to-play gaming app from Penn National Gaming, has launched for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. Each week, there will be six groups of six drivers for the upcoming race. Users will predict which driver will finish first among each group and then the overall race winner for a chance to win $50,000 if all seven scenarios are correctly selected.

Last week’s race at Phoenix Raceway saw no jackpot winners earn the $50K prize.

RELATED: Download NASCAR Finish Line

The second of six groups for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (2 p.m. ET on FOX/FOX Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Atlanta Motor Speedway consists of Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Erik Jones and Jimmie Johnson. Of the six drivers, Johnson is the only one to win a Cup race — he has five victories — at the 1.54-mile track. Logano is the only driver to have at least one win in 2020 to his name — his Phoenix victory gave him two this season. Every driver except Johnson has a top 10 at the track in the past two years.

For a stats look, NASCAR.com has compiled the results of the last two races at Atlanta, the career average finish for each driver at Atlanta and the 2020 results on intermediate tracks (the drivers’ average finish at Las Vegas and Fontana) to see who is the best play to make in Group 2.

A point system has been assigned to each year, starting with one point for the best finisher and counting up to six points for the worst finisher. Those numbers were then added up. The lowest total signifies the strongest driver (green), and the highest total represents the weakest driver (red) — in recent years.

Driver Atlanta results (’19) Atlanta results (’18) Atlanta average finish Avg. finish (’20) Total
Clint Bowyer Finished 5th (1) Finished 3rd (1) Avg. finish: 19.6 (6) Avg. finish: 17.5 (6) 14
Chase Elliott Finished 19th (4) Finished 10th (4) Avg. finish: 10.5 (1) Avg. finish: 15.0 (3.5) 12.5
Jimmie Johnson Finished 24th (6) Finished 27th (6) Avg. finish: 12.0 (3) Avg. finish: 6.0 (1) 16
Erik Jones Finished 7th (2) Finished 11th (5) Avg. finish: 10.7 (2) Avg. finish: 16.5 (5) 14
Kyle Larson Finished 12th (3) Finished 9th (3) Avg. finish: 13.8 (4) Avg. finish: 15.0 (3.5) 13.5
Joey Logano Finished 23rd (5) Finished 6th (2) Avg. finish: 17.2 (5) Avg. finish: 6.5 (2) 14

This group is pretty evenly matched, but Elliott has the slight advantage when all four categories are counted. The No. 9 Chevrolet has been one of the fastest cars this season.

Bowyer is an interesting option if you want to solely go off the last two years at Atlanta — a similar timeframe that saw Bowyer’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick fare really well at this track. If you go Bowyer, then you should take Harvick in Group 1.

Posted on by Staff Report

Ryan Newman said Wednesday morning that he’s “thankful for so many people” as well as the safety enhancements made during his time in NASCAR as he recovers from his last-lap wreck in the season-opening Daytona 500.

Newman’s appearance on NBC’s TODAY show in New York City marked his first sit-down interview since suffering serious injuries Feb. 17 at Daytona International Speedway. The 42-year-old driver briefly answered questions on his way through the garage last weekend at Phoenix Raceway.

“It’s still humbling to watch (the wreck) and know that I am sitting here without a headache, which is amazing,” Newman said Wednesday. “It’s just a miracle on so many levels. I’m thankful for so many people for prayers, and for all the things that went into me being safer in that situation. … The angels aligned and held a really good grip.”

“It’s not just me,” Newman added when asked about his personal commitment to safety over the years. “There’s a whole group at NASCAR that’s done a great job, from the tracks to the safety personnel, the drivers inside the cars, the cockpits, the containment seats that we have. There are so many levels of things that happened in the last 20 years that I’ve been part of the sport that helped me be able to sit here today.”

RELATED: Newman makes Phoenix visit

Newman was starting his 19th full-time season in NASCAR’s top division at the time of his crash. He spent less than two days in the hospital before his release, walking out of Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach with his daughters by his side.

Newman has missed the last three NASCAR Cup Series races. The Roush Fenway Racing driver said Wednesday that he’s been diagnosed with a bruised brain and was unconscious in his car for a period after the wreck. While his timetable to return to the track remains uncertain, Newman reiterated he hopes to return as soon as he is cleared.

“I love it,” Newman said of his desire to race. “It’s been a little bit painful to be out of the race car and to not be doing what I’ve done for so many years. I’ve been racing since I was 4, 4-and-a-half years old. It’s just kind of who I am.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials issued penalties Tuesday to the Team Penske No. 22 Ford team for a lug-nut infraction after Sunday’s Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway.

RELATED: Phoenix race results

The No. 22 entry was found with one lug nut not safely secured after Joey Logano drove to victory in the FanShield 500, the series’ fourth race of the year. Crew chief Paul Wolfe was fined $10,000 for the violation, which falls under Section 10.9.10.4 of the 2020 NASCAR Rule Book (“Tires and Wheels”).

Logano’s No. 22 car was otherwise compliant with the rule book, making his second Cup Series win this season official.

Posted on by Zack Albert

NASCAR competition officials confirmed Tuesday that Clint Bowyer will drive the Next Gen car for the 2021 Cup Series in next week’s two-day test at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The Monday-Tuesday test session will be the fifth on-track shakedown for next season’s car and the second for the “P3” model, the third prototype built. The car, built by Richard Childress Racing in conjunction with developers at the NASCAR Research & Development Center, is ready after contact during the last test at Auto Club Speedway on March 2-3.

RELATED: Photos from Next Gen testing at Fontana

Next Gen prototypes have previously been tested by (in order) Austin Dillon, Joey Logano, Erik Jones and William Byron. The selection of Bowyer, a Stewart-Haas Racing veteran, follows what is now a pattern of Chevrolet, Ford then Toyota drivers in the testing rotation.

The seventh-generation car’s Atlanta debut follows a tripleheader weekend of racing at the 1.54-mile track, culminating with Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM) for the NASCAR Cup Series. Next week’s test will also mark the Next Gen car’s second appearance on a track measuring roughly a mile and a half; Erik Jones drove the car in testing on Jan. 15-16 at 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The most recent test at 2-mile Auto Club Speedway marked the debut of a center-locking, single lug-nut design for the car’s 18-inch wheels. Officials confirmed that the single-lug wheel would be part of the 2021 rules rollout.

Posted on by Staff Report

The fifth and final episode of the “NASCAR All In: Battle for Daytona” docuseries is live. Produced by MotorTrend Group in partnership with NASCAR, fans who have downloaded the app and subscribed have been treated to behind-the-scenes access as three teams prep for the Daytona 500.

That goes up a notch in the final episode, titled “Win the Damn Race,” which gives viewers an in-depth and up-close look at “The Great American Race” itself.

MORE: Download the app to watch

All of the offseason work and previous episodes have led up to this moment, and cameras are there to capture the emotions before and during the race — including Corey LaJoie’s unfiltered reaction following a frightening last-lap wreck with Ryan Newman.

In this docuseries, fans will receive exclusive, inside access to NASCAR Cup Series drivers Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick and Corey LaJoie preparing for the Daytona 500 from the vantage point of the athletes, their race teams and their families. MotorTrend will go off the track for an emotional, behind-the-scenes look at the highs and lows of real-life NASCAR racing.

All five episodes are available to watch as the sports documentary series chronicles the commitment, struggles and sacrifices in the chase for greatness at the biggest race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Click here to catch up on the entire series so far, including the finale.

Posted on by
No. Driver Sponsor Make Organization
00 Quin Houff Units Chevrolet StarCom Racing
1 Kurt Busch Monster Energy Chevrolet Chip Ganassi Racing
2 Brad Keselowski AutoTrader Ford Team Penske
3 Austin Dillon Symbicort Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing
4 Kevin Harvick Hunt Brothers Pizza / Fields Ford Stewart-Haas Racing
6 Ross Chastain Acronis Ford Roush Fenway Racing
8 Tyler Reddick Roland Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing
9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports
10 Aric Almirola Eckrich Ford Stewart-Haas Racing
11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing
12 Ryan Blaney Advance Auto Parts Ford Team Penske
13 Ty Dillon GEICO Chevrolet Germain Racing
14 Clint Bowyer Haas CNC Ford Stewart-Haas Racing
15 Brennan Poole TBD Chevrolet Premium Motorsports
17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford Roush Fenway Racing
18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Messages Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing
19 Martin Truex Jr. TBA Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing
20 Erik Jones Stanley Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing
21 Matt DiBenedetto Menards / Knauf Ford Wood Brothers Racing
22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford Team Penske
24 William Byron Liberty University Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports
32 Corey LaJoie TBD Ford Go Fas Racing
34 Michael McDowell FR8 Auctions Ford Front Row Motorsports
37 Ryan Preece Cottonelle Chevrolet JTG Daugherty Racing
38 John Hunter Nemechek Yanmar Ford Front Row Motorsports
41 Cole Custer Haas Automation Ford Stewart-Haas Racing
42 Kyle Larson Clover Chevrolet Chip Ganassi Racing
43 Bubba Wallace Victory Junction Chevrolet Richard Petty Motorsports
47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Kroger Chevrolet JTG Daugherty Racing
48 Jimmie Johnson Ally Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports
51 Garrett Smithley TBD Ford Petty Ware Racing
52 JJ Yeley TBD Chevrolet Rick Ware Racing
53 Joey Gase TBD Ford Rick Ware Racing
66 Timmy Hill TBD Toyota MBM Motorsports
77 Reed Sorenson TBD Chevrolet Spire Motorsports
88 Alex Bowman Axalta Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports
95 Christopher Bell Rheem Toyota Leavine Family Racing
96 Daniel Suarez Cherry Vanilla Coke Toyota Gaunt Brothers Racing
Posted on by Data Skrive

Brandon Brown finished 12th in the LS Tractor 200 at Phoenix Raceway Saturday.

Brown’s result added 26 points to his season total.

Brown qualified in 13th position at 131.820 mph. The fifth-year driver has two top-10 finishes in his career.

Saturday was Brown’s third career start at Phoenix Raceway. Though he’s completed three of those races, he has never managed to crack the top 10 at the track.

The Woodbridge, Virginia native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting 11 spots higher than his career mark of 24.3 and completing the race 10 places ahead of his 22.2 career average finish.

Brown took on a field of 36 drivers on the way to his 12th-place finish. The race endured seven cautions and 45 caution laps. There were 11 lead changes.

Brandon Jones secured the win in the race, and Harrison Burton took second. Kyle Busch crossed the finish line third, Brad Keselowski took fourth, and Justin Haley finished off the top five.

After Justin Allgaier won the first stage, Noah Gragson drove the No. 9 car to victory in Stage 2.

Brandon Brown Driver Page | Get Brandon Brown Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Austin Cindric finished eighth in the LS Tractor 200 at Phoenix Raceway Saturday.

The top 10 finish for Cindric added 37 points to his season total.

Cindric qualified in second position at 133.665 mph and led nine laps in the race. The fourth-year driver has piled up two career victories, with 23 top-five finishes and 40 results inside the top 10.

In his career at Phoenix Raceway, Cindric has compiled two top-five finishes and his eighth-place result marks the fourth top 10.

The Mooresville, North Carolina native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting four spots higher than his career mark of 6.1 and completing the race five places ahead of his 12.8 career average finish.

Cindric battled against a field of 36 drivers on the way to his eighth-place finish. The race endured seven cautions and 45 caution laps. There were 11 lead changes.

Brandon Jones secured the win in the race, and Harrison Burton finished second. Kyle Busch crossed the finish line third, Brad Keselowski brought home fourth, and Justin Haley closed out the top five.

After Justin Allgaier won the first stage, Noah Gragson drove the No. 9 car to victory in Stage 2.

Austin Cindric Driver Page | Get Austin Cindric Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Noah Gragson finished seventh in the LS Tractor 200 at Phoenix Raceway Saturday.

The top 10 finish for Gragson added 45 points to his season total.

Gragson qualified in seventh position at 133.333 mph and led 27 laps in the race. The third-year driver has one career victory, with 13 top-five finishes and 28 results inside the top 10.

The seventh-place result for Gragson was the second top 10 of his career at Phoenix Raceway in three starts.

The Las Vegas, Nevada native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting three spots higher than his career mark of 10.3 and completing the race one place ahead of his 7.7 career average finish.

Gragson took on a field of 36 drivers on the way to his seventh-place finish. The race endured seven cautions and 45 caution laps. There were 11 lead changes.

Brandon Jones brought home the win in the race, and Harrison Burton finished second. Kyle Busch crossed the finish line third, Brad Keselowski secured fourth, and Justin Haley finished off the top five.

After Justin Allgaier won the first stage, Noah Gragson drove the No. 9 car to victory in Stage 2.

Noah Gragson Driver Page | Get Noah Gragson Gear | Race Center