Posted on by Reid Spencer

HAMPTON, Ga. — Before finishing sixth in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch got a good look at both ends of the field.

The 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion started from the rear in a backup No. 18 Toyota, thanks to an accident in Saturday’s final practice session. Running the high line in a manner that resembled that of another Kyle — Larson — Busch worked his way forward, running as high as second after passing race runner-up Martin Truex Jr. on Lap 193.

RELATED: Full Atlanta results

During that green-flag run, however, Busch scraped the outside wall between Turns 1 and 2. On Lap 222, his right rear tire went flat, causing the fourth caution of the afternoon. Busch stayed on the lead lap but restarted at the rear and worked his way forward for the second time.

He was running sixth at the finish, having made a race-high 110 green-flag passes, according to NASCAR’s loop data.

“I got in the fence just a little bit in the center of (Turns) 1 and 2,” Busch said. “Just touched it and then kind of smelled some smoke and never saw any and thought we’d be OK. Overall, it just must have rubbed it and cut it down. Fortunately, we got a caution there. Caught us a break and was able to get tires on the thing and pull it back out and go back after them.

“What a hell of a weekend. … It was just evil-tight all day long. We just couldn’t get the tight out of it. We were battling and running the wall all day long, and that’s where I needed to be in order to make up any time. Doing that, you run close to the fence, and you run into opportunities to get yourself in trouble. Overall, salvaged a decent day, I guess. We can move on out of here with some positives.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

HAMPTON, Ga. – Daniel Hemric was poised for a top-five finish in his second race as a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver until his fortunes changed dramatically in the closing laps of Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.

Hemric had his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in fourth place on Lap 309 of 325 and was closing on third-place Kurt Busch when his right front tire deflated, forcing him to bring the car to pit road for an unscheduled stop.

The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender lost a lap and finished 20th, a far cry from his running position a few laps earlier.

RELATED: Full Atlanta results

“It’s kind of heartbreaking for these guys we couldn’t get a solid top-five finish,” Hemric said. “I said I wanted to have an uneventful day and have a solid finish, and it was good to see that we were going to be able to run top-five there — just had a right-front tire come apart.

“I made a lot of mistakes on pit road today that I’ve got to get better with.”

But there was a silver lining. Hemric passed 97 cars under green-flag conditions, second only to Kyle Busch’s 110.

“The good thing is I feel like it put a little motivation in everybody here at RCR,” Hemric said. “That’s the kind of race cars we have to have at the race track every week to give ourselves a shot. It was fun to drive, fun to pass people, and look forward to next week (at Las Vegas).”

If Hemric felt disheartened by his finish, what about fellow Sunoco rookie Ryan Preece, who was running in the top 10 when his race came to an abrupt end on pit road? Preece was exiting his stall on Lap 273, looking down at his tachometer, when BJ McLeod slowed in front of him, looking for his pit stall.

Preece’s No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Chevrolet slammed into the back of McLeod’s No. 52 Camaro, damaging Preece’s car beyond repair. He was credited with a 35th-place finish on a day that had gone much better for the majority of the race.

“I was just trying to make sure I wasn’t speeding,” Preece explained. “And when I looked up, he was coming in the pits. So it’s a mistake. What are you going to do? It’s just unfortunate for us, because we were having a really good run.

“Like I said, we’re going to have some good cars this year. So if we can keep that up, we’ll be really good at Vegas, and I’m just really proud of everybody with JTG and Kroger. There’s nothing else you can do other than that. So I’m looking forward to next week.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

Throughout much of Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson had the car to beat.

Larson took the green/checkered flag to win the race’s first stage. He led a race-high 142 of 325 laps and battled Kevin Harvick for the top spot throughout the second stage before trailing Harvick to the finish line.

RELATED: Larson, Harvick split stages

But Larson was guilty of speeding on pit road under caution on Lap 224. Sent to the back for the subsequent restart on Lap 228, Larson struggled in traffic with the new 2019 higher-downforce, lower-horsepower competition package and could only climb to 12th in the running order before the laps counted down.

MORE: Full Atlanta results

“Yeah, I had a good day going until I sped,” Larson said. “My car handled really good, and then once I got where I had to restart in the back, I was just really tight.

“Yeah, I mean, clean air is even more important nowadays than in the past I think, at least at a track like this. That was a little disappointing, but more just upset at myself for making a big mistake like that.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The race-winning Team Penske No. 2 Ford of Brad Keselowski has passed post-race inspection at Atlanta Motor Speedway with no issues.

The No. 2 Ford was found to be compliant with the 2019 NASCAR Rule Book after Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. With the post-race teardown complete, the race results are official.

RELATED: Race results

Two cars were found with one lug nut not safely secured after a post-race check: the Leavine Family Racing No. 95 Toyota of 26th-place Matt DiBenedetto and the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Chevrolet of 27th-place finisher Bubba Wallace. Both teams’ crew chiefs were fined $10,000 Monday. Because of a miscommunication, officials initially announced that the Germain Racing No. 13 team would be penalized, not the No. 43.

Competition officials also indicated that the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford of fourth-place finisher Kevin Harvick would go to the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina for further review.

The post-race process is part of a new, more timely approach to inspection for all three NASCAR national series. Competition officials announced in February that thorough post-race inspections would take place shortly after the checkered flag at the track instead of midweek at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.

Those inspections come with a stiffer deterrence structure that includes disqualification for significant rules infractions — “a total culture change,” according to Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. In the past, race-winning teams found in violation of the rules were penalized with post-race fines, points deductions and/or suspensions, but victories were allowed to stand.

Competition officials introduced the quicker post-race inspection timetable in an effort to make the results official on race day, aiming for a 90-minute target time frame to complete their scrutiny. The new post-race inspection process also was designed to deal with potential violations more promptly, avoiding any midweek news that might cloud the previous week’s results or the build-up to the following week’s event.

NASCAR will still inspect cars and parts at the R&D Center as needed, but the more comprehensive at-track inspection will take priority.

According to NASCAR statistical archives, the last time a premier series driver was disqualified occurred in 1973, when early retiree Buddy Baker was demoted to last place in the National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The last time an apparent race winner in NASCAR’s top division was disqualified came on April 17, 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis’ victory at Wilson (N.C.) Speedway was thrown out because of an oversized fuel tank on his No. 85 Chevrolet.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Martin Truex Jr. came within a handful of car-lengths of catching eventual race winner Brad Keselowski in the final laps Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In the end, he was left to lament being held up as he attempted a late-race charge.

“It was just lapped cars,” Truex told FOX Sports as he exited his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota with a second-place finish. “It was a shame we got put in that position on that last restart. But that’s the way the caution fell.”

RELATED: Race results | Keselowski wins Atlanta

Truex settled for his fifth straight top-five finish at Atlanta in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. He sprang into contention after a caution flag flew with 53 laps to go in the midst of a pit-stop cycle.

Truex, in his first season with JGR, gave chase to Keselowski’s Team Penske No. 2 Ford. But his path was blocked by a handful of off-the-pace cars, including the No. 17 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who placed 18th as the first driver one lap down.

“They built a great race car here, and man, I could taste that one. I really wanted that first Atlanta win,” Truex said. “Just the 17 rode there in front of us forever and ever running the bottom, and I kept telling him I needed the bottom, and these cars are just so bad in dirty air that he was holding me up really bad. Once I got around him, I drove — got to the 2 car in two laps. I just needed one more.

“Unfortunate we had a great car, and like I said, the guys did a great job.  Just a little upset. We had the best car. We probably should have won that one.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

HAMPTON, Ga. – Too sick to start practice on Saturday, Brad Keselowski found the cure to what ailed him in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Still suffering from the effects of stomach flu, Keselowski held off a charging — and frustrated — Martin  Truex Jr. in the closing circuits of the 325-lap Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race and powered his No. 2 Team Penske Ford across the finish line .218 seconds ahead of Truex’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

RELATED: Official race results | SHOP: Keselowski gear

The victory was Keselowski’s first of the season and the first for the new Ford Mustang in the Cup series. The 2012 champion won for the second time at Atlanta and for the 60th in Roger Penske equipment (all series combined), breaking a tie with the late Mark Donohue.

Despite his illness, Keselowski reveled in the accomplishment.

“I think any win means a lot, but that’s a big number,” Keselowski said. “Now I get to wear that yellow Mark Donohue helmet, so here we go — we’re going to wear it next week.

“But what a tremendous honor. This day is … Wow, I don’t even know how to put it in words. I’m just excited for this team, first race with the new rules or whatever they’re called now, and to be able to win it, that’s really special.”

After he pulled out to a substantial lead after the final restart on Lap 283 — following a caution for a pit road accident involving Ryan Preece and B.J. McLeod — Keselowski had two concerns: an overheating engine and tire issues that had forced teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney to pit road for unscheduled stops late in the race.

As Keselowski was nursing his car toward the finish in the final 10 laps, Truex closed dramatically, cutting Keselowski’s advantage to .181 seconds with two circuits left. On Lap 324 Keselowski blocked Truex’s line off Turn 4 and hammered it to the finish line a lap later.

“We ran over a piece of debris with, I don’t know, probably 50 laps to go and overheated really bad, and I thought there was no way this engine would make it to the end,” Keselowski said. “But (engine builder) Doug Yates and his team, they do a great job.

“I’m pretty sure it’s all used up, Doug, but it’s in Victory Lane, so that’s OK, right?”

As he chased Keselowski, Truex grew frustrated with lapped traffic, particularly with outside front-row starter Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who was running in the “lucky dog” position, hugging the bottom lane of the race track.

RELATED: Truex upset with second

Because the fifth and final caution had interrupted a cycle of pit stops after all the lead-lap drivers save Logano and eventual third-place finisher Kurt Busch had come to pit road, Truex restarted behind lapped cars on Lap 283 after he and the majority of the field took wave-arounds.

“It was a shame we got put in that position on that last restart, but that’s the way the caution fell,” Truex said. “Man, I could taste that one. I really wanted that first Atlanta win. Just the 17 (Stenhouse) rode there in front of us forever and ever running the bottom, and I kept telling him I needed the bottom (through spotters), and these cars are just so bad in dirty air that he was holding me up really bad.

“Once I got around him, I got to the 2 car (Keselowski) in two laps. I just needed one more. Unfortunate we had a great car, and like I said, the guys did a great job. Just a little upset. We had the best car. We probably should have won that one.”

Stenhouse Jr. got a strong start from the top lane at the initial green flag and charged past pole winner Aric Almirola off Turn 4 to lead the first lap. Almirola got the spot back on Lap 2, but two lead changes in the first two laps was nevertheless a promising omen for the new higher-downforce, lower-horsepower competition package NASCAR introduced this year.

The second stage of the race produced a compelling battle for the lead between defending race winner Kevin Harvick and first stage winner Kyle Larson. Those two drivers swapped the top spot nine times between Laps 88 and 162, with Harvick prevailing in the second stage.

MORE: Harvick, Larson divide stage wins

But the handling of Harvick’s Ford tightened up in the late going as shadows shrouded Turns 1 and 2, and the 2014 series champion rolled home in fourth place. Zapped with a pit road speeding penalty and sent to the back of the field for a restart on Lap 228—after Kyle Busch cut a right rear tire to cause the fourth caution—Larson struggled in traffic and finished 12th.

Clint Bowyer ran fifth, with Kyle Busch recovering to finish sixth. Erik Jones, Almirola, Chris Buescher and Daniel Suarez completed the top 10.

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give you the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App | How to find NBCSN

Monday, Feb. 25
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN
3 p.m., MRN Outloud

Tuesday, Feb. 26
3 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
4 a.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Atlanta 200 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
10 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App

On MRN
9 a.m., The Tough Tracks of NASCAR: Episode 2
7 p.m., NASCAR Live

Wednesday, Feb. 27
2 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN
1 p.m., NASCAR Coast to Coast
3 p.m., Crew Call

Thursday, Feb. 28
4 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Friday, Mar. 1
3 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1/FOX Sports App (Canada: TSN1)
4 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series practice, FS1/FOX Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
5 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, FS1/FOX Sports App
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, FS1/FOX Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
7:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying, FS1/FOX Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
8:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NGOTS Las Vegas, FS1/FOX Sports App
9 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Strat 200, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Strat 200

Saturday, Mar. 2
6 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
7 a.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Strat 200 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
11:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1/FOX Sports App (Canada: TSN2) CANCELED
12:30 p.m, NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, FS1/FOX Sports App (Canada: TSN App) CANCELED
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Weekend Edition, FS1/FOX Sports App
2:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1/FOX Sports App (Canada: TSN2)
3:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Xfinity Las Vegas, FS1/FOX Sports App
4 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Boyd Gaming 300, FS1/FOX Sports App (Canada: TSN2)
7 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Xfinity Las Vegas, FS1/FOX Sports App
10 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Boyd Gaming 300 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App

Sunday, Mar. 3
6:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Boyd Gaming 300 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
2 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Las Vegas, FS1/FOX Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FOX/FOX Sports App
3:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube, FOX/FOX Sports App (Canada: TSN1, 3)

Posted on by Staff Report

Kevin Harvick sped past Kyle Larson on the low side of Atlanta Motor Speedway eight laps before the conclusion of Stage 2 to capture the stage win at Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.

MORE: Stage 2 results

Larson had comfortably led the field for 24 straight laps in Stage 2 before Harvick stalked down the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet and finally passed it in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford on Lap 153.

Larson managed to reclaim the lead one lap later, but Harvick regained the front position eight laps later. It marked Harvick’s first stage win of the season when he led at the conclusion of the stage on Lap 170.

Harvick started the stage in the lead after his crew helped him off pit road first at the Stage 1 break, but Larson battled back to the front of the field by Lap 111 of the scheduled 325-lap race.

Finish Driver Team Race Points
1 Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 10
2 Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 9
3 Martin Truex Jr.  Joe Gibbs Racing 8
4 Ryan Blaney  Team Penske 7
5 Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6 Joey Logano  Team Penske 5
7 Kurt Busch  Chip Ganassi Racing 4
8 Erik Jones  Joe Gibbs Racing 3
9 Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 2
10 Clint Bowyer  Stewart-Haas Racing 1

 

STAGE 1

Kyle Larson cruised to his first stage win of the season when he took the lead following a competition caution Sunday in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

MORE: Full Stage 1 results

Larson, who started the race seventh, had moved into second behind pole-sitter Aric Almirola by the time the mandatory caution flag came out on Lap 35 because of overnight rain.

But Larson was faster off pit road in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet and maintained his lead until Stage 1 ended on Lap 85.

Kevin Harvick, a two-time winner at Atlanta, finished second in the stage in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, as Almirola dropped to third in his No. 10 SHR Ford.

Kyle Busch, who started at the rear of the field after going to a backup car following a crash in practice Saturday, was 12th in the stage after rising as high as fifth.

Finish Driver Team Race Points
1 Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 10
2 Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 9
3 Aric Almirola  Stewart-Haas Racing 8
4 Kurt Busch  Chip Ganassi Racing 7
5 Martin Truex Jr.  Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6 Ryan Blaney  Team Penske 5
7 Joey Logano  Team Penske 4
8 Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 3
9 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  Roush Fenway Racing 2
10 Clint Bowyer  Stewart-Haas Racing 1
Posted on by Staff Report

Brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch both reached milestones Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with Kurt making his 650th start in NASCAR’s top series and Kyle achieving a large round figure with start No. 500.

The brothers’ accomplishment came at the green flag of Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (FOX, PRN, SiriusXM) for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

RELATED: Atlanta leaderboard

Kurt Busch, a three-time Atlanta winner, started eighth in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1 Chevrolet. Kyle Busch — who has won twice at the 1.54-mile Georgia track — qualified sixth in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota, but dropped to the rear of the field in pace laps after a crash in Saturday practice forced the team to use a reserve car.

MORE: Drivers with 600 or more career starts

The weekend has already been off to a solid start for Kyle Busch, who prevailed in Saturday’s Gander Outdoors Truck Series race. He has 51 career wins in NASCAR’s premier series. Kurt Busch is a 30-time winner in the Monster Energy Series. Both are former series champions.

Posted on by Eric Johnson

The scratch-and-dent Daytona 500 is done and dusted, and now it’s time to go racing at the white-knuckle 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Erik Jones is ready. Coming off a remarkable third-place finish at NASCAR’s biggest race last week, Jones, who displayed plenty of grit and determination in the battered and bruised Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota Camry, will look to the remarkable rough and abrasive Georgia circuit as an opportunity to reach for a higher gear.

Cool, calm and quietly confident about both the race and season ahead, we caught up with the driver.

From the hype and madness of Daytona all the way over to round two at Atlanta. What a change, huh? Something of an emotional hangover for you?

(Laughter) “It’s a big change for sure. You know, we go from by far our biggest race of the year there at the 500 and then we go to Atlanta. It’s a big swing of things, but it’s kind of a signal, at least that’s how I look at it, of being in the new season. For some reason, and I don’t know if everybody feels this way, but when I’m at Daytona I don’t really feel like we’re in the season yet. It’s kind of its own race even though it’s a points-paying race. Even though it’s the first race of the season, it sort of feels like its own deal. Getting to Atlanta, at least for me, I finally feel like we’re getting the season rolling.”

RELATED: JGR finishes 1-2-3 at Daytona 

The Daytona 500 was calamitous for both you and the entire No. 20 team. Nonetheless, and after all was said and done, you slotted-in at a remarkable third overall. It worked out pretty well for you, huh?

“Yeah, it worked out great at the end. We had a really fast car all through Speedweeks. Our Clash car was really good and our 500 car was fast by itself and drove really well, but it’s always tough to stay out of trouble there. Unfortunately, we had a fuel pressure issue while we were up front with 35 to go and that kind of put us behind. Ultimately, we ended up getting back on the lead lap and eventually got our damaged repaired from the first big crash and I avoided the others and ended up with a third-place finish. It was a great way to start the season.”

Atlanta Motor Speedway? What do you make of it? Old, fast, rough … and the place hasn’t been paved in 20-plus years.

“I like Atlanta. It’s tough. I think it’s close to being the oldest surface we go to on the schedule. That makes it tough, you know? It’s trying to find the balance of being fast at the front side of a run and the car being there 20 to 25 laps in when you really need to make time with the tires worn out. It’s hard to find that balance. … It’s been a learning experience each time we’ve been there, but it’s going to be changed up pretty good here with this new rules package. I think you’re going to see a pretty different Atlanta than what we’ve seen from the last five or 10 years now. We’ll see how it goes. I was fortunate to get to test there with the new rules package a few months back and see how everything played out.”

Perhaps compared to some of the other NASCAR circuits, do you get a real sensation of speed at Atlanta?

“I do. I don’t know what it is about it, but it is really fast. Even with as old as the surface is, it’s amazing the speed we can still carry around that track on fresh tires. It’s fun as a driver. You want to feel like you’re out there really getting all you can and Atlanta is definitely a place where it feels like you’re moving pretty good. It’s fun and it’s neat to see how fast that place still is.”

Erik, you’re now into your third year of the Monster Energy Series. You’re in a top car with a top team and the results have really been there. Your house really is in order. Can you make a genuine run at the championship in 2019?

“I really think we can. We’ve made some good changes on our team from the personnel standpoint and the pit crew standpoint and have gotten things pretty much where we want them to be. I feel really confident coming into this year. I feel like I know what I need to do at each track. I’ve been everywhere on the Cup schedule at least a couple of times and feel comfortable racing with the Cup guys, you know? It takes a while to learn how to race those guys and how these races play out and how to kind of manage a much longer race. I feel really good about the year.”