A NASCAR tripleheader is on tap at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
All three NASCAR top tier divisions will be in action at the 1.54-mile Georgia track this weekend highlighted by Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.
The second race of the 2019 season brings with it the highly anticipated debut of the dramatic new rules package that features lower horsepower and aerodynamic modifications designed to create tighter competition. Atlanta will be one of the races that will not feature the aero ducts.
“It’s really been over a two-year process, working with the race teams, the OEMs, specifically the engine builders and probably the most collaborative effort we’ve had across all the industry stakeholders, including the drivers, to get to this package,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. “For us, it’s really a focus on getting back to a true focus on the drivers and what NASCAR is all about — close side-by-side racing and trying to deliver more of that.”
However, with only offseason preparation and a two-day test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to gather data and information, there are a great many unknowns about the impact of the package on track.
“How much downforce can you take out of the car and make the thing survive? How much handling will come into play? The restarts are going to be crazy. Are you going be able to get close enough to actually bump draft? Can you actually stay hooked together? There are just so many questions to answer that we don’t have any answers to other than theory,” said defending race winner Kevin Harvick.
“And, at this particular point, we just need to race to really start crossing things off the list and have a direction to know what we’re working on past, you know, the theory that we’ve put into everything to put on the track at the beginning of the year.”
Cup Series Entry List | Atlanta Race Winners
Saturday features a unique doubleheader at Atlanta with both the Xfinity Series and Gander Outdoors Truck Series racing.
The Xfinity Series is first up for the Rinnai 250. Michael Annett scored his first career series win last week in the Daytona season opener. His JR Motorsports team is looking to continue the early season hot streak with another trip to Victory Lane in Atlanta.
“It feels nice to head to Atlanta Motor Speedway coming off of a solid finish at Daytona to start the season,” said Justin Allgaier, who finished second behind his JRM teammate Annett last week.
“I think the cooler weather this weekend and the normally fast speeds of Atlanta are going to make for some great racing, but not being tricked into burning up your tires too early with the extra added grip is going to be extremely important. If we can do a good job of preserving those tires, then I think our No. 7 Cessna team has a good chance at racing for the win and continuing that positive momentum.”
Xfinity Series Entry List | Truck Series Entry List
The twin bill will see the Truck Series tackle Atlanta for the Ultimate Tailgating 200 as the nightcap. The field includes Kyle Busch, making the first of five series starts in 2019. Busch has won four times at Atlanta in the series and has 51 career series victories. A win Saturday breaks a tie with Ron Hornaday Jr. and gives Busch the all-time series win lead.
“Saturday’s going to be a bit of a reunion race for me as I’ll have Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) as my crew chief for a Truck Series race for the first time since 2013 when we won five races together,” Busch said. “We’ll also have Billy Ballew’s car dealership that’s located in Dawsonville onboard as an associate sponsor for this race. I won four times in Billy’s truck at Atlanta when I drove for him, so hopefully he’ll be a good luck charm.
“If we are able to get to Victory Lane this week and break the wins record it’ll be cool to have Billy be a part of it since he was the owner for my first 16 truck wins before I started KBM.”
