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Author: Tucker White

  • Kyle Busch Puts on Clinic in XFINITY Race at Atlanta

    Kyle Busch Puts on Clinic in XFINITY Race at Atlanta

    HAMPTON, Ga.– Stop me if you’ve heard this before; Kyle Busch wins in XFINITY.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 119 of the 163 laps on his way to scoring his 76th career victory in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

    “Just to accomplish some of my goals that I have in racing (is special),” said Busch. “Being in Atlanta – I have never won here before (in the XFINITY Series), so I can’t say enough about JGR engines. I’m glad to get it out of the way and checked off the list.”

    Kyle Larson closed into within half a second of Busch in the closing laps, but got caught off guard by a lapped car and had to settle for runner-up in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

    “We were a little bit better than I thought we were going to be. I thought we’d be a fourth-, fifth-, sixth-place car, and we were definitely second-best, I thought,” Larson said.

    Erik Jones had a strong car today but had to serve a pass-through penalty after beating Busch to the line on the initial start. He would go on to finish third in his No. 20 JGR Toyota. Paul Menard finished fourth in his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Ty Dillon rounded out the top-five in his No. 3 RCR Chevrolet.

    Brad Keselowski finished sixth in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

    “We just weren’t as strong as we wanted to be and needed to be,” Keselowski said. “We’ll work on it from there and try to find a little bit more speed.”

    Daniel Suárez finished seventh in his No. 19 JGR Toyota. Justin Allgaier finished eighth in his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Elliott Sadler finished ninth in his No. 1 JRM Chevrolet. Jeb Burton rounded out the top-10 in his No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford.

    “I was having fun today,” Burton said. “We did a good job. I felt like we lost some spots on that last restart. The longer we went, the tighter we got. It seemed like later in the day we just kept getting tighter and tighter. I’m really proud of the guys. They worked really hard this week, considering 14 days ago this team didn’t exist. I’m really proud of that and I feel like we’ll get better each week.”

    The race lasted one hour, 49 minutes and 53 seconds at an average speed of 137.065 mph. There were five lead changes among four different drivers. There were five cautions for 21 laps.

    Complete Finishing Order – NXS Heads Up Georgia 250 – Atlanta Motor Speedway

    1. (1) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 163.

    2. (4) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 163.

    3. (2) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 163.

    4. (11) Paul Menard(i), Chevrolet, 163.

    5. (6) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 163.

    6. (7) Brad Keselowski(i), Ford, 163.

    7. (3) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 163.

    8. (12) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 163.

    9. (16) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 163.

    10. (15) Jeb Burton, Ford, 163.

    11. (19) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 163.

    12. (10) Kevin Harvick(i), Chevrolet, 162.

    13. (9) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 162.

    14. (5) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 162.

    15. (17) Ryan Reed, Ford, 162.

    16. (8) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 162.

    17. (14) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 162.

    18. (18) Darrell Wallace Jr, Ford, 162.

    19. (22) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 162.

    20. (13) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 161.

    21. (20) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 160.

    22. (21) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 159.

    23. (23) Corey Lajoie, Toyota, 159.

    24. (26) Garrett Smithley #, Chevrolet, 159.

    25. (32) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 158.

    26. (29) BJ McLeod #, Ford, 157.

    27. (34) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 156.

    28. (24) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 152.

    29. (40) Chris Cockrum, Chevrolet, 152.

    30. (36) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 151.

    31. (37) Cody Ware #, Chevrolet, 151.

    32. (33) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, Suspension, 127.

    33. (27) Ray Black Jr #, Chevrolet, 113.

    34. (38) Josh Reaume, Dodge, Suspension, 87.

    35. (25) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 68.

    36. (30) Carl Long, Toyota, Handling, 29.

    37. (39) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Overheating, 25.

    38. (35) Todd Peck, Ford, Engine, 15.

    39. (28) David Starr, Toyota, Engine, 7.

    40. (31) Jeff Green, Toyota, Electrical, 1.

  • Denny Hamlin Fastest in Final Practice at Atlanta

    Denny Hamlin Fastest in Final Practice at Atlanta

    HAMPTON, Ga.– Denny Hamlin topped the chart in the final session of Sprint Cup Series practice.  The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota posted a time of 29.419 and a speed of 188.450 mph.

    Martin Truex Jr. was second in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota with a time of 29.454 and a speed of 188.226 mph. Jimmie Johnson was third in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 29.600 and a speed of 187.297 mph. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was fourth in his No. 88 HMS Chevrolet with a time of 29.632 and a speed of 187.095 mph as Chase Elliott rounded out the top-five in his No. 24 HMS Chevrolet with a time of 29.653 and a speed of 187.095 mph.

    Kyle Busch was sixth in his No. 18 JGR Toyota followed by Jamie McMurray in seventh in his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Casey Mears was eighth in his No. 13 Germain Racing Chevrolet. Kurt Busch was ninth in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet while Ryan Newman rounded out the top-10 in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

    McMurray posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 181.480 mph. Newman was second at a speed of 181.259 mph and Jimmie Johnson was third with a speed of 181.096 mph.

    All that remains for the Sprint Cup Series cars is the race tomorrow at 1 p.m. on FOX.

     

  • Matt Crafton on the Pole for the Truck Race at Atlanta

    Matt Crafton on the Pole for the Truck Race at Atlanta

    HAMPTON, Ga.– Matt Crafton wins the pole for this afternoon’s Camping World Truck Series race.

    The driver of the No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota posted the fastest time in qualifying for the Great Clips 200 with a time of 30.836 and a speed of 179.790 mph.

    John Wes Townley will start second in his No. 05 Athenian Motorsports Chevrolet after posting a time of 30.854 and a speed of 179.685 mph. Christopher Bell will start third in his No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota after posting a time of 30.858 and a speed of 179.662 mph. Grant Enfinger will start fourth in his No. 33 GMS Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 30.908 and a speed of 179.371 mph. Cameron Hayley rounded out the top-five in his No. 13 TSR Toyota after posting a time of 31.014 and a speed of 178.758 mph.

    Cole Custer will start sixth in his No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Ben Rhodes will start seventh in his No. 41 TSR Toyota. Ryan Truex will start eighth in his No. 81 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota. Daniel Hemric will start ninth in his No. 19 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford. Ben Kennedy rounded out the top-10 in his No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota.

    Spencer Gallagher will start 11th in his No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet. Timothy Peters rounded out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying in his No. 17 RHR Toyota.

    Jordan Anderson, Korbin Forrister, Norm Benning, Timothy Viens and Ryan Ellis were the five drivers that failed to qualify.

     

  • Kyle Busch on XFINITY pole at Atlanta

    Kyle Busch on XFINITY pole at Atlanta

    HAMPTON, Ga.– Kyle Busch will lead the field to the green flag in this afternoon’s XFINITY race.  The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota won the pole for today’s Heads Up Georgia 250 after posting a time of 29.887 and a speed of 185.499 mph.

    Erik Jones will start second in his No. 20 JGR Toyota after posting a time of 29.955 and a speed of 185.078 mph. Daniel Suárez will start third in his No. 19 JGR Toyota after posting a time of 29.964 and a speed of 185.022 mph. Kyle Larson will start fourth in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 30.018 and a speed of 184.689 mph. Brennan Poole rounded out the top-five in his No. 48 CGR Chevrolet after posting a time of 30.240 and a speed of 183.333 mph.

    Ty Dillon will start sixth in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Brad Keselowski will start seventh in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Ryan Sieg will start eighth in his No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet. Brendan Gaughan will start ninth in his No. 62 RCR Chevrolet. Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-10 in his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

    Paul Menard will start 11th in his No. 2 RCR Chevrolet. Justin Allgaier rounded out the 12 drivers that advanced to the final round in his No. 7 JRM Chevrolet.

  • Grant Enfinger Tops Final Truck Practice

    Grant Enfinger Tops Final Truck Practice

    HAMPTON, Ga.– In case you missed it, Grant Enfinger topped the chart in final Camping World Truck Series practice.

    The driver of the No. 33 GMS Racing Chevrolet was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 31.011 and a speed of 178.775 mph. Matt Crafton was second in his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota with a time of 31.146 and a speed of 178.000 mph. Christopher Bell was third in his No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota with a time of 31.157 and a speed of 177.938 mph. Spencer Gallagher was fourth in his No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet with a time of 31.202 and a speed of 177.681 mph. Cole Custer rounded out the top-five in his No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 31.210 and a speed of 177.635 mph.

    Ben Kennedy was sixth in his No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota. Ben Rhodes was seventh in his No. 41 TSR Toyota. William Byron was eighth in his No. 9 KBM Toyota. Cameron Hayley was ninth in his No. 13 TSR Toyota. Ryan Truex rounded out the top-10 in his No. 81 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota.

    Crafton posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 176.163 mph. Daniel Suárez, who was 13th in his No. 51 KBM Toyota, posted a speed of 175.627 mph.

    The Trucks will be back on track Saturday at 10 a.m. for qualifying.

    NCWTS – Complete Final Practice Results:

    Pos. Car # Driver Best Speed Best Time
    1 33 Grant Enfinger 178.775 31.011
    2 88 Matt Crafton 178 31.146
    3 4 Christopher Bell 177.938 31.157
    4 23 Spencer Gallagher 177.681 31.202
    5 0 Cole Custer 177.635 31.21
    6 11 Ben Kennedy 177.607 31.215
    7 41 Ben Rhodes 177.596 31.217
    8 9 William Byron 177.215 31.284
    9 13 Cameron Hayley 177.142 31.297
    10 81 Ryan Truex 176.961 31.329
    11 20 Austin Hill 176.69 31.377
    12 17 Timothy Peters 176.684 31.378
    13 51 Daniel Suarez 176.639 31.386
    14 19 Daniel Hemric 176.487 31.413
    15 75 Caleb Holman 176.341 31.439
    16 8 John Hunter Nemechek 176.308 31.445
    17 92 Parker Kligerman 176.257 31.454
    18 29 Tyler Reddick 175.805 31.535
    19 5 John Wes Townley 175.799 31.536
    20 22 Austin Wayne Self 174.57 31.758
    21 98 Rico Abreu 174.455 31.779
    22 32 Justin Marks 174.066 31.85
    23 21 Johnny Sauter 173.478 31.958
    24 86 Brandon Brown 172.958 32.054
    25 2 Tyler Young 172.56 32.128
    26 71 Carlos Contreras 171.843 32.262
    27 66 Jordan Anderson 171.577 32.312
    28 44 Tommy Joe Martins 170.969 32.427
    29 1 Travis Kvapil 170.579 32.501
    30 49 Timmy Hill 170.223 32.569
    31 63 Garrett Smithley 169.205 32.765
    32 59 Korbin Forrister 168.747 32.854
    33 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb 166.832 33.231
    34 50 Ryan Ellis 165.869 33.424
    35 6 Norm Benning 164.174 33.769
    36 74 Timothy Viens 159.76 34.702

  • Kurt Busch Wins Pole at Atlanta after Kyle Busch’s Time is Disallowed

    Kurt Busch Wins Pole at Atlanta after Kyle Busch’s Time is Disallowed

    HAMPTON, Ga.– The Busch Brothers were going to start 1 and 2 when the green flag flew on Sunday at Atlanta, but a surprise circumstance gave the pole to Kurt.

    Kurt Busch won the pole in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 28.938 and a speed of 191.582 mph. Brother Kyle originally won the pole, but his time was disallowed in post-qualifying inspection. The rear toe was askew according to Senior Vice-President of Competition and Racing Development Scott Miller. He said the car passed pre-qualifying inspection. Because this took place during qualifying, there will be no further penalties. Kyle will start 39th on Sunday.

    The rear toe was askew according to Senior Vice-President of Competition and Racing Development Scott Miller. He said the car passed pre-qualifying inspection. Because this took place during qualifying, there will be no further penalties. Kyle will start 39th on Sunday.

    Miller explained their new process for post qualifying that measures the rear toe and the reason for Kyle Busch’s disqualification.

     

    This is Busch’s 20th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole and his first at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    “It’s an awesome run that the car had in it,” said Busch. “The team did a good job to dial it in for the three rounds. I was just trying to make sure I didn’t slip a tire any extra. It’s really easy to overdrive Atlanta Motor Speedway. The track challenges the driver, the car and the tires. It’s a fun place to come and try to lay down a lap.”

    “Overall,” he continued, “with the way the developments came up from tech inspection this shows the amount of enforcement that NASCAR is ready to apply their technical procedures on what a car has to do to comply to all specs.”

    Jamie McMurray will start second in his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 29.150 and a speed of 190.190 mph. Trevor Bayne will start third in his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford with a time of 29.181 and a speed of 189.987 mph. Ryan Newman will start fourth in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 29.185 and a speed of 185.961 mph followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who rounded out the top-five in his No. 17 RFR Ford after posting a time of 29.200 and a speed of 189.863 mph.

    Kevin Harvick will begin sixth in his No. 4 SHR Chevrolet. Carl Edwards, who had to change a flat tire prior to the start of Round 2 but was allowed to continue on, will start seventh in his No. 19 JGR Toyota. Austin Dillon will start eighth in his RCR Chevrolet, Martin Truex Jr. will start ninth in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota and Brian Scott rounds out the top-10 in his No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. Kasey Kahne will start 11th in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet while reigning Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin will start 12th.

    Greg Biffle, despite being the lowest of the Roush contingent, gave the “Cat in The Hat” 21 and a half percent of the top-14 starters in his No. 16 Ford. Defending race winner Jimmie Johnson had a poor showing in qualifying and will start 19th. After sneaking his way into the second round, Ryan Blaney will start 23rd.

    Complete Starting Lineup:

    Atlanta NSCS-Starting-Lineup-page-001

     

  • Erik Jones tops final XFINITY practice at Atlanta

    Erik Jones tops final XFINITY practice at Atlanta

    HAMPTON, Ga.– For the second time today, Erik Jones tops the field in XFINITY Series practice.  The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 30.551 and a speed of 181.467 mph.

    Kyle Busch was second in his No. 18 JGR Toyota with a time of 30.641 and a speed of 180.934 mph. Ty Dillon was third in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet with a time of 30.718 and a speed of 180.481 mph. Daniel Suárez was fourth in his No. 19 JGR Toyota with a time of 30.740 and a speed of 180.351 mph. Kyle Larson rounded out the top-five in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 30.746 and a speed of 180.316 mph.

    Brad Keselowski was sixth in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Kevin Harvick was seventh in his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Paul Menard was eighth in his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Brennan Poole was ninth in his No. 48 CGR Chevrolet. Jeb Burton rounded out the top-10 in his No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford.

    Suárez posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 178.745 mph. Harvick was second with a speed of 177.911 mph. Menard was third with a speed of 177.257 mph.

    The XFINITY cars will be back on track tomorrow at 8:35 a.m. for qualifying.

  • John Wes Townley heads field in second Truck practice at Atlanta

    John Wes Townley heads field in second Truck practice at Atlanta

    HAMPTON, Ga.– John Wes Townley topped the chart in second Camping World Truck Series practice.  The driver of the No. 05 GMS Racing Chevrolet was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 31.107 and a speed of 178.224 mph.

    Daniel Hemric was second in his No. 19 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford with a time of 31.182 and a speed of 177.795 mph. William Byron was third in his No. 9 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota with a time of 31.257 and a speed of 177.368 mph. Cole Custer was fourth in his No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 31.294 and a speed of 177.159 mph. Matt Crafton rounded out the top-five in his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota with a time of 31.343 and a speed of 176.882 mph.

    Ben Kennedy was sixth in his No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota. Cameron Hayley was seventh in his No. 13 TSR Toyota. Tyler Reddick was eighth in his No. 29 BK Racing Ford. Ryan Truex was ninth in his No. 81 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota. Christopher Bell rounded out the top-10 in his No. 4 KB Motorsports Toyota.

    Daniel Suárez, who was 12th in his No. 51 KB Motorsports Toyota, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 175.185 mph. Bell posted a speed of 175.097 mph. Rico Abreu, who was 18th in his No. 98 TSR Toyota, posted a speed of 172.447 mph. Tyler Young, who was 31st in his No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet, posted a speed of 166.726 mph.

    The Trucks will be back on track for their final practice session at 4:00 p.m.

  • Daniel Suárez paces the field in second XFINITY practice

    Daniel Suárez paces the field in second XFINITY practice

    HAMPTON, Ga.– Daniel Suárez topped the chart second practice for the XFINITY Series.  The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 30.478 and a speed of 181.902 mph.

    Erik Jones was second in the No. 20 JGR Toyota with a time of 20.634 and a speed of 180.975 mph. Brendan Gaughan was third in his No. 62 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet with a time of 30.659 and a speed of 180.828 mph. Kyle Larson was fourth in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 30.752 and a speed of 180.281 mph. Kyle Busch rounded out the top-five in his No. 18 JGR Toyota with a time of 30.854 and a speed of 179.685 mph.

    Brad Keselowski was sixth in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Justin Allgaier was seventh in his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Ty Dillon was eighth in his No. 3 RCR Chevrolet. Jeremy Clements was ninth in his No. 51 Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet. Ryan Reed rounded out the top-10 in his No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

    Kevin Harvick, who finished 11th in his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, posted the fastest 10 lap consecutive average at a speed of 176.499 mph. Busch was second with a speed of 176.402 mph. Dillon was third with a speed of 175.909 mph. Paul Menard was fourth with a speed of 175.557 mph. Brandon Jones was fifth with a speed of 175.478 mph. Brendan Gaughan was sixth with a speed of 175.474 mph. Brennan Poole was seventh with a speed of 173.761 mph.

  • Chase Elliott Doesn’t Want to Wreck Early Again

    Chase Elliott Doesn’t Want to Wreck Early Again

    HAMPTON, Ga.– Asked how he’ll bounce back at Atlanta, Chase Elliott replied, “not wrecking out on Lap 20 would be a good start.”

    The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet had high hopes for the Daytona 500 after scoring the pole. Those were quickly dashed on Lap 20 after his car spun off the exit of Turn 4 and came to a halt on the infield grass.

    Elliott, who placed 16th in the first practice session for the Sprint Cup Series, appeared in the media center on Friday to speak to the NASCAR media corp to answer questions.

    I asked him how he was planning to bounce back from his disappointing run in the 500 and here’s what he had to say.

    “Not wrecking on lap 20 would be a good start. To get going this weekend and see how things are today. I’m excited like I said. Daytona is week one, but it’s such an animal of its own and a unique race. Everybody I think realizes that Atlanta is that first week of the places you’re going to see the majority of the rest of the season. We recognize that Daytona counts too. So that’s disappointing to have a disappointing day last Sunday. But we’re already here at Atlanta, so getting drowned in last week isn’t going to do any good. We realize that and will try to move forward. Having a good weekend would be great. We just want to do our jobs and do the best we can.”

    He was asked about being in front of his home crowd for the first time in a Cup race and said, “We want to try and get things going and have a little better week than last week,” he said. “We’re all excited about it. I know Alan (Gustafson) and everybody has been working hard in the offseason to improve our mile-and-a-half program. I think they feel really confident in it with some things they’ve been working on. I’m excited to get out there today in practice and see how we stack up.”

    He was also asked about Stewart-Haas Racing’s decision to move to Ford in 2017.

    “For them, it’s a business decision, as they said,” Elliott said. “I can’t really say a lot for them because I’m not part of that organization. I’m excited to be a part of Hendrick Motorsports and a part of Chevrolet.”