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NASCAR Racing Schedule for Atlanta

NASCAR heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway with all three series for a full weekend of competition. The NASCAR XFINITY Series (2 p.m.) and the Camping World Truck Series (4:30 p.m.) races will be televised on FS1 Saturday. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 will be broadcast on FOX at 2:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

The Cup Series event will be comprised of three stages. Stage 1 and 2 will consist of 85 laps each with a final stage of 155 laps (325 laps total).

Jimmie Johnson, the defending race winner, has the most victories at Atlanta among active drivers, with five, and swept the 2015-2016 races. He also has the series-best driver rating of 107.1. Daytona 500 champ, Kurt Busch, won the Atlanta pole last year and has three victories at the 1.54-mile track.

All times are Eastern.

Friday, March 3

On Track:
10-10:55 a.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – FS1
11-11:55 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series Practice – FS1
Noon-1:25 p.m. Cup Series Practice – FS1
1:30-2:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – FS1
2:30-3:25 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Practice – FS1
3:30-4:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – FS1
4:30-5:25 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Final Practice – FS1
5:45 p.m.: Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1

Press Conferences: (Watch live)
10:15 a.m.: Chase Elliott
10:30 a.m.: Daniel Suarez
10:45 a.m.: Kurt Busch
11:30 a.m.: William Byron
11:45 a.m.: Brandon Jones
2:30 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson
2:45 p.m.: NASCAR announcement
6:30 p.m. (approximately): Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying

Garage Cam: (Watch live)
11:30 a.m.: Cup Series
3 p.m.: XFINITY Series

Saturday, March 4:

On Track:
9:15 a.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
10:40 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
Noon-1:20 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – FS1
1:30 p.m.: NASCAR RaceDay: XFINITY Series – FS1
2 p.m.: XFINITY Series Rinnai 250 (163 laps, 251.02 miles) – FS1
4:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Active Pest Control 200 (130 laps, 200.02 miles) – FS1
6:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Post-Race Show – FS1

Press Conferences: (Watch live)
4:30 p.m. (approximately): Post-XFINITY Series Race
6:30 p.m. (approximately): Post-Camping World Truck Series Race

Sunday, March 5:

On Track:
12:30 p.m.: NASCAR Raceday Pre-Race Show – FS1
2 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series FOX Pre-Race Show – FOX
2:30 p.m.: Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (325 laps, 500.05 miles) – FOX

Press Conference: (Watch live)
5:30 p.m. (approximately): Post-Cup Series Race

Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 TV/Radio Coverage:

Broadcast Booth: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Gordon
Pit Reporters: Jamie Little, Chris Neville, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum
In-Race Analyst: Larry McReynolds
Race / Hollywood Hotel Host: Chris Myers
Analysts / Hollywood Hotel: Jeff Gordon, Darrell and Michael Waltrip
Radio: Performance Racing Network (PRN) and SiriusXM Satellite NASCAR Channel 90

Follow @angiecampbell_ on Twitter for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

Complete NASCAR TV Schedule

Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Entry List:

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March 3, 2017
Elliott Fastest in Final Atlanta Truck Practice

HAMPTON, Ga. — Chase Elliott topped the chart in final Camping World Truck Series practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet was the fastest with a time of 30.876 and a speed of 179.557 mph followed by Chase Briscoe who was second in his No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford with a time of 30.959 and a speed of 179.076 mph. Christopher Bell was third in his No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota with a time of 30.983 and a speed of 178.937 mph.

John Hunter Nemechek was fourth on the speed chart in his No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 31.006 and a speed of 178.804 mph while Noah Gragson rounded out the top-five in his No. 18 KBM Toyota with a time of 31.010 and a speed of 178.781 mph.

Briscoe posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 176.341 mph.

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March 3, 2017
Kyle Busch fastest in final XFINITY practice

HAMPTON, Ga. — Kyle Busch topped the chart in final XFINITY Series practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 30.881 and a speed of 179.528 mph. Kevin Harvick was second in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 30.927 and a speed of 179.261 mph. Aric Almirola was third in his No. 98 Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford with a time of 30.966 and a speed of 179.035 mph. Denny Hamlin was fourth in his No. 20 JGR Toyota with a time of 30.977 and a speed of 178.971 mph. Daniel Hemric rounded out the top-five with a time of 30.977 and a speed of 178.971 mph.

Harvick posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 176.153 mph.

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March 3, 2017
Chase Elliott Describes Running out of Fuel at Daytona as ‘Devastating’

HAMPTON, Ga. — Chase Elliott won the pole for the Daytona 500, won his qualifying race, led 39 laps and was in the lead in the closing laps of the Daytona 500. Unfortunately, destiny was not in his favor.

With four laps to go, Elliott’s fuel cell ran dry, resulting in a 14th-place finish. He left the track without addressing the media, rather than take his frustration out on them.

The following week in Atlanta, Elliott said it “was a devastating way to end a good week” considering he “had such a great car down there (Daytona).” He said there were two things to look at when he thought of Daytona.

“A. We had to play the cards we were dealt. I felt like we planned to the best of our ability. I think that is something to be proud of. B. We ran out of gas.”

He said it’s easy to say the Daytona 500 win was “his to lose,” but he was still short of the fuel window to make it. So for him “to sit back and think that we had it locked down is kind of foolish.”

“For us, it’s disappointing for sure, but there are some positives to take from the day and again,” Elliott said, “We were faced with circumstances that we really couldn’t control and I felt like we played what we had the best we could. Somedays that is all you can do.”

Elliott is no stranger to coming up short. Last season, he blew late restarts at Pocono, Michigan (twice) and Chicagoland.

However, Elliott said losing Daytona 500 in the closing laps wasn’t especially painful. “It’s just “kind of the same deal,” he said.

“At Chicago, faced with a caution there at the end of the race, I don’t really know what we could have done about that and I really don’t know what you do about running out of gas with just a couple of laps to go either. In both of those cases, I felt like from a performance side I thought we did a good job and we were close, just not close enough. I don’t know. I don’t know that it really changes my complexion or outlook on how I view things. It’s definitely a disappointing finish to a good day.”

March 3, 2017
Hemric Fastest in Second Atlanta XFINITY Series Practice

HAMPTON, Ga. — Daniel Hemric topped the chart in the second XFINITY Series practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was the fastest with a time of 30.865 and a speed of 179.621 mph. Aric Almirola was second in his No. 98 Biagi-DenBeste Racing with a time of 31.002 and a speed of 178.627 mph. Cole Custer was third in his No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 31.040 and a speed of 178.060 mph.

Brad Keselowski was fourth in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford with a time of 31.096 and a speed of 178.287 mph and Darrell Wallace Jr. rounded out the top-five in his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford with a time of 31.146 and a speed of 177.989 mph.

Kyle Busch, who posted the seventh-fastest single lap, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 175.217 mph.

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March 3, 2017
Newman Fastest in First Cup Practice at Atlanta

HAMPTON, Ga. — Ryan Newman topped the chart in the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was the fastest with a time of 29.509 and a speed of 187.875 mph. Jamie McMurray was second in his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 29.531 and a speed of 187.735 mph. Kyle Busch was third in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 29.553 and a speed of 187.595 mph.

Matt Kenseth was fourth in his No. 20 JGR Toyota with a time of 29.569 and a speed of 187.494 mph as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top-five in his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford with a time of 29.570 and a speed of 187.487 mph.

Kevin Harvick, who posted the 25th-fastest lap, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 179.977 mph.

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March 3, 2017
Briscoe Fastest in First Truck Practice at Atlanta

HAMPTON, Ga. — Chase Briscoe topped the chart in the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford was the fastest with a time of 30.616 and a speed of 181.082 mph. Noah Gragson was second in his No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota with a time of 30.820 and a speed of 179.883 mph and Alex Bowman was third in his No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet with a time of 30.901 and a speed of 179.412 mph.

Christopher Bell was fourth fastest in his No. 4 KBM Toyota with a time of 30.954 and a speed of 179.104 mph while Chase Elliott rounded out the top-five in his No. 24 GMS Chevrolet with a time of 31.013 and a speed of 178.764 mph.

Briscoe posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 176.255 mph.

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March 3, 2017
Almirola Fastest at Atlanta in First XFINITY Practice

HAMPTON, Ga. — Aric Almirola topped the chart in the first NASCAR XFINITY Series practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 98 Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford was the fastest with a time of 30.567 and a speed of 181.372 mph. Kyle Busch was second in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 30.597 and a speed of 181.194 mph. Kevin Harvick was third in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 30.668 and a speed of 180.775 mph.

Brad Keselowski was fourth quickest in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford with a time of 30.671 and a speed of 180.757 mph. Spencer Gallagher rounded out the top-five in his No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet with a time of 30.788 and a speed of 180.070 mph.

No driver ran a series of consecutive laps of 10 or more laps.

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March 3, 2017
Atlanta repave coming after next race

One old surface will bid farewell when the checkered flag waves this upcoming season.

Atlanta Motor Speedway announced today that the Hampton, Georgia racing facility will undergo a complete repave of its racing surface following the upcoming Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race weekend. Work will commence in late March and is expected to be completed in mid-April, according to a statement released by the speedway.

The current surface has been in place since 1997 when it was reconfigured from a 1.5 mile oval to a 1.54 mile quad-oval, flipping the start/finish line from what’s now the backstretch to what’s now the frontstretch.

Unlike the last repave, however, a new layer of asphalt will be the only substantial change to the racing surface. The quad-oval layout and 24-degree banking will remain the same.

January 3, 2017
Remembering the Underbird

I still can’t imagine that it has been 23 years since we lost Alan Kulwicki in a plane crash as he was headed to Bristol Motor Speedway. The sight of the No. 7 hauler taking the lap around Bristol before leaving the track still brings a chill up my back.

Kulwicki did things his way. He brought engineering into NASCAR and now 23 years later, most crew chiefs are engineers. Future crew chief and owner, Ray Evernham, lasted six weeks with Kulwicki in 1992. Evernham later said, “The man was a genius. There’s no question. It’s not a matter of people just feeling like he was a genius. That man was a genius. But his personality paid for that. He was very impatient, very straightforward, very cut-to-the-bone.”

When Kulwicki started his own team he served as his own engineer and crew chief. Eventually, he hired Paul Andrews as the crew chief and the team also featured two future crew chiefs, Tony Gibson, the current crew chief for Kurt Busch at Stewart-Haas Racing and Brian Whitesell who succeeded Ray Evernham as the crew chief for Jeff Gordon.

In the early 1990s, very few people would say no to Junior Johnson. When Johnson was looking to replace Terry Labonte, he offered the seat to Kulwicki who said no because he wanted to run his own team. Kulwicki had another run-in with Johnson. In 1991, Johnson wanted to start a second team and offered Kulwicki $1 million to drive for him. The Wisconsin owner/driver turned him down thinking he had secured Maxwell House as a sponsor for his team. Johnson wound up taking the Maxwell House sponsorship and hired Sterling Marlin to drive the No. 22 Maxwell House Ford for Johnson and Kulwicki started the 1991 season without sponsorship.

Kulwicki would eventually secure Hooters to sponsor his car for one race in 1991 and it grew into a multi-year commitment. That commitment from Hooters and Kulwicki’s determination turned into magic in 1992. It was a season of consistency. He scored two victories and only had two finishes outside the top-20 all season. When the team rolled through the gates for the 1992 Hooters 500, Kulwicki was second in points, trailing Davey Allison by 30 points. He went to Ford and NASCAR to get approval to have Underbird on the car because he relished the underdog role.

During the race, points leader Allison was involved in a wreck with Ernie Irvan and fell out of contention. It became a battle between Bill Elliott and Kulwicki to determine the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup championship. Elliott won the Hooters 500, but Kulwicki managed a second place finish to capture the series championship.

The 1992 Hooters 500 is one for the NASCAR record books. It was Richard Petty’s final race, Jeff Gordon’s first race and the day the Underbird took Alan Kulwicki to the championship.

It was a championship he wouldn’t defend. After an appearance at the Hooters in Knoxville, Tennessee, Kulwicki was flying to Bristol when his plane crashed on final approach to the airport. Kulwicki was gone at the age of 38.

His legacy continues in the sport. Tony Gibson is still on a pit box, engineers are the life blood of Sprint Cup success for any team and now the Alan Kulwicki Driver Development Program is helping worthy drivers along the way to reaching their dream.

It’s been 23 years since NASCAR lost a true independent owner/driver who did it his way. Tony Stewart has won a championship since Kulwicki as an owner-driver, but Stewart also had the partnership with Gene Haas and support from Hendrick Motorsports. Kulwicki did it on his own.

I can still see the Hooters No. 7 taking the Polish Victory Lap waving to the fans and I will always wonder how much more he could have accomplished if he wasn’t taken so soon.

Rest in peace, Alan Kulwicki. You are still missed.

March 29, 2016