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NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Atlanta
The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series continued their momentum with another consecutive race following Charlotte Motor Speedway and sped to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the VetTix/Camping World 200 in what would be another thrilling race in typical Truck Series fashion.

After winning the season opener at Daytona, Grant Enfinger had high hopes of continuing his early-season momentum and march toward another playoff run later in the year. Meanwhile, Georgia native, Austin Hill had great motivation as he entered his hometown racetrack.

While Kyle Busch was dominant in the early and middle portions of the race, it was Austin Hill and Enfinger who battled for the checkered flag. Enfinger managed to get Hill loose and take the checkered for his first Atlanta victory.

With Enfinger and Hill taking the top two spots, other Truck Series regulars also had a strong, but quiet day at Atlanta. We’ll detail Enfinger’s race along with Hill and check out the others to see how they fared in the fourth race of the 2020 season.
1. Austin Hill- Yes. While Hill did not win the race and the last lap dash to the finish with Enfinger, the Georgia native had the best Truck late in the going, especially on the longer runs. The No. 16 Hattori Racing team was nearly flawless all day, having great pit stops and keeping the truck in contention, should the opportunity present itself. Hill’s time to shine came during the final round of green-flag pit stops when race leader Kyle Busch was penalized twice for speeding. The Hattori driver took over the lead on Lap 99 and all the way up to Lap 134 (the original final lap of the race) before the Charlotte winner, Chase Elliott, spun and brought out a late-race caution. Hill did get a good restart but it wasn’t enough to keep Enfinger behind him. However, you can’t discount the effort of Hill’s team, who came up just a tad short in a disappointing loss. But this should give them some motivation heading into Homestead, as Hill won that race last year. In addition, he placed the No. 16 team fifth in Stage 1 and 10th in Stage 2 and gained the fourth top-10 in a row for the year.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Third
2. Grant Enfinger – Flipping the roles, Enfinger also had a solid No. 98 Ford F-150 before he took the checkered flag. It took all race to get up in position to have the opportunity to win but the Alabaman led the laps that counted the most after getting Hill loose coming to the last lap. Enfinger also had some solid stage finishes, finishing ninth in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2. So far, the No. 98 team is on a roll early and could be a sleeper in the championship.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
3. Todd Gilliland – After a disappointing Charlotte outing a week prior, Gilliland and the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports team looked to put that behind them. The No. 38 team started 12th, finished 10th in Stage 1 and fifth in Stage 2. Gilliland spent 130 laps in the top 15 throughout the majority of the race, before a timely caution came with a few laps left. He restarted in the top five and had a chance to win the race. Ultimately, Gilliland and company placed fourth for his first top-five finish of the year.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Fell Out
4. Matt Crafton – Crafton and the No. 88 Menards F-150 had an up and down day but managed to fight back to a respectable 12th place finish. However, during the competition caution, there was a major check-up on pit road. Unfortunately, Crafton was on the receiving end and had some front-end damage to the hood of his truck. This set the team back a bit and they finished 20th in the first stage. In the second stage, he fought back to a 10th place finish. Crafton continued to make the best out of his day and brought the truck to a salvageable top-15 finish.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
5. Christian Eckes – Eckes finally brought home his first top-five finish of the 2020 season in the No. 18 Safelite Tundra. The first three races weren’t so kind to Eckes who has finished outside the top-10 and had only a best finish of 14th the week prior in Charlotte. He did note during the week that Eckes and the team had a come to Jesus meeting about what they could improve on and gave him some motivation. Obviously, that meeting worked as Eckes finished third in Stage 1 and sixth in Stage 2. At the end of the day, he finished third for the first top-five of his Truck Series career.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
Fell Out
1. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt and his GMS Racing Chevy was a quiet contender all day long. He was up at the front during certain parts of the race but never challenged for the lead or victory. The Iowan did manage to finish sixth in Stage 1, but received no stage points for Stage 2. Moffitt eventually brought the No. 23 to an eighth-place finish. It was somewhat disappointing after a strong finish of fourth at Charlotte.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Second
2. Johnny Sauter – It was a crazy turn of events for Sauter on Saturday afternoon. The No. 13 driver had respectable finishes in both the stages, placing ninth and seventh, respectively. Troubles arose post-race when series officials disqualified Sauter’s finishing position of 17th. The officials found a tire modification violation after one of the tires was tested in what is called a dunk test, which will indicate any changes with the tire. Unfortunately, a penalty is expected later in the week, as this is an L2 penalty. This mean the driver could be penalized 75 points with the crew chief serving a four-race suspension along with a $25,000-$75,000 fine. It was a disappointing ending for Sauter, who had originally finished 17th.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
June 8, 2020
Truex claims first top-five result of 2020 at Atlanta

Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway was a race where Martin Truex Jr. came in seeking redemption on two instances. The first was to continue his recent string of consistent runs following a rough start to this season. The second was to claim redemption at Atlanta after falling short to Brad Keselowski one year ago while being botched up from lapped traffic. While Truex fell short of the race win, a third-place result was a result that left the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion content with his run.

Starting 11th, Truex wasted no time making his way into the top 10, where he was able to do so by the 10th lap as he was in eighth. Following the competition caution on Lap 25 and a restart five laps later, Truex used the outside lane to his advantage to gain a multitude of spots, which included racing three-wide with teammate Denny Hamlin and Aric Almirola, and making his way into the top five.

By Lap 35, Truex moved up to fourth and five laps later, Truex found himself in the runner-up spot, trailing race leader Kevin Harvick. Following the first round of green-flag pit stops past the 60-lap mark, Truex went from trailing Harvick by a second to approximately four seconds. On Lap 86, after working to decrease his deficit from Harvick, Truex gained a huge momentum in Turn 2 and moved to the inside of Harvick to take the lead through Turn 3. Just as Truex was starting to pull away and lap some cars, a late caution flew due to a single-car spin. Under caution, Truex pitted and was able to exit first following a strong stop by his pit crew.

When the first stage restarted with six laps remaining, Truex received a push from Clint Bowyer and teammate Kyle Busch on the inside lane to lead through Turn 1 and stabilize his advantage the following lap. While most of the field jostled for positions, Truex was able to fend off his teammate Busch to claim his first stage win of the season.

When the second stage started, Truex restarted second on the outside lane but received a push from teammate Denny Hamlin that allowed Truex to battle hard with Bowyer for the lead. Four laps later, however, Bowyer was able to clear Truex for the lead. Truex spent the majority of the green-flag run chasing Bowyer until he returned to the lead when Bowyer made an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 147. Nearly 10 laps later, a second round of green-flag pit stops commenced. Following Truex’s pit stop on Lap 160 and when nearly the entire field cycled through, the driver of the No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota found himself in second once again behind Bowyer.

For 15 laps through Lap 175, Truex was able to decrease his deficit from Bowyer from eight to less than two seconds while on fresher tires. Nearly 10 laps later, Truex returned to the lead. With nine laps remaining in the second stage, at the time when Truex stabilized his lead over teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin, a late caution fell for a single-car spin in Turn 4. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Truex exited second after being beaten by Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota off of pit road.

With four laps remaining in the stage, the high lane dealt to the favor of Truex as he was able to reassume the lead in Turn 3. For the next three laps, Truex was able to hold on to win the second stage for his second stage victory of the day/season and earn valuable points towards the playoffs.

When the final stage started with 108 laps remaining, Truex briefly slipped to third but returned to second while Harvick stormed to the lead. Over the course of the green-flag run, Truex narrowed his deficit from Harvick to as close as six-tenths of a second, but Harvick was able to stabilize his advantage to around a second. Following the final round of green-flag pit stops with less than 70 laps remaining, Truex was still trailing Harvick as Harvick started to increase his advantage.

With no late cautions and no interferences from lapped traffic, Truex was unable to gain more ground toward Harvick. As the laps dwindled, the handling of Truex’s car started to fade as he lost the runner-up spot to Kyle Busch with four laps remaining. When the checkered flag flew, Truex settled in third and was more than eight seconds behind race winner Harvick.

Despite coming up short in winning for the first time at Atlanta and with his new crew chief James Small, Truex was able to claim his first top-five result of this season. In addition, Truex claimed his fifth top-10 result of this season and moved from sixth to fifth in the Cup Series regular-season standings as he trails Harvick by 87 points.

“The last two or three runs there, we just got too tight,” Truex said. “Not sure what happened. The car was really good. The guys did a great job. Auto-Owners Camry was fast all day. Got our first two stage wins of the year, which was huge. We just can’t seem to get over the hump at the finishes. Just ran out of tires at the end and lost second to Kyle (Busch). I figured at that point, I could see [Harvick] and was just going to give it all I had and see if there was any opportunity, but he was just too good. Just got too tight at the end. Hell of a job by everybody and a good, solid day.”

Next for Truex is Martinsville Speedway, a venue where Truex won for the first time last October and that enabled him to secure his spot for the 2019 Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The race will air on June 10 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.

June 8, 2020
Johnson earns top-10 result in final Atlanta run

For Jimmie Johnson, Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway was a race where the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and five-time Atlanta winner had a silent, but consistent run to notch another top-10 result in his swan song season.

Johnson’s race started with the honor of delivering the command for the field to start the engines as he rolled off the grid in 15th and was given a final opportunity to win at Atlanta for the sixth time. When the race commenced, Johnson slowly took his time making his way to the front and had only gained three spots through the first 10 laps.

Through the competition caution on Lap 25, Johnson was still in 12th, but after the pit stops while under caution, he made his first appearance in the top 10. Following a restart on Lap 30 and over a green-flag run spanning more than 20 laps, Johnson remained in the bottom half of the top 10. Once the first round of green-flag stops concluded past the 60-lap mark, stellar work by the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet pit crew kept Johnson in the top 10. Following a late caution for a single-car spin and a restart with six laps remaining in the first stage, Johnson was in eighth and he settled in ninth at the conclusion of the first stage, thus earning valuable points towards the playoffs.

The second stage was where Johnson started to pick up more positions as he made his way to seventh. By Lap 140, Johnson made his way to sixth, but as the long green-flag run proceeded, Johnson would fade back to 10th while battling the handling conditions of his car. With nine laps remaining in the stage, a single-car spin drew a caution as Johnson pitted for air pressure adjustments under the order from crew chief Cliff Daniels. With four laps remaining in the second stage, Johnson restarted 11th, but was able to gain one spot to finish 10th in the second stage and earn another valuable point.

Restarting seventh at the start of the final stage, Johnson kept his Chevrolet situated in the top 10, but was in no contention to battle the top front-runners of Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer for the lead. With the rest of the race running green, Johnson ran as high as sixth, but would take the checkered flag in a respectable seventh place, watching from a distance as Harvick cruised to the win.

With his result, Johnson notched his fifth top-10 result of the season and his 17th at Atlanta in his 29th and final start at the 1.5-mile track in Hampton, Georgia. The finish allowed Johnson and his No. 48 team to move from 15th to 13th in the Cup Series regular-season standings, trailing Harvick by 165 points. It was a result that left Johnson satisfied with his run.

“Yeah, it’s a great feeling, especially for the team when they know that they’ve hit on something that works, and what’s impressive is when a team and driver are able to continue for a long stretch of time at a track,” Johnson said. “You think about the various rules packages that have come down the pipe and [Harvick], and its consistently up front here at this track with an open motor, a 750 motor, a 550 motor, different aero packages, they just have a great feel for it, and I’ve certainly had that luxury a few times in my career. I wish it was still going on right now, especially going into Martinsville on Wednesday. I wish this was kind of mid to late 2000s when we had a great advantage there. But you enjoy it while you can.”

Next on Johnson’s schedule is Martinsville Speedway, a track where the seven-time champion has won nine times but he has not finished in the top 10 since winning in October 2016 as he attempts to snap his 105-winless drought dating back to June 2017. The race will air on June 10 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.

June 8, 2020
Harvick claims second win of the season at Atlanta

Kevin Harvick took command in the final stage and cruised to a dominating win in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The victory was Harvick’s second of the season, third at Atlanta and the 51st of his NASCAR Cup Series career. The win was Harvick’s 28th while driving the No. 4 car for Stewart-Haas Racing and it moved him into 12th place on the all-time Cup wins list. The win also came as Harvick’s crew chief Rodney Childers celebrated his 44th birthday.

The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Hometown hero Chase Elliott drew the pole position and shared the front row with Aric Almirola. Kurt Busch dropped to the rear of the field and was assessed a pass-through penalty down pit road at the start of the race for failing pre-race inspection three times. Corey LaJoie and Garrett Smithley also dropped to the rear of the field for failing inspection twice along with Timmy Hill and Cole Custer, both due to unapproved adjustments.

Following the opening pace laps, the field parked on the frontstretch, the crew members stood above the pit wall and the entire NASCAR community paused for a moment of silence/listening before NASCAR president Steve Phelps addressed the competitors and fans in a PA message, citing a need for change toward the stemming acts of racial inequalities and injustices in society. During this time, a video was aired that featured multiple Cup competitors addressing a unified message against racial inequality.

When the green flag waved, Elliott, who started on the inside lane from the pole, rocketed away with the lead followed by Joey Logano as Almirola, who started on the outside lane, dropped to third and battled with Kyle Busch through Turn 2. By the fifth lap, Elliott maintained a half-second lead over Logano followed by Almirola, Busch and last year’s Atlanta winner Brad Keselowski. Behind the leaders, a multitude of competitors were dicing against one another for early positions through each corner and straightaway.

By the 10th lap, Reddick, who started 24th, was in 13th while Erik Jones, who started 14th, was in eighth. Teammates Clint Bowyer and Harvick were battling for sixth followed by Martin Truex Jr., who started 11th. Jimmie Johnson, who started 15th and gave the command for drivers to start engines, was in 12th. After serving his drive-through penalty at the start of the race, Kurt Busch was in 39th, one lap behind.

When the competition caution flew on Lap 25, Elliott had managed to stretch his advantage to three seconds over Almirola followed by Logano, Harvick and Kyle Busch. In addition, Daniel Suarez remained on the lead lap and Kurt Busch, who was in 32nd and the first car a lap down, was the recipient of the free pass and returned to the lead lap under caution. Under caution, the leaders pitted. Following the stops, Logano emerged with the lead followed by Kyle Busch, Harvick and Elliott. During the pit stops, Blaney was pinned behind another car while struggling to exit his pit stall and lost a multitude of positions, where he settled inside the top 20.

When the race restarted on Lap 30, Logano led the field in Turn 1 followed by teammates Harvick and Bowyer as Truex Jr. went three-wide with Almirola and Hamlin in Turn 2. Truex used the high lane to his advantage to gain more spots and make his way inside the top five. In Turn 3, William Byron slipped and made contact with the outside wall due to a cut right-rear tire, which forced him to make an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 32 to have the damage repaired to his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. The damage cost Byron six laps. The race, however, remained green as the field continued dicing for positions, with Logano leading by half a second over Harvick. Meanwhile, Reddick advanced to sixth and started to pursue Busch and Truex for position in the top five while Elliott fell back to seventh.

On Lap 36, Harvick emerged as the new leader after passing Logano in Turn 3. Nine laps later, Truex and Kyle Busch made their way to second and third while Logano slipped to fourth and in a battle with Bowyer. Through Lap 50, Kurt Busch, who was back on the lead lap following the competition caution, was in 15th.

By Lap 60, Harvick’s lead stabilized to nearly a second over Truex and the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford had also lapped 10 cars. Behind him, Kyle Busch trailed by more than six seconds while Bowyer trailed by nearly nine seconds after overtaking Logano for position following a lengthy battle.

Four laps later, green-flag pit stops initiated when Ryan Newman was the first to pit. During the cycle of the stops, Newman and Keselowski returned to pit road after both were penalized for speeding during their stops. When the stops cycled through, Harvick returned to the lead and was ahead by nearly four seconds over Truex. Bowyer, Logano and Elliott moved into the top five, trailing Harvick by more than 10 seconds, while Kyle Busch fell to sixth ahead of Reddick. Almirola, who was in 13th, pitted again due to a loose wheel and to have lug nuts tightened on his machine.

By Lap 80, Harvick’s lead decreased to above a second over Truex as Harvick started to approach lapped traffic. Six laps later, Truex gained a huge run on Harvick in Turn 2 and made a move on the inside lane to take the lead entering Turn 3 and pull away by half a second. During this time, Kyle Busch overtook Elliott for fifth while Johnson and Kurt Busch were running ninth and 11th.

Just when Truex was trying to lap Bubba Wallace, the second caution flew on Lap 95 when John Hunter Nemechek spun entering Turn 4. At the time of caution, Wallace was able to remain on the lead lap while Matt DiBenedetto, who was in 18th and the first car a lap down, was the beneficiary of the free pass to return on the lead lap. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Truex retained the lead over Harvick followed by Bowyer, Logano and Kyle Busch.

With six laps remaining in the first stage, Truex received a bump from Bowyer and Kyle Busch on the inside lane to take off with the lead through Turn 1. A lap later, Busch took second while Harvick settled in fourth. In Turn 3, Jones, Reddick and Hamlin went three wide before Jones came out in fifth and Stenhouse and Elliott joined the battle with Reddick and Hamlin.

While the field continued jostling for position, Truex held off teammate Busch by two-tenths of a second to win the first stage and collect his first stage win of the season. Bowyer finished third followed by Hamlin and Harvick. Elliott, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Jones, Johnson and Blaney finished in the top 10 while Reddick was shuffled back to 18th.

Under the stage break, the leaders returned to pit road for service. Following the stops, Bowyer gained two spots to emerge as the new leader followed by Truex, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Elliott. Following the pit stops, Logano, Kenseth and Bell sustained damage after making contact on pit road.

The second stage started on Lap 112 and Bowyer used the inside lane to lead the field through Turn 1. Truex, however, received a bump from Hamlin to fight back on the outside lane entering Turn 3. Truex and Bowyer battled against one another hard for the lead as Hamlin made a three-wide move on Harvick and Elliott in Turn 3 to gain more positions before settling in third over Elliott, Kyle Busch and Harvick. By Lap 116, Bowyer cleared Truex and maintained his advantage by less than half a second.

Through Lap 125, Bowyer stretched his lead to above half a second over Truex. During this time, Elliott, Hamlin and Kyle Busch settled in the top five, Johnson was in seventh ahead of DiBenedetto, Jones was in ninth followed by Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch was in 11th ahead of teammates Blaney and Keselowski. In addition, Stenhouse and Wallace were in 14th and 15th while Newman and Matt Kenseth were in 21st and 25th. Reddick had fallen back to 23rd while Bell was the highest-running rookie in 17th. After racing toward the front at the start of the race, Almirola and Logano were in 18th and 24th.

On Lap 147, early disaster struck for Bowyer when he made an unscheduled pit stop for four fresh tires and perceived that he had a cut right-rear tire. Bowyer’s move allowed Truex to return to the lead, who was more than two seconds ahead of Hamlin.

With the race reaching Lap 156, a second round of green-flag pit stops commenced. Five laps later, nearly all the leaders pitted, except for teammates Keselowski and Blaney. Once the two front-runners pitted, Bowyer returned as the leader three laps later, leading Truex, who had fresher tires than Bowyer, by more than eight seconds.

By Lap 175, Bowyer’s advantage over Truex decreased from eight to less than two seconds while Kyle Busch trailed by three seconds. During this time, Bowman moved to sixth followed by DiBenedetto, Johnson and Elliott. Keselowski and Blaney, following their stops, were in 10th and 13th and Bell was in 14th followed by Stenhouse. Wallace, who was running within the top 15 prior to the green-flag stops, fell back to 29th to have a left-rear loose wheel fixed on his No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet, which cost him two laps.

By Lap 185, after gaining more ground on Bowyer, Truex returned to the lead in Turns 1 and 2. In addition, Kyle Busch gained a huge run in Turn 4 to move into the runner-up spot and Bowyer settled in third. On Lap 198, Hamlin gained a huge run through Turns 1 and 2 to move into third over Bowyer.

With nine laps remaining in the first stage, just as Harvick passed Bowyer for fourth, the caution returned when Michael McDowell spun entering Turn 4 following contact with teammate Nemechek and slid through the grass before coasting his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford through pit road. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Kyle Busch emerged as the new leader followed by Truex, who came to a near stop trying to avoid starting in second on the outside lane. Truex’s move stacked the field towards the end of pit road, but he exited second followed by Harvick, Blaney and Keselowski.

With four laps remaining in the second stage, Busch and Truex battled through Turn 3 before Truex reassumed the lead followed by Blaney as Hamlin battled Busch for fourth. As the laps dwindled, Jones fell off the pace after being pinched into the wall with help from Bell, which cut his right-front tire. With no caution waving, Truex was able to hold off the field and win the second stage followed by Blaney, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Elliott. Harvick, DiBenedetto, Keselowski, Bowyer and Johnson rounded out the top 10.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Kyle Busch exited pit road first again followed by Truex, Harvick, Elliott, Keselowski and Blaney.

When the final stage started with 108 laps remaining, Kyle Busch received a push from Harvick to take off with the lead while Truex slipped to third. In Turn 3, Harvick made a move on the outside lane to return to the lead. A lap later, Truex moved into second as Busch battled Keselowski for third. Another lap later, Elliott used a crossover move in Turn 4 to move to fourth over Keselowski.

With 100 laps remaining, Busch, who had retaken second from Truex, narrowed his deficit to two-tenths of a second behind Harvick, but Harvick increased his lead to six-tenths three laps later as Truex retook second. Ten laps later, 90 to go, Harvick extended his advantage to a second over Truex with Kyle Busch trailing by two seconds and Elliott by more than three seconds. Another 10 laps later, Truex decreased the deficit to six-tenths of a second, but Harvick stabilized his lead to over a second five laps later.

With 65 to go, the final round of green-flag pit stops occurred, starting with DiBenedetto pitting. Under the pit stops, Ty Dillon was assessed a speeding penalty. With 54 to go, after the field cycled through the stops, Harvick was back in the lead, leading by nearly two seconds over Truex, four seconds over Kyle Busch and nearly eight seconds over Hamlin.

With 48 to go, Jones, who was trying to race his way back onto the lead lap following his contact with the wall at the conclusion of the second stage, pitted for service to his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, but returned shortly after being assessed a speeding penalty.

As the laps continued to dwindle, Harvick started to stabilize and stretch his lead to a comfortable margin over Truex while making his way through lapped traffic. With 20 to go, Harvick was ahead by more than two seconds over Truex’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Kyle Busch was behind by nearly five seconds, Blaney by nearly 11 seconds and Hamlin by 14 seconds.

With 14 to go, disaster struck again for Bowyer as he made his second unscheduled pit stop of the day to have a flat right-rear tire changed on his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. This misfortune cost him two laps and drew him out of contention for a top-10 result.

With four to go, Busch made his way to second as Truex started to fade. By then, Harvick was long gone. With Busch unable to mount a late rally, Harvick was able to cruise to the checkered flag and win by nearly four seconds over Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. After taking the checkered flag, Harvick did a reverse victory lap while holding three fingers outside of his car. His move mirrored the three fingers salute Harvick made after winning his first Cup race at Atlanta in 2001 and paying tribute to the late seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt Sr.

“Obviously, [my] first win came for me here at Atlanta and this is just a race track I’ve taken a likening to,” Harvick said. “You always come back and have those memories, and now you want to celebrate everything that Dale Earnhardt did for this sport. To come here and be able to do that with wins and go to victory lane is pretty special. [The pit crew] had a great pit stop. We got a restart on the bottom [lane] and it got my car to take off. I was able to get track position and then, once I could get through those first 10 laps, my car was freed up enough to where I could get in a rhythm and really start hitting my marks. By about Lap 25, I could start driving away. Just proud of everybody from Busch Light, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing, thank you, guys, for everything…you, the fans. We appreciate everything you guys do for us.”

Busch settled in second for his third runner-up finish and sixth top-five result of 2020 while Truex finished third and claimed his first top-five result of this season. Blaney and Hamlin finished fourth and fifth while Kurt Busch rallied from his pass-through penalty at the start of the race to finish sixth for his seventh top-10 result of this season. Johnson finished seventh in his 29th and final start at Atlanta while Elliott, Keselowski and Logano rounded out the top 10.

Following the race, Wallace, who finished 21st, was taken to the infield care center after appearing light headed while exiting his car, but he remained alert and awake. He would later be released from the care center.

The race featured 21 lead changes with nine different leaders. There were five cautions for 24 laps. Only 10 cars finished on the lead lap.

With his win, Harvick extended his lead in the Cup Series regular-season standings as he now leads by 48 points over Logano and 56 over Elliott.

Results:

1. Kevin Harvick, 151 laps led

2. Kyle Busch, seven laps led

3. Martin Truex Jr., 65 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

4. Ryan Blaney, two laps led

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Kurt Busch, one lap led

7. Jimmie Johnson

8. Chase Elliott, 26 laps led

9. Brad Keselowski, five laps led

10. Joey Logano, 10 laps led

11. Austin Dillon, one lap down

12. Alex Bowman, one lap down

13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

14. Ryan Newman, one lap down

15. Matt Kenseth, one lap down

16. Tyler Reddick, one lap down

17. Aric Almirola, one lap down

18. Christopher Bell, one lap down

19. Cole Custer, one lap down

20. Clint Bowyer, one lap down, 58 laps led

21. Bubba Wallace, one lap down

22. Chris Buescher, one lap down

23. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down

24. Michael McDowell, one lap down

25. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down

26. Ryan Preece, two laps down

27. Corey LaJoie, two laps down

28. Erik Jones, three laps down

29. Ty Dillon, three laps down

30. Brennan Poole, four laps down

31. Daniel Suarez, nine laps down

32. Quin Houff, 11 laps down

33. William Byron, 12 laps down

34. Josh Bilicki, 12 laps down

35. Garrett Smithley, 13 laps down

36. J.J. Yeley, 14 laps down

37. Reed Sorenson, 15 laps down

38. Joey Gase, 17 laps down

39. Timmy Hill – OUT, Electrical

40. B.J. McLeod – OUT, Clutch

Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Martinsville Speedway, which will occur on Wednesday, June 10, for the Cup Series’ third midweek race of this season. The race will air at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.

June 7, 2020
Kaulig Racing victorious at Atlanta

Following a dismal week at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kaulig Racing traveled south to Atlanta Motor Speedway in Georgia as AJ Allmendinger returned to the team’s lineup alongside Ross Chastain and Justin Haley. When the dust settled and the checkered flag flew, all three teams finished in the top 10 with Allmendinger earning the race win and recording Kaulig Racing’s first NASCAR victory of the 2020 season.

Coming into Atlanta, Kaulig Racing’s previous best finish at the track was eighth, which came a year ago with Haley and the No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet team. This season, the team had three opportunities to improve on the stat.

The starting lineup was determined by a random draw. Haley started fourth, which marked the fourth consecutive race since NASCAR’s return to on-track racing where he started in the top five. Chastain, who finished sixth in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series event at Atlanta earlier in the day, started 11th and Allmendinger started 30th.

When the race commenced, Haley moved to the runner-up spot as Chastain remained inside the top 10. By the 10th lap, Allmendinger had worked his way inside the top 20 and all three Kaulig Racing Chevrolets remained in the top 10 at the time the competition caution flew on Lap 16. Under the competition caution, all three Kaulig competitors remained on track along with the majority of the field. When the front-runners pitted, Haley inherited the lead for the restart on Lap 21.

For four laps following the Lap 21 restart, Haley led, but was overtaken by Austin Cindric for the lead on Lap 25. By Lap 30, Chastain moved into the runner-up spot, trailing Cindric by more than three seconds. Haley settled in third, trailing Cindric by four seconds while Allmendinger was in 12th. When the first stage concluded, Chastain and Haley settled in second and third behind Cindric while Allmendinger was able to work his way in the top 10 by finishing ninth.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Chastain exited second while Allmendinger exited fifth. Haley was due to restart in the top five, but was sent to the rear of the field in 27th due to a crew member jumping over the pit wall too early.

When the second stage started on Lap 47, Chastain retained the runner-up position while Allmendinger, who made a brief appearance in the top five, settled in the top 10. By Lap 60, Haley had made his way back into the top 15. Five laps later, Allmendinger made his way to fifth after overtaking JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier and Noah Gragson in Turn 4.

Following a caution on Lap 68 for a spin involving rookie Riley Herbst and a late restart in the stage, Chastain fell to third as Chase Briscoe moved to second. Behind, Allmendinger continued to run in the top five while Haley made his way back inside the top 10. When the second stage concluded, which was won by Cindric, Chastain finished third, Allmendinger settled in fifth and Haley rallied to finish seventh.

Under the stage break and when the leaders pitted, Chastain and Allmendinger exited in the top five while Haley was penalized again, this time for speeding on pit road, and was sent to the rear of the field.

Over the course of the next 38 laps in the final stage, which included two cautions and two restarts, all three Kaulig Racing competitors were running in the top 10, watching from a distance as Briscoe maintained a steady advantage over Cindric. With less than 40 laps remaining, an opportunity presented itself under caution following a pit stop when the top-three competitors that included Briscoe, Cindric and Allgaier sped on pit road and were sent to the rear of the field. Their misfortunes allowed Allmendinger to inherit the lead for the restart with 34 laps remaining. Haley restarted third behind Allmendinger while Chastain restarted sixth.

When the race restarted, Allmendinger took off with the lead while Haley settled in third after being overtaken by Gragson. Over the course of the final 34 laps, Allmendinger would navigate his way through lapped traffic and maintain his advantage over a second over Gragson, which was enough to claim the checkered flag first and record his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season. The victory was Allmendinger’s fourth of his Xfinity Series career in his 18th series start, his first oval-track win and his first Atlanta win in his first series start at the track. In addition, Kaulig Racing notched its third NASCAR Xfinity career win in the team’s fifth season.

“Oh, my god! I won on an oval! You like that?!” Allmendinger said on FOX. “Matt Kaulig, I really love you. Chris Rice, these cars were awesome. It’s Atlanta. You’re trying to figure out how much tire to use early. The car was awesome on long runs. Once I got to the lead, I was just trying to hit my marks, which is hard to do. I can’t thank everybody at Kaulig Racing, LeafFilter Gutter Protection, everybody that’s associated with this team. We got C2 Freight Resources on the car…Thank you ECR [Engines], Chevrolet, everybody for giving me the opportunity. Let’s party.”

Following his victory, team owner Matt Kaulig announced that Allmendinger will compete in the second Xfinity Series doubleheader event at Homestead-Miami Speedway on June 14 as one of four Xfinity competitors vying for the second Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus.

Haley rallied from his pair of pit road penalties to finish third for his third top-five finish of the season while Chastain settled in seventh for his sixth top-10 result of the season.

“[Today] was good,” Haley said on PRN Radio. “We’ve had speed the past few weeks and haven’t had any luck. So, glad we could finally finish it off. Last week at Bristol, we were passing for the lead and when the caution came out, [we] got wrecked on the restart. I don’t know, it’s just tough. Congrats to A.J. He was pretty good. All three Kaulig Racing cars were fast. We’ll keep digging.”

With his result, Haley moved from eighth to seventh in the standings and trails points leader Briscoe by 73 points as he will also contend for the Dash 4 Cash bonus next weekend at Homestead. Chastain remained in fifth in the standings as he trails Briscoe by 45 points.

Next on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is a doubleheader series weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the first on June 13 and the second on June 14. The June 13 race at Homestead will air at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX while the June 14 race will air at noon ET on FS1.

June 7, 2020
Allmendinger capitalizes late to win at Atlanta

A.J. Allmendinger seized the opportunity following a late-race pit stop and held off Noah Gragson in the final 34 laps to win the EchoPark 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The victory was Allmendinger’s fourth of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career in his 18th series start, first of the season and his first on an oval-shaped track. Ironically, Allmendinger’s first Xfinity win at Atlanta came in his first series start at the track.

The starting lineup was based on a random draw and three competitors from JR Motorsports drew the first three starting positions. Noah Gragson, coming off his thrilling win at Bristol Motor Speedway, started on pole position followed by teammates Daniel Hemric and Justin Allgaier. Following the pre-race inspection, the following teams with drivers Hemric, Harrison Burton, Austin Cindric, Myatt Snider, Jeremy Clements, Tommy Joe Martins and Stephen Leicht lost their pit stall selection for next week’s event at Homestead-Miami Speedway for failing the inspection station twice. Martins started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments along with Timmy Hill, who pitted under the pace laps.

When the race started, Gragson paced ahead to lead the opening six laps, but Austin Cindric, who started eighth and was eliminated early in the previous race at Bristol due to a multi-car wreck, used the high lane to move all the way up to second by the second lap and settle behind Gragson. By Lap 6, Cindric, again, used the high lane to his advantage and took the lead in Turn 3 as Gragson slipped. A lap later, Justin Haley moved into second as Gragson battled early loose-handling conditions in his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. By the 10th lap, he had fallen back to fifth as teammates Hemric and Allgaier passed him. Up front, Cindric extended his advantage to over a second over Haley.

In the midst of the battle up front, Ryan Sieg, who started seventh, experienced early mechanical issues as smoke was billowing out of his No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet. He would eventually take his car to the garage for repairs.

The first caution of the race flew on Lap 16 when Tommy Joe Martins spun on the backstretch. With the competition caution originally planned for Lap 20, NASCAR deemed the caution for Martins’ spin as the competition caution since the field would pass Lap 20 under yellow. At the time of caution, Chastain, who started 11th, moved up to sixth while Burton, who started fifth, fell back to 10th. Under caution, only a handful of competitors like Cindric and Chase Briscoe pitted. Haley remained on track to inherit the lead followed by Hemric, Allgaier, Gragson and Ross Chastain.

When the race restarted on Lap 21, Haley used the bottom lane to take off with the lead followed by Allgaier and Chastain. Cindric restarted 21st, but bolted his way to fourth in three laps on four fresh tires. By Lap 25, Cindric was in third behind Kaulig Racing’s Haley and Chastain. A lap later, Cindric reassumed the lead.

By Lap 30, Cindric extended his advantage to over three seconds over Chastain and four seconds over Haley. During this time, Briscoe, who pitted with Cindric under competition caution only for adjustments, had made his way only up to 11th. Allmendinger, who started 30th, was in 12th, Anthony Alfredo, who started 24th, was in 14th and Jeremy Clements, who started 20th, was in 11th. Brandon Brown, coming off back-to-back top-10 results at Charlotte and Bristol, was in ninth.

Up front, Cindric remained uncontested and was able to cruise to the Stage 1 win on Lap 40 by over nine seconds over Chastain. With his strong start to the race, Cindric claimed his first stage first victory of the year. Haley finished third followed by Allgaier and Hemric while Gragson, Riley Herbst, Briscoe, Allmendinger and Burton finished in top 10.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Colby Howard inherited the lead after pitting without changing tires. Cindric was the first to exit with four fresh tires followed by Chastain, Briscoe, Haley and Gragson. Following the pit stops, Haley was sent to the rear of the field due to his crew members jumping over the pit wall too soon. A lap later, Howard returned to pit road, giving the lead back to Cindric.

When the second stage started on Lap 47, Cindric received a push from Briscoe to maintain the lead. Chastain retained second as Briscoe battled Gragson for third. By Lap 60, Cindric extended his advantage to three seconds over Chastain. In addition, Haley, who restarted outside the top 25 following his penalty, worked his way back to 15th.

On Lap 65, Hemric, who was running fourth, made contact with a lapped car entering Turn 4, but both cars continued without spinning or drawing out a caution. Behind him, Allmendinger and Allgaier made their way past Gragson for position.

Three laps later, the caution returned when Riley Herbst, who was running in the top 10, spun in Turn 2. Under caution, the leaders remained on track except for Clements, Josh Williams and Jeffrey Earnhardt.

When the race restarted with seven laps remaining in the second stage, Cindric received another bump from Briscoe to retain the lead. This time, Briscoe moved to second and Chastain battled Hemric for third as the competitors behind the leaders started duking for positions and battled three wide through the turns and the straightaways.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 80, Cindric was the leader as he claimed the stage by half a second over Briscoe and over a second over Chastain. Hemric finished fourth over Allmendinger. Gragson, Haley, Allgaier, Annett and Burton finished in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted. Briscoe exited first followed by Cindric, Chastain, Allgaier and Allmendinger. Following pit stops, Haley was penalized and sent to the rear of the field a second time, this time due to speeding on pit road.

The final stage commenced with 76 laps remaining. On the restart, Briscoe and Cindric engaged in a heated battle for the lead while Allgaier and Chastain battled for third. Behind, Gragson made contact with Burton, which loosened Burton’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota up the track as Gragson moved up to eighth. Five laps later, Briscoe extended his lead of over a second over Cindric. Chastain, meanwhile, slipped to fourth.

With 65 to go, caution returned when Josh Williams went for a long slide in Turn 3. He was able to nurse his car back below the apron without receiving any further contact from the field and pit. By then, Haley moved back to 16th following his penalty and Briscoe extended the lead to nearly two seconds over Cindric.

Under caution, the leaders pitted. Briscoe exited first followed by Allgaier, Cindric, Chastain and Brandon Jones. During the pit stops, Gragson was penalized and sent to the rear for driving through too many pit boxes on pit road. His teammate, Michael Annett, remained on track and inherited the lead.

On a restart with 61 to go, Briscoe took off on the inside lane while Annett raced four wide with Chastain, Allgaier and Cindric through Turn 1 before Chastain moved to second followed by Cindric, Allgaier, Jones and Hemric. Annett, who struggled on old tires, fell back like an anchor outside the top 10.

With 40 to go, Briscoe extended his lead to over a second ahead of Cindric and more than three seconds over Chastain and Allgaier. A lap later, the caution returned when Vinnie Miller spun in Turn 2. Under caution, the leaders pitted. Following pit stops, disaster struck for Briscoe, Allgaier and Cindric as all three were penalized for speeding on pit road. When all three were sent to restart outside the top 20, Allmendinger emerged with the lead alongside Gragson.

The race restarted with 34 to go and Allmendinger took off with the lead followed by Gragson, Haley, Jones and Burton. While Allmendinger retained a steady lead over the field, Gragson and Haley battled for second as Gragson would gain the upper hand. With 20 to go, Allmendinger settled in to lead over a second over Gragson followed by Haley, Burton and Chastain. Allgaier was eighth, Briscoe was 10th and Cindric was 17th as all three were running out of time and laps to make up for their late mistakes on pit road.

With 10 to go, Allmendinger started to approach lapped traffic, which gave Gragson a slim, but brewing opportunity to challenge for the lead. Allmendinger, however, was able to navigate his way through the lapped traffic and maintain his advantage around a second over Gragson.

For the final laps, Gragson tried to narrow the gap between himself and Allmendinger, but Allmendinger maintained his ground and his one-second advantage, which was enough for him to cruise to the checkered flag and grab an upset win by 1.858 seconds over Gragson. With the victory, Allmendinger has finished in the top 10 in four of his seven starts with Kaulig Racing as the team recorded its third NASCAR Xfinity Series career victory.

“Oh, my god! I won on an oval! You like that?!” Allmendinger said on FOX. “Matt Kaulig, I really love you. Chris Rice, these cars were awesome. It’s Atlanta. You’re trying to figure out how much tire to use early. The car was awesome on long runs. Once I got to the lead, I was just trying to hit my marks, which is hard to do. I can’t thank everybody at Kaulig Racing, LeafFilter Gutter Protection, everybody that’s associated with this team. We got C2 Freight Resources on the car…Thank you ECR [Engines], Chevrolet, everybody for giving me the opportunity. Let’s party.”

In addition, Allmendinger, who was originally not scheduled to compete in next weekend’s second Dash 4 Cash event at Homestead-Miami Speedway on June 14, will enter the event with the opportunity to win $100,000.

Despite finishing second, Gragson claimed the first Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus of the 2020 season.

“First off, I wanna say congrats to the 16 team,” Gragson said on FOX. “They did a heck of a job today. We fought a lot of adversity out there. I drove through too many pit boxes on one of the pit stops and had to go to the back. This Axalta, EchoPark team, they never gave up. [Crew chief] Dave Elenz did a great job making changes. We were wrecking loose there at the beginning of the race. We just kept working on it, working on it. We were able to come home second. I wanted to be doing burnouts on the front straightaway. Our car looked really good. That’s alright. We’re gonna move on to Miami. That’s my bread and butter track. Just super fortunate to be running here in the Xfinity Series.”

Haley rebounded from his two pit-road penalties to finish third for his third top-five result of this season followed by Hemric as both competitors will compete for the second Dash 4 Cash bonus at Homestead alongside Allmendinger and Gragson. Burton finished fifth as he remains the only competitor to finish in the top 10 in all Xfinity events through Atlanta. Allgaier, Chastain, Jones, Briscoe and Alfredo rounded out the top 10.

There were 10 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 28 laps.

Briscoe continues to lead the Xfinity Series regular-season standings by four points over Gragson and 32 over Burton.

Results:

1. A.J. Allmendinger, 37 laps led

2. Noah Gragson, six laps led

3. Justin Haley, eight laps led

4. Daniel Hemric

5. Harrison Burton

6. Justin Allgaier, one lap led

7. Ross Chastain

8. Brandon Jones

9. Chase Briscoe, 40 laps led

10. Anthony Alfredo

11. Michael Annett, three laps led

12. Brandon Brown

13. Jeremy Clements

14. Brett Moffitt

15. Colby Howard

16. Austin Cindric, 68 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

17. Riley Herbst

18. Bayley Currey

19. Ronnie Bassett Jr., one lap down

20. Jesse Little, one lap down

21. Jeffrey Earnhardt, one lap down

22. Tommy Joe Martins, one lap down

23. Mason Massey, one lap down

24. Garrett Smithley, one lap down

25. B.J. McLeod, one lap down

26. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

27. Alex Labbe, one lap down

28. Josh Williams, one lap down

29. Myatt Snider, two laps down

30. Matt Mills, two laps down

31. Vinnie Miller, seven laps down

32. Joe Nemechek – OUT, Suspension

33. Timmy Hill – OUT, Alternator

34. Chad Finchum – OUT, Suspension

35. Ryan Sieg – OUT, Engine

36. Stephen Leicht – OUT, Clutch

37. Kody Vanderwal – OUT, Engine

Next on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is a doubleheader series weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the first on June 13 and the second on June 14. The June 13 race at Homestead will air at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the June 14 race will air at noon ET on FS1.

June 6, 2020
Grant Enfinger wins in overtime thriller at Atlanta
In typical Atlanta Motor Speedway fashion, there was a last-lap dash and pass to the finish in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Vet Tix Camping World 200 race. This time, however, it was between Grant Enfinger and Hattori Racing Enterprises’ Austin Hill.

Hill had led up until a late caution that flew with four laps to go when Chase Elliott spun off Turn 4. When the event went back green, Hill got a good jump on the restart, but it was eventually ThorSport Racing’s Enfinger who took home the win over Hill by 0.215 seconds.

“It was definitely wild, that’s for sure,” Enfinger said. “We didn’t lead too many laps, but we led the ones that counted. It was just a unbelievable, Farmpaint Ford F-150 on the short run. We didn’t have everything that we needed to make a real run at those guys, to keep up with Chase (Elliott) and Kyle (Busch) on the long run. We were decent on the long run, but we weren’t great. On the short run, I knew if it came down to it, we could make it happen if we had a good restart.”

“Fortunately, we got a good restart,” he continued. “Austin (Hill) blocked me on the backstretch and I felt like we could probably clear him either way but I was kind of glad he went to the bottom. I never used that move, but I (had) seen Kyle (Busch) and Johnny (Sauter) be successful with that same move. From there, it was just a matter of holding him (Hill) off and we had the speed to do that.”

Stages 30-30-70 made up the 130 lapper for the fourth race of the season with a competition caution on lap 15. Kyle Busch Motorsports driver, Christian Eckes, drew the pole earlier in the week while Tyler Ankrum of GMS Racing drew outside pole.

Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 30

Eckes led early on but the race was slowed a couple of times by the No. 28 of Bryan Dauzat. Dauzat spun around twice, once on Lap 2, and a second time on Lap 12. Eventually, Dauzat would be out of the race, due to the damaged vehicle policy.

Before the competition yellow, KBM teammates, Eckes and Kyle Busch traded the lead. When the yellow flew, Johnny Sauter, Zane Smith, Brennan Poole, Stewart Friesen, and Ankrum were among the drivers to pit under yellow.

As the race went back green on Lap 16, Eckes got ahead for the lead but Busch took the top spot on Lap 24. KBM Team Owner Busch went on to win Stage 1 with Elliott, Eckes, Smith, Hill, Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed, Ross Chastain, Sauter, and Enfinger rounding out the top-10.

When the leaders pitted, there was a log jam on pit road and a collision. Ryan Truex, who was ahead of John Hunter Nemechek, checked up which caused Nemechek to run into the back of the No. 40 truck. Seasoned veteran, Matt Crafton also received front-end damage to his No. 88 machine after the incident and Nemechek had left-rear quarter panel damage to his Truck as well.

However, Sauter and Chastain were too fast on pit road and Angela Ruch was penalized for pitting outside the box. TJ Bell was also penalized for improper fueling. Zane Smith did not elect to pit, stayed out and was deemed the new leader for the Stage 2 restart.

Stage 2: Lap 36 – Lap 60

After staying out hoping for track position, Smith fell back and was almost run over by drivers with fresher tires in the back.

Last week’s winner, Elliott, took the lead on Lap 38 and held it until Lap 51 when Busch once again made his way to the top of the leaderboard. The two traded positions before a caution halted the field when Austin Wayne Self in the No. 22 was stopped sideways off Turn 4. A few drivers, including Ruch, had to make some extra moves to avoid the sitting truck.

When the stage restarted with four to go, there wasn’t much of a challenge for Busch and he took the stage win. Enfinger, Kraus, Chastain, Gilliland, Eckes, Sauter, Raphael Lessard, Crafton, and Hill completed the top-10 finishers in the second stage.

Stage 3: Lap 66 – Lap 136

The final stage saw the longest green-flag run of the day with 62 laps. Busch took the lead from Niece Motorsports’ Chastain with 44 to go and it looked as though he would set sail.

The final round of green-flag pit stops began with 35 to go with Chastain the first to start the sequence. Busch pitted from the lead one lap later. Meanwhile, Elliott had troubles slowing when he tried to pit and was forced to make an extra lap.

When Busch pitted, he was too fast on pit road and was given a penalty. As Busch re-entered the track, he nearly got into the No. 3 of Jordan Anderson in Turns 3 and 4. However, the No. 51 Cessna Tundra, was too fast again on pit road when Busch served the initial penalty. Receiving two penalties in a row would eventually end Busch’s chances of winning the race.

After that, Georgia native Hill was in prime position as he inherited the lead during the pit stop cycle. He appeared to be on his way to score the big victory until Elliott went spinning around in the No. 24 Hooters machine off Turn 4 with four to go, setting up an overtime restart.

There were some questions as to whether Hill would pit and everyone else would stay out or if Hill stayed out and everyone else would pit. However, all the lead lap trucks pitted under the final yellow.

Eventually, a two-lap dash to the finish ensued and anybody inside the top five had a chance to win. But when it came down to it, Enfinger and Hill were the two trying to get to the finish line first. Enfinger was on the outside while Hill was on the inside. Enfinger was able to get Hill loose just enough to take the lead and would score the first Atlanta victory of his career.

In 2020, Enfinger has earned two wins early in the season.

“Obviously, it started at Daytona,” he said. “Superspeedways can be so crazy and hit and miss. It’s something I like though. The fact we won at Daytona and I shouldn’t say this, but shouldn’t be the reason we won today. That, however, changes our mindset at the shop even before we get here. Like my spotter, Chris Lambert said, ‘we won this race at the shop.’ Some of those guys can’t even celebrate with me right now, so we won this for the shop. We might not have made the same move, had we not won (at Daytona) and we would be points racing. Thankfully, we get to take some of Marcus Lemonis’ (CEO of Gander RV and Camping World) money home to those who deserve it.”

Enfinger led twice for seven laps and now has four career victories. Not only did the Alabama native score his fourth career victory, he and the team picked up the $25,000 bonus from Marcus Lemonis.

There were six cautions for 28 laps and 14 lead changes among seven different drivers.

Note: Following the post-race inspection, Sauter’s 17th place finish was disqualified due to an unspecified tire modification. He was relegated to last place in the finishing order. This moves everyone who finished after him up one spot in the results.

Official Results
1. Grant Enfinger, led seven laps
2. Austin Hill, led 36 laps
3. Christian Eckes, 18 laps
4. Todd Gilliland
5. Zane Smith, led five laps
6. Ross Chastain, led 17 laps
7. Derek Kraus
8. Brett Moffitt
9. Ben Rhodes
10. Stewart Friesen
11. Tanner Gray
12. Matt Crafton
13. Ryan Truex
14. Sheldon Creed
15. Tyler Ankrum
16. Jeb Burton
17. Johnny Sauter – DQ – Officially scored in last place
18. Brennan Poole
19. Raphael Lessard
20. Ty Majeski, one lap down
21. Chase Elliott, one lap down
22. Kyle Busch, one lap down
23. Timmy Hill, one lap down
24. Cory Roper, one lap down
25. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down
26. Spencer Davis, two laps down
27. Clay Greenfield, two laps down
28. Spencer Boyd, two laps down
29. Angela Ruch, two laps down
30. Korbin Forrister, two laps down
31. Austin Wayne Self, four laps down
32. Tate Fogleman, four laps down
33. Bayley Currey, five laps down
34. Codie Rohrbaugh, six laps down
35. Gray Gaulding, seven laps down
36. Jesse Little, nine laps down
37. Jennifer Jo Cobb, OUT, Too Slow
38. Jordan Anderson, OUT, Crash
39. TJ Bell, OUT, Clutch
40. Bryan Dauzat, OUT, Damage Vehicle Policy
June 6, 2020
Weekend schedule for Atlanta – Racing postponed

Update from NASCAR:

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 13, 2020) – “NASCAR has decided to postpone the race events at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend and Homestead-Miami Speedway next weekend. We believe this decision is in the best interest of the safety and well-being of our fans, competitors, officials and everyone associated with our sport. We will continue to monitor this dynamic situation as we assess future race events.”

All three national series head to Atlanta Motor Speedway for a weekend of competition. Brad Keselowski has won two of the last three NASCAR Cup Series races at the 1.54-mile track (2019,2017) and finished second in 2018.

Christopher Bell, who currently competes in the Cup Series, won last year’s Xfinity Series race at Atlanta but is not entered in this weekend’s race. Kyle Busch won the 2019 Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series race and will compete in Saturday’s event.

After Busch scored his 57th career victory last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, there was the usual uproar about Busch competing in a lower series. This prompted Kevin Harvick to offer a $50,000 bounty for any full-time Cup Series driver who could beat Busch in one of his four remaining Truck Series races. RV & Outdoors CEO Marcus Lemonis responded by matching Harvick’s bounty, for a total payout of $100,000. This weekend at Atlanta, Chase Elliott will try to collect the bounty.

All times are Eastern.

Friday, March 13

1:35 p.m.- 2:25 p.m.: Truck Series first practice – Stream on NASCAR.com

2:35 p.m.- 3:25 p.m.: Xfinity Series first practice – FS1

3:35 p.m.- 4:25 p.m.: Cup Series first practice – FS1

4:32 p.m.- 4:57 p.m.: Truck Series final practice – FS1

5:02 p.m.- 5:27 p.m.: Xfinity Series final practice – FS1

5:35 p.m.-6:25 p.m.: Cup Series final practice – FS1

Saturday, March 14

10:05 a.m.: Truck Series Qualifying (Impound – Single Vehicle/One Lap All Positions) – FS1

11:05 AM Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound – Single Vehicle/One Lap All Positions) – FS1

12:05 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound – Single Vehicle/One Lap All Positions) – FS1/PRN

1:30 p.m.: Truck Series Vet Tix/Camping World 200 race (Stages 30/60/130 Laps = 200.02 Miles) – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

4 p.m.: Xfinity Series Echo Park 250 race (Stages 40/80/163 Laps = 251.02 Miles) – FS1/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Sunday, March 15

2 p.m.: Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 race (Stages 105/210/325 Laps = 500.5 Miles) – FOX/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

March 12, 2020
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Atlanta/The Bounty Part 1
The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series return to on-track action this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. While you may have looked at this as just another race prior to the 2020 season, all eyes will be watching this Saturday.

Last time out at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch stole the show and went to victory lane in the Truck Series once again. This caused another round of outrage from some NASCAR fans about Busch winning in the lower series.

The outrage got the attention of the 2014 Cup Series champion and future Hall of Famer Kevin Harvick who finally had enough of it. The day after Busch’s win, Harvick took to Twitter and issued what was originally a $50,000 bounty to any full-time Cup driver that can beat Busch. Not only did it get the attention of Harvick but the bounty that Harvick offered also got the attention of the CEO and sponsor of the series, Marcus Lemonis. Lemonis took to Twitter and matched Kevin’s bounty to equal $100,000. Of course, this got the attention of several Cup Series drivers who right away tried putting plans together with Truck Series teams.

While it would have been interesting to see a Cup vs. Truck field at Atlanta this weekend, the realization came into play on how tough it actually would be to get a ride in the Truck Series, as there would be many sponsor and manufacturer conflicts in some instances. However, a couple of Cup drivers were able to get a deal worked out. Those drivers include Chase Elliott who will drive the No. 24 GMS Racing Chevy, Brennan Poole who will pilot his own No. 29 Toyota entry and John Hunter Nemechek in the No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports entry. Whether or not, one of these three can beat Kyle by finishing ahead of him remains to be seen but the bounty will certainly put on a good show.

Before we get to The Bounty, let’s take a look at five other drivers that have shot to win in this weekend’s Vet Tix Camping World 200 at Atlanta.

Currently, there are 38 Trucks on the preliminary entry list, meaning six trucks will go home after qualifying.
1. Kyle Busch – Anytime Kyle Busch is in the field, it will be really tough to beat him head-to-head on his good days and that has been the case here at Atlanta for at least nine of 11 starts. In last year’s race, Busch swept both the stages and won in his second straight Truck start of the season after leading 92 laps. In total, the Las Vegas native has an average finish of 6.1 with an average start of 3.4. He has five wins to his credit with eight top fives, nine top-10 finishes and 479 laps led. Busch’s stats at Atlanta are impressive as he won three in a row in 2005, 2007, and 2008. Had he not finished eighth in 2008, Busch could have won five in a row which is really impressive, to say the least. Despite his success at the 1.54-mile speedway in Atlanta, the KBM owner has also faced some adversity at one point or another. In 2017, he started second and finished 26th, three laps down while in 2018, Busch was on the pole but finished 21st after having a wheel come off under a pit stop. It’s rare for Busch to have a problem in the Truck Series, but it’s also rare for anyone to beat him. The KBM owner will be pretty tough to beat on Saturday for the bounty.
2. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt has yet to find victory lane this season in the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevy. Though it has not been the start Moffitt has been looking for, that could all change this weekend at a track where he has had limited success. The Iowa native won here back in 2018 after starting 10th and only led two laps after a late-race restart with two to go. To date, that has been Moffitt’s only victory in the Truck Series at Atlanta. In last year’s outing for GMS, he finished fourth after starting third but only registered a fifth-place stage finish in the second stage. Overall, Moffitt has an average finish of 5.3.
3. Grant Enfinger – Quite simply put, Atlanta has been one of the best tracks that Grant Enfinger has not won at yet. Since making his first start there in 2016, the Alabama native has had consistent finishes in the top fives and 10s with a best finish of third coming in 2019. He’s managed to lead eight laps and earned an average finish of 6.2. In total, Enfinger has two top-fives and four top-10 finishes. He was able to finish third in Stage 1 and eighth in Stage 2 in the 2019 race. Surprisingly, the ThorSport driver has not won yet at Atlanta, but that could change this weekend.
4. Ben Rhodes – Another driver who has had some success at Atlanta is the driver of the No. 99 Carolina Nut Company Ford, Ben Rhodes. Rhodes has four starts dating back to 2016. His best finish was fourth (twice, 2017 and 2018). In those four starts, he’s also led 20 laps which came in last year’s race. All in all, the ThorSport driver has completed all the laps since his first race, which is really remarkable. Rhodes has yet to grab a stage win in this race, but that may very well come this weekend along with a win.
5. Ross Chastain – Chastain is back for another race in the Niece Motorsports entry for 2020. At Atlanta, he has three starts in 2012, 2017 and 2019. Chastain’s best finish of those three starts was sixth in last year’s race after starting 21st. He didn’t make a lot of noise, but still got the job done by earning a top-10 finish. Chastain also finished 10th and seventh in both stages in the 2019 race.
As for the bounty hunters, Chase Elliott has one start at Atlanta that came in 2017 driving for GMS. Elliott finished fifth after starting ninth. He also managed to finish eighth in the second stage of that race. For Brennan Poole, his only start was in last year’s race where he finished 13th. John Hunter Nemechek has two starts at Atlanta in the Truck Series. Nemechek won this race in 2016. Though, his last Truck start was three years ago in 2017, where Nemechek was credited with a 29th place finish due to an accident.

There will be a few somewhat new faces in the field this weekend making their start of 2020. T.J. Bell returns to drive the No. 12 Youngs Motorsports Truck, while Danny Bohn is scheduled to pilot the No. 30 of On Point Motorsports, J.J. Yeley will pilot the No. 33 of Reaume Brothers Racing, Ryan Truex will compete in the No. 40 Niece Motorsports entry and Jeb Burton will be in the No. 44 Niece Motorsports Chevy.

A couple of drivers will be making their first at-track debut. Those include Zane Smith, Tate Fogleman, Raphael Lessard, Tanner Gray, Derek Kraus, Tyler Ankrum, Stefan Parsons, Danny Bohn, and Angela Ruch.

Since 2004, Atlanta Motor Speedway has seen 18 Truck Series races. The winners include Bobby Hamilton, Ron Hornaday Jr., Kyle Busch, Todd Bodine, Mike Bliss, Mike Skinner, Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick, Ty Dillon, Matt Crafton, John Hunter Nemechek, and Brett Moffitt. Kyle Busch has the most wins with five occurring in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2019.

As for manufacturers, Chevrolet has nine wins with Toyota directly behind with eight. Toyota has won the last three races. Dodge only has one victory which came in 2004 while Ford has zero wins throughout the 18 race span.

The race winners starting positions have been a mixed bag as well. At least seven times a race winner has come from outside the top-10, while four times a race winner came from the top five and only two times the winner has come from the top-10. The lowest a winner has ever started was 18th (twice) set by Hornaday in 2005 and John Hunter Nemechek in 2016. The winner has started from the pole only five times by drivers Todd Bodine, Mike Skinner, Kyle Busch, Ty Dillon, and previously Christopher Bell in 2017. There have been zero races dating back to 2004 that have not ended under yellow.

As far as stage wins go, Christopher Bell, Noah Gragson, and Busch have been the only stage winners so far since stages were implemented in 2017. Twice the stages have been swept by Bell and Busch, as both went on to victory lane later that day.

The most lead changes that took place was 21 in 2006. The least amount of lead changes were six (twice) in 2015 and 2017. The most cautions occurred in 2007 with nine for 45 laps. The least amount of cautions took place in 2015, where only three caution flags were flown for 13 laps.

The first time the Truck Series drivers will get on-track is slated for 1:35 p.m. ET for their first practice with no live TV. Final practice is scheduled for 4:32 p.m. ET with live coverage on Fox Sports 1. Truck Series qualifying is set for Saturday morning at 10:05 a.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1. The Vet Tix Camping World 200 is set for Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. Stages will be 30/60/40 to make up the 130-lap race.
March 12, 2020
NGROTS Advance: Atlanta Motor Speedway

No. 38 Mannington Commercial Ford F-150, Todd Gilliland
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Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway, 1.54-mile oval
Race: 3 of 23
Event: Vet Tix Camping World 200 (200 miles, 130 laps)

Schedule:
Friday, March 13
1:35 p.m…………Practice
4:32 p.m…………Final Practice
Saturday, March 14
10:05 a.m………..Qualifying
1:30 p.m…..……Race (FS1)
(all times ET)

Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Mannington Commercial Ford F-150

Todd Gilliland and his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports (FRM) team will carry new colors this weekend at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway as the team welcomes Mannington Commercial, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of fine flooring, to the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.

With a newly structured schedule this season, the Truck Series will head to the one-and-a-half-mile track near Atlanta for the third race of the 2020 season. The No. 38 team has a best finish of seventh-place this year which occurred at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. Gilliland and his FRM team have been strong contenders each race weekend, running inside the top-five and challenging for the lead multiple times. They currently sit ninth in Driver Point Standings.

Gilliland has one previous start at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which occurred in 2019. The 19-year-old driver started the race from the 11th position and collected a ninth-place finish in his track debut last season. While Gilliland doesn’t have a lot of experience on the abrasive track in Atlanta, he has practiced on the Ford Performance Simulator as well as spent time with his spotter, Coleman Pressley, reviewing film in preparation for Saturday’s event.

The No. 38 Mannington Ford F-150 will compete in the 130 lap Vet Tix Camping World 200 on Saturday, March 14, at 1:30 p.m., ET. A live broadcast of the race will be shown on FS1.

Quick Facts:
Number of Starts at Atlanta: 1
Best Start: 11th
Best Finish: 9th
2020 Driver Point Standings: 9th

Gilliland on Atlanta: “Overall, I’m excited for Atlanta this weekend. It’s one of the most fun mile-and-a-half race tracks that we go to because it has a very worn out surface. On top of the great racing it produces, there will be a lot of Cup Series drivers racing this weekend, which will help us put on an even better show for the fans. I’m really hoping that we have a good finish on Saturday for everyone working hard at Front Row Motorsports and for our new sponsor Mannington Commercial. The truck looks great, and I want to give them a nice welcome to our team and the Truck Series. We’ve been strong in both races so far this season, just don’t have the finishes to show how well we’ve been running.”

March 10, 2020