NASCAR heads to Atlanta

(NASCAR) – NASCAR drives just a wee bit north this weekend, moving from the sun and sand of Daytona, Florida to Atlanta.

Here is all you need to know about this weekend’s races.

NASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: Ambetter Health 400

The Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway

Track Length: 1.54 Mile Asphalt Oval

The Date: Sunday, February 23

The Time: 3 p.m. ET

The Purse: $11,055,250

TV: FOX & FOX Deportes, 2 p.m. ET

Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 400.4 miles (260 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 260)

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Next Race: Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250

The Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway

Track Length: 1.54 Mile Asphalt Oval

The Date: Saturday, February 22

The Time: 5 p.m. ET

The Purse: $1,651,939

TV: CW, 4:30 p.m. ET

Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 251.02 miles (163 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 163)

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series

Next Race: Fr8 Racing 208

The Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway

Track Length: 1.54 Mile Asphalt Oval

The Date: Saturday, February 22

The Time: 1:30 p.m. ET

The Purse: $782,900

TV: FS1, 1:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 207.9 miles (135 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 135)

NASCAR Cup Series

Atlanta Storylines and Insights:

• This weekend will be the seventh Atlanta Motor Speedway Cup race on the new surface and configuration (since 2022), and the 122nd NASCAR Cup Series race all-time at the 1.54-mile speedway.
• Atlanta Motor Speedway held two races a year from 1960- 2010 except for 1961 when three races were held. Atlanta held one race a year from 2011-2020, then starting in 2021 it once again hosted two races a year.
• Beginning in 2023, both Atlanta races were shortened to 400 miles.
• A total of 67 NASCAR Cup Series drivers have made their series debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway; most recent was Harrison Rhodes in 2018. Cody Ware (2017) and Ty Dillon (2014) are the two active drivers to make their debuts at Atlanta.
• The best finish by a driver making their NASCAR Cup Series career debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway was runner-up by NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace on March 16, 1980.
• In total five NASCAR Cup Series Atlanta Motor Speedway pole winners are active this weekend: Michael McDowell (2024 sweep), Joey Logano (2015, 2023), Kyle Busch (2018), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2013) and Denny Hamlin (2010).
• Michael McDowell swept both poles at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2024 driving for Front Row Motorsports, he is currently with Spire Motorsports in 2025.
• Ryan Newman holds the record for most consecutive poles at Atlanta with six; from the spring of 2003 through 2005.
• Chevrolet has not won a pole on a drafting track since Alex Bowman in the DAYTONA 500 in 2023. This 12-race streak is their longest such drought since 13 races between July 1984 – February 1988.
• The final green flag stretch was five laps or less in four of the last five Atlanta races, and the pass for the win came in the final two laps in four of the last five races at Atlanta.
• Ford won the last eight stages at Atlanta in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• Toyota is on a 15 race winless streak at Atlanta (Kyle Busch in 9/13 was the last) and has only five top-five finishes in the six races on New Atlanta
• Ford holds the record for the longest streak of consecutive Cup Series wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway with five straight from 2017-2021.
• Eight of the 49 NASCAR Cup Series Atlanta Motor Speedway race winners are active this weekend: Joey Logano (2023, 2024), William Byron (2022, 2023), Brad Keselowski (2017, 2019), Kyle Busch (2008, 2013), Daniel Suarez (2024), Chase Elliott (2022), Ryan Blaney (2021) and Denny Hamlin (2012).
• Both winners at Atlanta in 2024 led only nine laps in each race; Daniel Suarez won in February with a last lap pass and Joey Logano won in September by leading the final two laps.
• Ryan Blaney finished in the top-10 in the last five Atlanta races, the longest active streak at the track and his third longest streak at a single track.
• Kyle Busch finished top-10 in all four races at Atlanta with Richard Childress Racing, his most at a track since moving to the No. 8 car.
• Kyle Larson failed to finish five of the six races at Atlanta due to accidents, including the last four (he was involved in an accident in all six).
• Austin Cindric finished eighth in the DAYTONA 500, the best finish by a driver who led the most laps in the last 10 races on drafting tracks.
• Six drivers have posted their first Cup win at Atlanta: Bobby Johns (1960), Bob Burdick (1961), Jim Hurtubise (1966), Jerry Nadeau (2000), Kevin Harvick (2001) and Carl Edwards (2005).
• Since 2024, Team Penske drivers have run in first and second for 190 laps at drafting tracks – over six times more than any other team (Last week, they logged 34 laps in the top two positions, no other team had more than two).
• In the DAYTONA 500, Team Penske had all three drivers lead 20+ laps, only the fourth time in series history a team had three drivers lead 20+ laps in a race at a drafting track (The last time was in the February Atlanta race last year, also by Team Penske).
• Since 2023, Team Penske led 898 laps on drafting tracks – more than three times the laps led by any other team.
• Team Penske is the only team with three different drivers to win a drafting track race in the Next Gen era.
• Entering 2025, Team Penske won at least once on a drafting track in 11 straight seasons.
• The driver who led the most laps won the first three races at Atlanta in drafting track configuration, yet in the last three races has not finished higher than 10th.
• Martin Truex Jr will end his consecutive start streak this weekend at 685 (ranked 6th all-time). Joey Logano will now hold the longest active start streak in Cup with his 578th straight race this weekend.
• This is the fourth-time Hendrick Motorsports won the Clash and DAYTONA 500 to start the season, more than any other team (The only time in history that a team won the Clash and the first two races of the season was Hendrick Motorsports in 1997 with driver Jeff Gordon).
• 2025 is the 40th straight season Hendrick Motorsports won a race, the most all time.
• William Bryon’s 12 wins in the Next Gen car rank second – only one behind Kyle Larson for the most.
• William Byron became the third driver to win multiple DAYTONA 500s for Hendrick Motorsports; the most different drivers for any organization to win the DAYTONA 500.
• William Byron has nine top-10s in the last 11 drafting track races including three wins. Plus, William Byron finished in the top-10 in the last three races on drafting tracks, the longest active streak.
• Wiliam Byron finished in the top-six in the last eight races becoming the third youngest driver with at least an eight race top-six streak behind Jeff Gordon and Richard Petty.
• This is the fourth Atlanta race with dual pit road speed limits during green flag stops. There has only been one green flag pit cycle (stage two of this race last year) since the rule was implemented in summer 2023.
• Drivers average 39.2 seconds of lap time loss due to pitting under green (not including stop time) at Atlanta, the largest time loss of any track.
• Each of the two races at Atlanta in 2024 had double digit speeding penalties (14 in February and 10 in September), the two most in a race last year.
• The 48 lead changes last February at Atlanta set a new track record, previous record was 46 (2022).
• The deepest in the field that an active race winner has started at Atlanta is 23rd, by Daniel Suarez in 2024.
• Suarez has finished in the top-two in the last three Atlanta races, including his win by 0.003 second in this race last year – the closest top-three finish in series history.
• Following Daytona, Riley Herbst leads Shane van Gisbergen by 16 points in the Sunoco Rookie standings.
• Josh Berry will make his 50th career NASCAR Cup Series start at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. 

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Atlanta Storylines and Insights:

• 2025 is the 44th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series (1982-2025) and this weekend marks the 38^th Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
• The stage end laps for this weekend’s race are 45, 90, 163. Last year, they were 40, 80, 163.
• Jesse Love’s 300 laps led on drafting tracks is the most all-time through seven starts, his teammate Austin Hill ranks second with 208.
• Jesse Love won the pole for both races at Atlanta in 2024, while teammate Austin Hill won both races.
• Richard Childress Racing won the pole for six of the last seven races on drafting tracks with qualifying.
• Georgia native Austin Hill won four of the last five races at Atlanta and finished top-two in five of his six starts there. Can tie Kevin Harvick for most wins at Atlanta with a victory this weekend.
• 40% of Austin Hill’s NASCAR Xfinity Series wins (four of 10) came at Atlanta, 70% came on drafting tracks (seven of 10).
• Austin Hill’s four wins through his first six starts at Atlanta is tied for second-most through six races at a track all-time (Sam Ard had five wins through six starts at Martinsville)
• Austin Hill’s seven wins on drafting tracks is tied for third all-time with Dale Earnhardt Jr and behind only Dale Earnhardt and Tony Stewart (eight each).
• 22% of Austin Hill’s NASCAR Xfinity Series career laps led have come at Atlanta (218 of 976)
• Three of the six Xfinity races on the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway have ended in overtime.
• The race winner led three total laps or less in three of the six races on the reconfigured Atlanta, 12 laps or less in four of the six
• Jesse Love led 157 of the 169 laps raced in this race last year but ultimately finished 12th. Race winner Austin Hill led only the final two laps as Love ran out of fuel as the lead on the restart of the second overtime.
• Austin Hill’s 588 laps led on drafting tracks ranks second behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. (691)
• Ford has won only one of the last 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on drafting tracks (Austin Cindric – Daytona, Feb. 2021)
• Richard Childress Racing won at least one drafting track race in each of the last four seasons (won nine of 18 drafting track races in the last four seasons).
• Haas Factory Team was the only organization to have more than one driver finish in the top-15 at Daytona (Sam Mayer, second; Sheldon Creed, third).
• With Jesse Love’s win at Daytona last week, Richard Childress Racing is now two wins away from becoming the third team to reach 100 wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (Joe Gibbs Racing-215, RFK Racing-138).
• Sheldon Creed, who finished third at Daytona, is riding a streak of five straight top 10s dating back to last season.
• Creed has posted the most Xfinity Series runner-up finishes since 2022 with 13, next most was Justin Allgaier with nine.
• Josh Williams has posted two top 10s in his last three Xfinity Series races at Atlanta.
• Dean Thompson (37) leads the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by one point over Taylor Gray (36) following Daytona. Just behind Gray in the rookie standings is Carson Kvapil (33), Christian Eckes (25), William Sawalich (12), Connor Zilisch (10), Nick Sanchez (10) and Daniel Dye (1).
• Veteran Aric Almirola will make the first of nine Xfinity Series starts he has scheduled for 2025 with Joe Gibbs Racing.
• If Justin Allgaier wins this season, he will tie Kyle Busch and Mark Martin for the longest streak of consecutive seasons with a win at nine each.
• Sammy Smith currently has the longest streak of Xfinity Series top-10 finishes at Atlanta with three.
• Jeb Burton can break the tie with Kevin Harvick for the most consecutive drafting track starts without a DNF this weekend. They are currently tied with 23 starts each.
• Five drivers from the state of Georgia are entered in this weekend’s Xfinity Series race – Brandon Jones (Atlanta), Austin Hill (Winston), Kyle Sieg (Tucker), Ryan Sieg (Tucker), Mason Massey (Douglasville).
• Jeremy Clements is two starts away from becoming the fourth driver to hit 500 Xfinity Series starts. 

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series

Atlanta Storylines and Insights:

• Kyle Busch is back, his schedule will be Atlanta, Charlotte, N. Wilkesboro, Nashville and Watkins Glen with the Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet team in 2025.
• Kyle Busch leads the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series in wins with 66 – winning percentage of 38%. He has seven Truck Series wins at Atlanta, including last year.
• Daniel Dye, who is looking to rebound after finishing last at Daytona, became the sixth CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver to win their first career Truck pole at Atlanta; joining Christopher Bell (2017), Ben Kennedy (2015), Ricky Carmichael (2015), Todd Bodine (2006) and David Reutimann (2004).
• Three different drivers have won the last three CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Atlanta races since the redesign – Corey Heim (2022), Christian Eckes (2023) and Kyle Busch (2024).
• The final lead change came with seven laps or fewer to in the track’s three drafting races.
• The last eight drafting track races were won by different drivers; Corey Heim is the most recent winner (Daytona).
• Georgia native Corey Heim became the youngest driver to reach 12 wins after he was awarded the win in Daytona (22 years old). Heim has not gone more than four races without a win since his first win of 2024 at COTA.
• With a win this weekend, Corey Heim can become the fourth different driver to win the first two races of a Truck season; joining Ben Rhodes (2021), Johnny Sauter (2013) and Mark Martin (2006).
• Grant Enfinger (two races) is the only active driver with a current top-10 streak on drafting tracks.
• Matt Crafton won stage 2 at Daytona; it was his first stage win since Atlanta in March of 2023.
• Gio Ruggerio became the fourth different driver to finish in the top-2 in their series debut among drivers who didn’t have a prior start in a higher NASCAR series joining Kyle Benjamin (2018), Bobby Pierce (2015), Kurt Busch (2000).
• Gio Ruggerio leads the Truck rookie standings by nine points over Frankie Muniz following Daytona.
• Three drivers from the state of Georgia are entered in the Truck race this weekend: Corey Heim (Marietta), Jake Garcia (Monroe) and Chandler Smith (Talking Rock).
• 17 or more lead changes have occurred in each of the three Atlanta drafting races (2022-2024).