Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Jeff Gordon going for sixth and final Atlanta win

Jeff Gordon is 6/1 co-favorite to win at Atlanta on Sunday 
Driver: Jeff Gordon 
Hometown: Pittsboro, Indiana
Age: 43 
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina

Jeff Gordon quote on racing at Atlanta:

“I love racing at Atlanta. I won my first ever Busch (now XFINITY) Series race there and it was also the site of my very first Sprint Cup Series start more than 22 years ago. We’ve won races and clinched championships there.

“Atlanta Motor Speedway holds a special place in my heart.”

FIRSTS AT ATLANTA: On March 14, 1992, Jeff Gordon won from the pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway to capture his first ever NASCAR victory in what is now known as the XFINITY Series. His first start in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series occurred at Atlanta in the 1992 season finale, which also marked Richard Petty’s final race. Gordon also clinched his first Cup Series championship at Atlanta in the final race of 1995.

20TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST ATLANTA VICTORY: On March 12, 1995, Gordon led 250 of 328 laps to capture his first Atlanta Motor Speedway victory at the Sprint Cup level.

THIRD ALL-TIME WITH 85TH AT ATLANTA: Gordon’s 85th career Cup victory occurred at the Georgia track on Sept. 6, 2011. That win moved the No. 24 Chevrolet SS driver into sole possession of third all-time in career Sprint Cup victories.

ACTIVE ATLANTA LEADER: The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion leads active drivers in top-five finishes, top-10 finishes and laps led in 41 Cup starts at the 1.54-mile track.

ATLANTA CHASSIS: Crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 24-914 for Sunday’s race. The chassis has been raced once, with Gordon leading 161 laps from the pole position en route to a 10th-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2014.


2015 Season
  • 28th in standings
  • 1 start
  • 0 wins
  • 1 pole position
  • 0 top-five finishes
  • 0 top-10 finishes
  • 87 laps led
 
 
Career
  • 762 starts
  • 92 wins
  • 78 pole positions
  • 320 top-five finishes
  • 454 top-10 finishes
  • 24,751 laps led


 
Atlanta Career 
  • 41 starts
  • 5 wins
  • 2 pole positions
  • 16 top-five finishes
  • 26 top-10 finishes
  • 1,297 laps led

Kasey Kahne looking for fourth Atlanta win on Sunday

Kasey Kahne is 12/1 to win at Atlanta on Sunday
Driver: Kasey Kahne 
Hometown: Enumclaw, Washington
Age: 34 
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina

SEASON-TO-DATE: After the Daytona 500, Kasey Kahne currently ranks second in green-flag speed, second in quality passes (379), fifth in fastest drivers late in a run, fifth in fastest speed in traffic, sixth in laps in top 15 (183), sixth in average running position (9.143), seventh in driver rating (104.5) and 10th in fastest drivers early in a run.

THREE-TIME ATLANTA WINNER: Kahne has earned a total of three Sprint Cup wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which ranks as his second-best track in career wins. In 2006, he started from the pole position, led 85 laps and crossed the finish line as the winner. Kahne’s second victory at the 1.54-mile track happened in 2009, when he led a total of 60 laps. In August 2014, Kahne earned his third straight Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup appearance with Hendrick Motorsports – the fifth of his career – after leading 25 laps and winning at Atlanta.

ATLANTA LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR loop data, during the last 16 Sprint Cup Series races at Atlanta, Kahne ranks eighth in laps led (349). His 252 fastest laps run there rank him seventh among the competition.

INTERMEDIATE STATS: Kahne has collected 10 of his 17 career Cup wins and 15 of his 26 pole positions at oval tracks one-to-two miles in length. In 191 starts on these tracks, he has posted 44 top-five finishes and 75 top-10 finishes.

ATLANTA CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew chief Keith Rodden has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-911 for Sunday's race. Kahne last drove the car to a 10th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October 2014.


2015 Season
  • 9th in standings
  • 1 start
  • 0 wins
  • 0 pole positions
  • 0 top-five finishes
  • 1 top-10 finish
  • 0 laps led
 
 
Career
  • 397 starts
  • 17 wins
  • 26 pole positions
  • 83 top-five finishes
  • 147 top-10 finishes
  • 4,541 laps led
 
 
Atlanta Career 
  • 18 starts
  • 3 wins
  • 2 pole positions
  • 7 top-five finishes
  • 9 top-10 finishes
  • 353 laps led
 

2015 Atlanta QuikTrip 500 Preview: Thursday test session critical to handicapping

Kasey Kahne won at Atlanta last year for his only win of season
Las Vegas sports books enjoyed a great Daytona 500 with Joey Logano winning because hardly anyone bet him. The books all had Logano low to start with at 12/1, but when all the action started showing up on Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, they raised Logano to 18/1 and still not many takers. Like a broken record, once again, the house does extremely well in a restrictor-plate race.

The Sprint Cup series travels to Atlanta’s 1.5-mile track this week where value is usually shifted back to the bettors because instead of 35 drivers having a chance to win, there are only about 15 with a legitimate shot. But this is year is a little different because of the new rules package that will see horsepower cut down from 850 to 725 as well as the rear spoiler shortened from eight to six inches.

As much of a crap shoot as Daytona was coming in, the cars were exactly the same as what was run last season so it wasn’t hard to forecast that Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing would be the cars to beat. They solidified that notion during practices, but still lost to Logano.

This week is much tougher because of less horsepower and down force. The cars figure to run a little more loose which may benefit a few drivers, but we still don’t know because there was no open testing in January to figure this new car out. The only testing that occurred happened with a few drivers in closed Goodyear tire testing. Most crew chiefs will be going off of notes from those sessions ran by a teammate and will be coming in cold with little idea of how they’ll run this weekend.

To get every team better acclimated to the new cars, NASCAR has scheduled five hours of testing on Thursday then they’ll start their regular race weekend schedule with practice and qualifying on Friday and the final two practices on Saturday.

So from an odds-making and bettors’ standpoint, you have to be careful here. The bookmaker can just lower odds on several drivers and wait to see what happens with testing. Regardless of the changes, the big-money teams like Hendrick, Gibbs and Penske Racing all figure to be fast right off the hauler, but there is still that hint of uncertainty compared to other 1.5-mile tracks over the past three seasons. For the bettor, there is almost no reason to bet early because you could get stuck with a driver that doesn’t perform well in Thursday’s test.

The best bet scenario for wagering this week is to wait until at least seeing Thursday’s practice times. There is really nothing you can go off of that makes any bet a good one prior to Thursday. Several of the drivers haven’t even been able to drive the cars with the new rules package and Thursday will be their first go-around.

Here’s the NASCAR betting strategy I follow each week that I’ll share with you. First, you start off with your core group of drivers based on history at track. This list can be anywhere from 15 to 20 drivers, but it’ll be based on how they’ve done in recent history, the past five years and the past 10 years. Certain drivers like certain tracks and over the long haul, it’s easy to identify who the best are.

After that, you’ll look at current form. In the case this week, we only have one race and Daytona doesn’t apply in any way to Atlanta and the only nugget from last week that can be found is that someone like Logano could go all out for wins with no regret since he’s already made the Chase.

Past history and current form are two pieces of information that is the foundation to set weekly NASCAR odds, but it also applies to betting. I would then forecast practices based on similar past practices and come out with an early rating on each driver. And then after seeing the practices and start position, I would upgrade or downgrade each driver and finally have a finished product ready for action.

This week in Atlanta, there is only half of the equation in play here and the remainder won’t be known until Thursday with even more solid information gained Saturday as crew chiefs do the final tuning and set-up of the car we’ll see race Sunday.

There’s only half of the equation in, so why bet now? You’ll probably have a better chance of wining a bet by just taking red or black in roulette. Isn’t that why we all wager, because we think we have some type of advantage over the odds? So my advice this week is to slow play it and see what the books do and if they make a mistake after Thursday’s all-telling practice, then you should bet the drivers who shines that weren’t updated enough.

The most likely of candidates to be good again are the big names with the new rules package, but who knows? We didn’t see a Gibbs car win on any 1.5-mile track while Keselowski and Logano combined to win five of the 11. Kevin Harvick dominated on 1.5-miles last season even though he won only one of them. Kasey Kahne’s only win of 2014 came at Atlanta, which gave him three there for his career. Jeff Gordon also makes his final start at Atlanta, a track he made his Cup debut at in 1992. He’ll be going for his sixth career Atlanta win.

One driver I know I’ll be rooting for will be Brendan Gaughan driving the No. 62 Chevy, who is now Las Vegas’ only representative in the Cup Series driving with both Kyle and Kurt Busch out. Gaughan’s last Atlanta appearance in the Cup Series was in 2004 when he finished 18th.

Read More Here....Top-5 Finish Prediction

Jimmie Johnson using winning 2014 Texas chassis at Atlanta

Jimmie Johnson is 7/1 to win at Atlanta
Driver: Jimmie Johnson 
Hometown: El Cajon, California
Age: 39 
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina

Jimmie Johnson quote on Top-5 at Daytona
“Running fifth at Daytona was a great way to start the season for this Lowe’s team. It was a great effort from everyone at Hendrick Motorsports for all of Speedweeks. I hate we didn’t come out of there with a trophy, but we put on a good show. We’re looking forward to the test session on Thursday at Atlanta and seeing what we have for the 2015 season.”

JOHNSON AT ATLANTA: Johnson has a few series bests at Atlanta. He owns the series-best average running position (9.1), the series-best average green flag speed of 171.523 mph and the series-high laps in the top 15 with 4,381 or 84 percent. Johnson also has the second-best driver rating at the 1.54-mile track with a 104.9.

ATLANTA CHASSIS: For the race in Atlanta, Knaus selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 48-910, which is the Chevrolet SS Johnson raced to victory at Texas in November 2014. The backup car is No. 48-824, which last saw action at Pocono in June.

NATIONAL ENGINEERS WEEK: This week marks National Engineers Week. The purpose of National Engineers Week is to call attention to the contributions to society made by engineers. Team Lowe’s Racing welcomes new engineers to the No. 48 team this season: Chais Eliason, who attended Michigan 
Technological University; Cliff Daniels, who attended University of North Carolina at Charlotte; and Julian Pena, who attended Stanford University. All three engineers have degrees in Mechanical Engineering.
 
FOURTEEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY: Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus, car chief Ron Malec and sponsor Lowe’s will celebrate their 14th full season together as a team. Lowe’s is currently the longest-running primary sponsor in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The sponsor-driver-team combination came together for Johnson's rookie year in 2002.


2015 Season
  • 5th in standings
  • 1 start
  • 0 wins
  • 0 pole positions
  • 1 top-five finish
  • 1 top-10 finish
  • 39 laps led
 
 
Career
  • 472 starts
  • 70 wins
  • 33 pole positions
  • 194 top-five finishes
  • 293 top-10 finishes
  • 17,190 laps led
 
 
Atlanta Career 
  • 23 starts
  • 3 wins
  • 0 pole positions
  • 12 top-five finishes
  • 14 top-10 finishes
  • 440 laps led
- Hendrick Motorsports

Hendrick Motorsports has 12 wins at Atlanta, second most in NASCAR history

New rules package for 2015: HMS drivers usually ahead of curve on set-up 
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT ATLANTA: Hendrick Motorsports has 12 wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which ranks the organization second all-time. Kahne most recently won for Hendrick Motorsports at the 1.54-mile oval in 2014, assuring all four of the organization's drivers a place in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup for the third consecutive season.

SIX DRIVERS FIND VICTORY LANE AT ATLANTA: Car owner Rick Hendrick's first Atlanta Motor Speedway Sprint Cup win came on March 19, 1989, with driver Darrell Waltrip. The organization has posted Atlanta victories with six different drivers: Waltrip, Ken Schrader (1991), Gordon (five wins), Jerry Nadeau (2000), Johnson (three wins) and Kahne (2014).

ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 231 victories, 201 pole positions, 944 top-five finishes and 1,565 top-10 finishes in Sprint Cup competition. Its teams have led 63,999 laps since 1984.

NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHED: In time for the new NASCAR season, Hendrick Motorsports has re-launched its official website.HendrickMotorsports.com, which has presenting sponsorship from Bank of America, includes fresh team pages, an updated schedule area, responsive design and a completely revamped content platform. The organization has invested heavily in its digital programs in recent years. In 2013, the team opened a new studio to bolster its in-house video production capabilities and launched the Digital Dashboard social media command center. It also has added dedicated personnel and forged partnerships that support digital efforts with state-of-the-art equipment and advanced analytics.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. looking for second Atlanta win

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 12/1 to win at Atlanta
Driver: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Hometown: Kannapolis, North Carolina
Age: 40
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina


Earnhardt Jr Quote on Top-5 at Daytona:
“We had a really fast car -- maybe the best car here. So I had a lot of confidence to keep digging and we got some of those spots back. Just a little disappointed I let the guys down. We should have won the race."

"We are ready to go to Atlanta. It’s going to be a fun year.”

POINTS REPORT: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet SS, ranks third in the driver standings. He trails leader Joey Logano by five points after finishing third in the season-opening Daytona 500.

KELLEY BLUE BOOK: Kelley Blue Book, the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry, will adorn the hood of Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevrolet SS this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

PERSONAL BEST: Earnhardt’s two pole positions at Atlanta tie his personal best at a track. He holds the same number at Michigan International Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. His average finish of 12.3 at Atlanta is his best at any track.

CHASSIS CHOICE: This weekend, crew chief Greg Ives and the No. 88 team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-920. This is a brand new chassis that has not been raced.



2015 Season
  • 3rd in standings
  • 1 start
  • 0 wins
  • 0 pole positions
  • 1 top-five finish
  • 1 top-10 finish
  • 32 laps led

Career
  • 542 starts
  • 23 wins
  • 13 pole positions
  • 128 top-five finishes
  • 225 top-10 finishes
  • 7,879 laps led
Atlanta Career 
  • 27 starts
  • 1 win
  • 2 pole positions
  • 8 top-five finishes
  • 12 top-10 finishes
  • 632 laps led
- Hendrick Motorsports

Regan Smith to drive No. 41 SHR Chevrolet at Atlanta

Regan Smith is 100/1 to win at Atlanta
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (Feb. 23, 2015) – Stewart-Haas Racing has named Regan Smith interim driver of its No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend Feb. 26-March 1 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Smith will begin driving the No. 41 car during the open test session on Thursday. The race on Sunday will be Smith’s seventh Sprint Cup start at Atlanta. His most recent Sprint Cup start at the 1.54-mile oval was on Sept. 2, 2012 when he finished 14th.

Atlanta will be Smith’s second race in the No. 41 car. He drove the Haas Automation Chevrolet to a 16th-place finish last Sunday in the Daytona 500. Smith already had some history with Stewart-Haas Racing prior to Daytona. He subbed for Tony Stewart in the team’s No. 14 car last August at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

Smith was the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year and won the 2011 Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. He is a fulltime driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and finished second in the 2014 championship standings. Smith, 31, is from Cato, New York.

An interim driver for the No. 41 team at next weekend’s Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and subsequent races has not been determined.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing

Joey Logano's NASCAR dream began in Atlanta

Joey Logano is 8/1 to win at Atlanta
HAMPTON, Ga. (Feb. 23, 2015) – He was just a kid when Joey Logano moved to Atlanta with his family to pursue a career in professional auto racing. At just 10 years old, the youngster from Middletown, Connecticut began building his resume with a Bandolero Bandits Series championship on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s “Thunder Ring,” setting a track record with 14 consecutive wins.

Today, that resume has grown to include nine wins in NASCAR’s top division, including a victory in the 2015 season-opening 57th running of the Daytona 500.

While the quarter-mile “Thunder Ring” at AMS was a cinch in his formative years, success on its 1.5-mile speedway has not always come easy for the now 24-year-old veteran.

“When I first started, I hated it,” he said. “I wasn’t any good there.”

But two years ago, he learned a few things at Atlanta Motor Speedway and scored a second-place finish there. Since then, all he’s done is win seven races in NASCAR’s top division, including five in 2014, and earned a spot in last year’s the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship 4.

“I felt like we should have won there in ’13,” he said. “Last year we also had a fast race car. So, I look forward to going there and trying to get a win.”

On Sunday, Logano will have that opportunity in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Sprint Cup Series race and will vie for a victory at a track he’s familiar with.

“Atlanta for me – I lived there for six years. It’s one of those race tracks that’s special to win at,” he said. “I’ve watched probably more Cup races there than I’ve raced in it so far, so that also makes it a little more special after watching that many there.”

Another driver fans will keep a close eye on is four-time Sprint Cup Series champion and five-time winner at Atlanta, Jeff Gordon, who recently announced his retirement from full-time racing following this season. After making his Sprint Cup Series debut in Atlanta in 1992, the racing icon will return one last time to the place where it all began nearly 23 years ago.

But Gordon’s focus remains on racing and what it takes to win at a track where he’s had continued success.

“I obviously think about the temperature and the weather, but the first thing that really comes to my mind is that I just love Atlanta,” said Gordon. “It’s a great track for us, one track that I always feel competitive at with a shot to win. Especially the way we ran last year, I think we could have another great shot at it this year.”

On-track action in Atlanta gets underway Thursday with the first open team test of the 2015 season.On Friday, Sprint Cup Series drivers will vie for Sunday’s pole position in the Drive Sober Georgia Qualifying Day.

Saturday’s doubleheader will feature the XFINITY Series Hisense 250 and the Camping World Truck Series Hyundai Construction Equipment 200, and Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Sprint Cup Series race rounds out Atlanta’s 2015 NASCAR weekend.

For more information about Atlanta Motor Speedway’s NASCAR week or to purchase tickets, call the AMS ticket office at (770) 946-4211, (877) 9-AMS-TIX or visit http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com.

- Atlanta Motor Speedway

Martin Truex Jr. hoping Daytona momentum carries to Atlanta

Martin Truex Jr is 50/1 at Atlanta
DENVER, Colo. (Feb. 24, 2015) – Martin Truex Jr. will take his Daytona Speedweeks momentum to one of his favorite tracks – Atlanta Motor Speedway – for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 400, the second of 36 Sprint Cup Series races of the season.

The 34-year-old Furniture Row Racing driver contended for Sunday’s Daytona 500 win before slipping to eighth place in the closing green-white-checkered finish. The result was his third top-10 during Speedweeks. He also drove his Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet to finishes of second in the Sprint Unlimited (Feb. 14) and fifth in the Budweiser Duel qualifying race (Feb. 19).

“The Daytona performance isn’t a guarantee that we’ll run real good all season long,” said Truex. “But with the things we did over the winter, the testing we did towards the end of last year, the momentum we gained and the team changes we made, I feel really good about our stuff and what we’re going to do. We’ll have to see how we do at Atlanta. We’re looking forward to going there. It’s one of my favorite tracks and we’ll see if we can’t come out of there about seven spots better.”

There were a number of positive signs during the 10 days in Daytona for the single-car Furniture Row Racing team, based in Denver, Colo.

“It just seems everything clicked right off the bat,” noted Truex. “The communications with our new crew chief Cole Pearn were excellent and the guys both on the road and back at the Denver shop did a meticulous job in providing me with awesome race cars. We’re feeling really good right now and that’s always the way you want to kick off a new season.”

Truex is ranked eighth in driver points, his highest position since joining Furniture Row Racing following the 2013 season.

“We all know that one eighth-place finish doesn’t make a season,” stated Truex. “We had the worst possible start last year, finishing dead last (43 rd) in the Daytona 500. So coming into a race knowing that we’re on target to accomplish our goal of making the Chase has me feeling so much better than last year at this time.”

With the superspeedway cars now parked at the team’s Denver, Colorado shop, Truex is looking forward to seeing how the downforce car will perform at the high-speed 1.54-mile Atlanta oval.

“I am definitely excited to get to Atlanta and to a track where it’s a little more in your hands,” explained Truex. “We’ll have a good idea where we stand during Thursday’s test session. I am feeling positive about the team and about the 2015 season.”

- DMF Communications for Furniture Row Racing

Atlanta Motor Speedway Facts: 2015 QuikTrip 500

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2015 Top 16 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Rank
Driver
Races
Poles
Wins
Top Fives
Top 10s
DNFs
Average Finish
Driver Rating
 
 
1
Joey Logano
8
0
0
1
1
0
21.5
71.9
 
2
Kevin Harvick
24
1
1
5
9
4
18.8
90.4
 
3
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
27
2
1
8
12
2
12.3
92.7
 
4
Denny Hamlin
15
1
1
3
6
2
16.8
97.4
 
5
Jimmie Johnson
23
0
3
12
14
2
11.5
104.9
 
6
Casey Mears
19
0
0
0
0
2
22.5
59.1
 
7
Clint Bowyer
14
0
0
0
5
2
21.1
83
 
8
Martin Truex Jr.
16
1
0
2
4
4
20.4
90.1
 
9
Kasey Kahne
18
2
3
7
9
3
18.6
87.2
 
10
Greg Biffle
20
1
0
3
10
2
15.7
90.8
 
11
David Gilliland
13
0
0
0
0
2
26.8
56.6
 
12
Sam Hornish Jr.
7
0
0
0
0
1
27.1
57.9
 
13
Michael Annett
1
0
0
0
0
0
21
59.2
 
14
Austin Dillon
2
0
0
0
0
0
21.5
65.1
 
15
Aric Almirola
4
0
0
0
1
0
20.5
65.8
 
16
David Ragan
12
0
0
0
1
1
26.5
57.3
 
* – Based on last 16 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway (2005 – 2014).




Kasey Kahne won at Atlanta last season
Atlanta Motor Speedway Data
Season Race #: 2 of 36 (03-01-14)
Track Size: 1.54-miles
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 24 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 24 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 5 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees
Frontstretch Length:  2,332 feet
Backstretch Length:  1,800 feet
Race Length: 325 laps / 500.5 miles

Top 10 Driver Ratings at Atlanta
Jeff Gordon.............................. 106.0
Jimmie Johnson........................ 104.9
Carl Edwards............................ 100.1
Tony Stewart............................... 98.1
Matt Kenseth.............................. 97.9
Denny Hamlin............................. 97.4
Kurt Busch.................................. 94.3
Kyle Busch................................. 92.8
Dale Earnhardt Jr........................ 92.7
Kyle Larson................................ 91.1
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (16 total) among active drivers at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Qualifying/Race Data
2014 pole winner:
Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet
190.398 mph, 29.118 secs. 08-29-14

2014 race winner:
Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet
131.514 mph, (03:55:22), 08-31-14

Track qualifying record:
Geoffrey Bodine, Ford
197.478 mph, 28.074 secs. 11-15-97

Track race record:
Bobby Labonte, Pontiac
159.904 mph, (03:07:48), 11-16-97

STATISTICAL ADVANCE

Atlanta Motor Speedway:
History
·         Originally called Atlanta International Raceway, the track was then a 1.5-mile paved speedway.
·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta was on July 31, 1960, won by Fireball Roberts from the pole.
·         The track was re-measured to 1.522 miles in the spring of 1970.
·         It was renamed Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1990.
·         The track layout was reversed and the track was re-configured to 1.54 miles between the two races in 1997.
Notebook
·         There have been 107 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Atlanta Motor Speedway since the first race there in 1960. Until 2010 there have been two races per year except 1961, which had three. This year marks the fourth season with only one event.
·         552 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway; 367 in more than one.
·         Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Atlanta with 65. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 41 starts, followed by Joe Nemechek with 38.
·         Fireball Roberts won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Atlanta in 1960 with a speed of 133.870 mph.  
·         48 drivers have Coors Light poles at Atlanta, led by Buddy Baker and Ryan Newman with seven each.  
·         Winning consecutive Coors Light poles has happened eight times at Atlanta, among six drivers.
·         Ryan Newman holds the record for most consecutive poles at Atlanta with six; spring of 2003 through 2005.
·         Youngest Atlanta pole winner: Terry Labonte (03/15/1981 – 24 years, 3 months, 27 days).
·         Oldest Atlanta pole winner: Harry Gant (11/14/1993 – 53 years, 10 months, 4 days).

·         43 different NSCS drivers have won at Atlanta Motor Speedway, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardtwith nine wins. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with five.  
·         11 drivers have posted consecutive wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway: Marvin Panch (1965 sweep), Bobby Allison (1972 sweep), David Pearson (1973 sweep), Richard Petty (1974 fall, 1975 spring), Cale Yarborough(1980 fall, 1981 spring), Bill Elliott (1985 sweep; 1992 sweep), Dale Earnhardt (1989 fall, 1990 spring; 1995 fall, 1996 spring), Bobby Labonte (1997 fall, 1998 spring), Jeff Gordon (1998 fall, 1999 spring), Carl Edwards(2005 sweep), Jimmie Johnson (2007 sweep)
·         Youngest Atlanta winner: Kyle Busch (03/09/2008 – 22 years, 10 months, 7 days).
·         Oldest Atlanta winner: Morgan Shepherd (03/20/1993 – 51 years, 5 months, 8 days).
·         The Wood Brothers and Hendrick Motorsports have the most wins at Atlanta in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 12 each:
o    Wood Brothers: Cale Yarborough (three), David Pearson (three), Marvin Panch (two), Neil Bonnett(two) A.J. Foyt (one) and Morgan Shepherd (one).
o    Hendrick Motorsports: Jeff Gordon (five),Jimmie Johnson (three), Darrell Waltrip (one), Jerry Nadeau (one), Kasey Kahne (one) and Ken Schrader (one).
o    Joe Gibbs Racing has the third most wins at Atlanta with 11.
·         Nine different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Atlanta; led by Chevrolet with 38 victories; followed byFord (29), Pontiac (11), Dodge (nine), Mercury (eight), Buick (four), Plymouth (four),  Toyota (three) and Oldsmobile (one).
·         14 of the 107 (13.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Atlanta have been won from the Coors Light pole; the most recent was Kasey Kahne in 2006.
·         The fifth starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (15) than any other starting position at Atlanta Motor Speedway; the most recent was Jeff Gordon in 2011.   
·         26 of the 107 (24.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Atlanta have been won from the front row: 14 from the pole and 12 from second-place.
·         60 of the 107 (56.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Atlanta have been won from a top-five starting position.
·         85 of the 107 (79.4%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Atlanta have been won from a top-10 starting position.
·         Seven of the 107 (6.5%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Atlanta have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
·         The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Atlanta is 39th, by Bobby Labonte in the fall of 2001.
·         No driver has swept the weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway across all three NASCAR national series. Two drivers have won in multiple NASCAR national series in the same weekend at Atlanta: Carl Edwards (2005, NSCS/NNS); (fall 2008, NSCS/NNS) and Kyle Busch (spring 2008, NSCS/NCWTS)

·         Dale Earnhardt and David Pearson lead the series in runner-up finishes at Atlanta with seven each; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with five.
·         Dale Earnhardt leads the series in top-five finishes at Atlanta with 26; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 16.   
·         Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Atlanta with 33; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 26.
·         Ryan Newman leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Atlanta with a 7.409.
·         Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at 11.522.
·         Nine of the 10 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Atlanta Motor Speedway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Kevin Harvick won at Atlanta in his first appearance (2001). Carl Edwards won in his second appearance (2005).      
·         Denny Hamlin competed at Atlanta Motor Speedway 12 times before winning in the spring of 2012; the longest span of any the 10 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.
·         Among the 10 active NSCS Atlanta winners Denny Hamlin (12) is the only driver to have made 10 or more attempts before his first win.
·         Joe Nemechek leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Atlanta without visiting Victory Lane at 38; followed by Matt Kenseth with 26.
·         Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway was the March 11, 2001 race won by Kevin Harvick over Jeff Gordon with a MOV of 0.006 second.
·         There have been four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway (Scheduled No. of Laps/Actual No. of Laps): fall of 2007 (325/329); spring of 2010 (325/341), fall of 2012 (325/327) and 2014 (325/335).
·         Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway five times; most recently the fall of 2010.   
·         One active driver has posted his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (9/01/2013).
·         Two active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have posted their first career start at Atlanta Motor Speedway:Jeff Gordon (11/15/1992) and Martin Truex Jr. (10/31/2004).
·         Two active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have posted their first career win at Atlanta Motor Speedway:Kevin Harvick (3/11/2001) and Carl Edwards (3/20/2005).
·         Cale Yarborough leads all drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Atlanta with 3,283 laps led in 47 starts. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in laps led at Atlanta with 1,297.    

·         Three female drivers have competed at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Janet Guthrie, Shawna Robinson and Danica Patrick.
Driver
Starting Position
Finishing Position
Date
Janet Guthrie
34
30
3/20/1977
Janet Guthrie
19
16
11/6/1977
Janet Guthrie
23
10
3/19/1978
Shawna Robinson
31
34
3/10/2002
Danica Patrick
23
29
9/2/2012
Danica Patrick
21
21
9/1/2013
Danica Patrick
27
6
8/31/2014
NASCAR in Georgia
·         There have been 166 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races among 12 different tracks in Georgia.
Track Name
City
NSCS
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Hampton
107
Augusta International Speedway
Augusta
12
Lakewood Speedway
Atlanta
11
Savannah Speedway
Savannah
10
Middle Georgia Raceway
Macon
9
Central City Speedway
Macon
7
Valdosta 75 Speedway
Valdosta
3
Jeffco Speedway
Jefferson
2
Oglethorpe Speedway
Savannah
2
Augusta International Raceway
Augusta
1
Columbus Speedway
Columbus
1
Hayloft Speedway
Augusta
1
·         180 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Georgia; 15 have won at least once in one of NASCAR’s national series.
·         11 of the 178 have posted at least one victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. 
·         Bill Elliott (five wins) is the only Georgia native to have won at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. 
Driver
NSCS
NXS
NCWTS
Bill Elliott
44
1
0
Tim Flock
39
0
0
Jack Smith
21
0
0
Fonty Flock
19
0
0
Bob Flock
4
0
0
Frank Mundy
3
0
0
David Ragan
2
2
0
Gober Sosebee
2
0
0
Harold Kite
1
0
0
Sam McQuagg
1
0
0
Jody Ridley
1
0
0
Reed Sorenson
0
4
0
Chase Elliott
0
3
1
Buckshot Jones
0
2
0
Ronald Cooper
0
1
0