What’s Happening?

NASCAR is heading to another drafting track this weekend. Rather than the high banks of Daytona, the series takes on the hybrid 1.5-mile/superspeedway at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, GA.

• Since opening in 1960, Atlanta Motor Speedway has seen two major renovations. First, in 1997, the track flipped, with the front stretch becoming the backstretch, as Speedway Motorsports opened a new quad-oval on the track’s former backstretch. The second was in 2022 when the track was re-configured into a high-speed, pack racing hybrid 1.5-mile/superspeedway.
• The NASCAR Cup Series raced twice yearly at AMS from 1960 to 2011 and even raced at the track three times in 1961. However, the track earned a second race date for the 2021 season right before the track’s massive reconfiguration.
• The NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series have a shorter history with the track. The Xfinity Series debuted at AMS in 1992 and has hosted two race dates a year since 2021. The Truck Series, however, debuted at AMS in 2004 and has raced at the track once a year since then.

Weekend TV Schedule (All Times ET)

Friday, February 21: Truck Qualifying/Xfinity Qualifying

• 3:05 PM – 4:30 PM – Truck Series Qualifying on FS1
• 8:15 PM – 10:00 PM – Xfinity Series Qualifying on the CW App

Saturday, February 22: Cup Series Qualifying – TRUCK SERIES AND XFINITY SERIES RACE

• 11:00 AM – 12:20 PM – Cup Series Qualifying on Amazon Prime Video
• 1:30 PM – CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES FR8 208 on FS1 (TV) and MRN (Radio)
• 5:00 PM – XFINITY SERIES BENNETT TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS 250 on the CW (TV) and PRN (Radio)

Sunday, February 23: CUP SERIES RACE

• 3:00 PM – AMBETTER HEALTH 400 on FOX (TV) and PRN (Radio)

Race Facts

Track Facts: Atlanta Motor Speedway – via Atlanta Motor Speedway

• Year Built: 1960
• Length: 1.54 mile
• Shape: Quad-oval
• Banking: 28 Degrees in Turns; 5 Degrees on Frontstretch and Backstretch
• Surface: Asphalt
• Lights: Yes
• Rain Tires: No

Fr8 208 on FS1:

• Race Length: 135 Laps (207.9 Miles)
• Stages: 30 Lap Stage 1, 30 Lap Stage 2, 75 Lap Final Stage
• Most-Recent Race Winner: Kyle Busch

Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250 on the CW:

• Race Length: 163 Laps (251.02 Miles)
• Stages: 45 Lap Stage 1, 45 Lap Stage 2, 73 Lap Final Stage
• Most-Recent Race Winner: Austin Hill

Ambetter Health 400 on FOX:

• Race Length: 260 Laps (406.4 Miles)
• Stages: 60 Lap Stage 1, 100 Lap Stage 2, 100 Lap Final Stage
• Most-Recent Race Winner: Daniel Suarez

2024 Ambetter Health 400 Results:

• First: Daniel Suarez – No. 99
• Second: Ryan Blaney – No. 12
• Third: Kyle Larson – No. 8
• Fourth: Austin Cindric – No. 2
• Fifth: Bubba Wallace – No. 23

Top Storylines of the Weekend

• Last year, Atlanta Motor Speedway produced the closest three-wide finish in NASCAR history. Daniel Suarez barely beat out both Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch for the win. While this win may have entered the No. 99 into the playoffs, it may have saved his spot at Trackhouse Racing, as the driver received an extension to his deal in August.
• This race will be Amazon Prime Video’s first foray into NASCAR. The streaming provider is one of NASCAR’s newest TV partners and will cover Practice and Qualifying for the first half of the NASCAR Cup Series season. This coverage begins this week and continues through June 22, the final race of their five-race coverage that begins on May 25. FOX will have Practice and Qualifying for the All-Star Race on May 16.
• The major question on track entering this week is who can or will take their momentum from the Daytona 500 into Atlanta. Some drivers learned hard lessons about drafting, while others took note of what moves they could and couldn’t make. While some would like to take that momentum and lessons learned to another track, the unpredictability of superspeedway racing looms.

Entry Lists

Cup Series

Notable Entrants:

• No. 44 – J.J. Yeley – NY Racing Team
• No. 78 – BJ McLeod – BJ McLeod Motorsports

Xfinity Series

Notable Entrants:

• No. 19 – Aric Almirola – Joe Gibbs Racing

Truck Series

Notable Entrants:

• No. 7 – Kyle Busch – Spire Motorsports
• No. 63 – Akinori Ogata – Akinori Performance
• No. 66 – Luke Fenhaus – ThorSport Racing

Note: This article will be updated as more information about the weekend comes out.