NASCAR Cup Series FanShield 500
Phoenix Raceway Distance: 312 miles/500 kilometers (312 laps)
Sunday, March 8 3:30 p.m. ET TV: FOX, 2:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 75), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 190), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 312). 2019 Race Winner: Kyle Busch
NASCAR Xfinity Series LS Tractor 200
Phoenix Raceway Distance: 200 miles (200 Laps)
Saturday, March 7 4 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 3:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200). 2019 Race Winner: Kyle Busch
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Georgia 200
Atlanta Motor Speedway Distance: 200.2 miles (130 Laps)
Saturday, March 14 1:30 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 1 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 130). 2019 Winner: Kyle Busch
NASCAR Cup Series
Phoenix might be the ‘jewel in the desert’ for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch
For the second consecutive week, Kyle Busch shows up at a NASCAR Cup Series track as the defending race winner, and though the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is till winless this season, he arrives at Phoenix Raceway for Sunday’s FanShield 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) looking to continue a positive upswing after a rough couple early season outings. The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion has finished either first or second in the last four races at the Phoenix one-miler, and this weekend, he is the defending winner of both the weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series races. Busch, driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota enters Sunday’s race ranked 19th in the championship standings, throwing out the 2015 season when he was injured, this is the lowest he’s been after the first three races of the season since his 2005 rookie campaign (22nd after first three races). But Phoenix certainly presents an optimum opportunity to reestablish his championship game. Busch has won two of the three races since the one-mile Phoenix track was “re-envisioned” with a facelift and new configuration in late 2018. In total he has made 29 series starts at Phoenix posting three wins (2005, 2018, 2019), 11 top fives and 21 top 10s. His 1,190 laps led is second only to nine-time Phoenix winner Kevin Harvick’s 1,595 laps out front. Last spring, Busch led 177 of 312 laps en route to a healthy 1.259-second win over JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr. His win a day earlier in the Xfinity Series race marked the largest margin of victory in track history – 3.025-seconds ahead of Truex’s younger brother, Ryan Truex. Busch was optimistic his first top-10 finish of the season last week at California was a positive sign of better days ahead. “Guys are doing all they can, I know along with everybody at TRD (Toyota Racing Development),’’ Busch said Sunday at Auto Club Speedway. “I appreciate all the hard work. We just have to get a little bit better. We finished the end of last year so strong, I don’t know what we’re missing here. Obviously, it’s a little bit of something here and maybe a little bit of something in a few different areas, but overall a good car today.’’
Ryan Blaney has been close but still searching for first win of the season
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney heads to Phoenix Raceway still atop the NASCAR Cup series championship standings, now 11 points up on his teammate Joey Logano in second. He’s eager to fortify that points lead with a race winner’s trophy. And he’s been so close. The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford had to pit from second place with only three laps remaining in Sunday’s race in California last weekend; he ultimately finished 19th. Dating back to last season at Talladega he has made eight starts since his last victory. But he can take some solace in his season’s early work. He is the only driver to lead laps in every race – four in the Daytona 500, 19 at Las Vegas and 54 at California – for a total of 77 laps out front (fifth-most this season). Plus, he leads the series in average running position this season with a 6.3. And as these performances would indicate, Blaney is capable of running up front and playing into the victory. He told reporters prior to Sunday’s race that there is a lot to be gained by the strong start and that he doesn’t hang onto disappointments. “About 10 minutes,’’ Blaney said of pondering the tough luck finish in the season’s second race at Las Vegas. He pitted from the race lead during the final caution period and was able to race back to 11th. His Team Penske teammate Joey Logano did not pit and went on to win the race. But with the points lead and four top-10 finishes in eight previous starts at this week’s Phoenix Raceway, Blaney is ready for the race in the desert. He scored back-to-back third-place finishes in both Phoenix races last year and he’s a two-time Phoenix pole winner, out-qualifying the field in the 2017 Playoff race and again in this race last spring. Like so many of his competitors, Blaney is eager to get some laps in at Phoenix, which will now – for the first time – host the series championship race on Nov. 8. “It is obviously a huge race,’’ Blaney said of this weekend’s FanShield 500. “Usually you only go to [the previous championship venue] Homestead once, so you don’t have a chance to kind of get a race under your belt there in the spring. “It is a really important race for multiple reasons, the championship and the low downforce stuff,’’ he added. “It is really important to get some good notes from there and hopefully make it back there for the championship.’’
Harvick: The Phoenix of Phoenix
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick holds the special distinction of being his generation’s most dominant driver at this week’s Phoenix Raceway. With an unequalled nine victories on the desert one-miler – including an unprecedented four straight from 2013-‘15 – Harvick has led the most laps (1,595) and in the last 16 Phoenix races, only finished outside the top-10 one time. He hasn’t finished worse than ninth since 2013. He is the only driver in series history to win consecutive races here, multiple times. The driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford has seven of his nine victories and a pair of runner-up finishes in just the last 15 races – essentially every other race he’s won or finished second in that time. His 110.5 driver rating is understandably tops among the competition and he is averaging a 9.2 finish – the only driver in the Top 16 in the driver standings with an average finish inside the top 10. His Loop Data stats are quite impressive as well, his average running position (8.418), laps in the top 15 (7,814) are also best in the field this weekend. In the three races since the track’s repave in 2018, however, Harvick has two fifth-place finishes and a ninth-place showing and has led 73 laps (all in in the 2018 Playoff race). Very uncharacteristically, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion has not led a lap in the last two Phoenix races. Harvick shows up this weekend the only driver in the series to have earned top-10 finishes in the opening three races of 2020. He is fourth in the driver standings and trails points leader Ryan Blaney by 12 markers following California. “I felt like last year, with that particular rules package, we definitely weren’t as good as we had been in the past,’’ Harvick said, suggesting it was the different car style not the change in Phoenix layout that may have affected recent performances. “I think with the 2018 package (used now), I think we were in the game. It’s been a great race track for us as we’ve gone through the years and a place that we go to expect a win. And I don’t see that any different, no matter what the rules package is, the expectations from our side are the same and that’s to go there and have a chance to win. We didn’t do that last year, but the expectations didn’t change.’’
Hendrick Motorsports resurgence
If there was one team mighty happy to head West, it was probably Hendrick Motorsports. Alex Bowman’s statement-making victory last Sunday at Auto Club Speedway led the best full-team showing for the organization of the year. He led 110 of the 200 laps en route to his second career win. Chase Elliott (fourth) and seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson (seventh) also had top 10 efforts in California and the team’s youngest member, 22-year-old William Byron, earned his first top 20 of the season with a 15th-place finish. The victory propelled Bowman to a career best early season position in the standings. He’s now in third place, 12 points behind leader Ryan Blaney. Johnson, who is competing in his final fulltime season, is fifth in the driver standings, only 16 points behind Blaney. Elliott is a single-point behind Johnson in sixth place. And Byron has climbed back into 20th in the standings. The positive momentum seems likely to continue on the final stop of NASCAR’s western swing, the one-mile Phoenix Raceway site of this week’s FanShield 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, leads the team with four wins and three poles on the Phoenix oval. His 15 top fives and 21 top 10s – including three runner-up finishes are marks second only to the track’s all-time best Kevin Harvick. Johnson’s driver rating 105.2 is second best in the field this week (to Harvick’s 110.5) as is his average finish (10.3). Johnson was eighth in this race last year. Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, has an impressive four top-10 finishes in eight starts. Twice he finished top five, including a career best effort of runner-up in the 2017 Playoff race. He was 14th in this race last year. Tucson-native Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, won the pole position for the 2016 Playoff race – filling in for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr. His sixth-place finish and 194 laps led in that race are a personal high at his home state track. He’s had a rough last few outings, getting collected in crashes in two of the last three races. He took a DNF in this race last year, finishing 35th after being in an accident. Byron, the youngest of the team and driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, has one top-10 finish in four previous starts at Phoenix – earning a ninth place in the 2018 Playoff race. His 15 laps led in his very first NASCAR Cup Series try on the desert mile are his only laps out front to date. “I think it’s really important just to not be embarrassed like we were last time there,’’ Bowman’s crew chief Greg Ives said about Phoenix. “We kind of had a stranglehold on that place for a while, winning with Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) and then almost winning with Alex and having a lot of confidence going to that track and then to kind of fall flat on your face is not a really good feeling, especially when I know it’s his hometown. “I know we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to run well there, and I don’t care if it’s the championship race or not, I want to win at any place we go and not be embarrassed.’’
Joe Gibbs Racing is shifting gears
Three races into the 2020 season and last year’s dominant Joe Gibbs Racing team (JGR) is still working to capture some of that incredible mojo that resulted in a modern-day NASCAR Cup Series record 19 victories for the four-driver team. JGR is actually on a very similar pace to 2019. Denny Hamlin has matched his Daytona 500 victory and Kyle Busch heads to Phoenix Raceway as defending winner.
The big “if” is whether the organization can equal the torrid early season pace it set a year ago. By the 10th race of the 2019 schedule, Joe Gibbs Racing drivers had already hoisted six trophies.
Hamlin won at Daytona and then Texas. Busch won at Phoenix, California and Bristol and Martin Truex Jr. earned the first of his season best seven wins at Richmond. This year, the pace has felt a little slower. Hamlin leads the team with a seventh place position in the driver standings with the Daytona victory and a sixth-place finish at Auto Club Speedway over the weekend. Truex is ranked 13th and has yet to earn a top 10. His best showing is 14th at California. Jones has only one top-10 finish and is ranked 18th in the driver standings, 55 points behind the leader Ryan Blaney. And Busch, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion just broke into the top 20 of the standings – with a runner-up finish at California; his only top 10 of the year. He’s ranked 19th and trails Blaney by 57 points. “These things, they’re very picky and very tricky and things change really quick,’’ Truex said last week of his team’s pace. “Guys are obviously doing a good job. Had a really strong car in Vegas last week, I was really happy with that. Felt like we were going to be in position to have a shot at winning there. Of course we had our issues. That’s part of the deal.’’ Truex said he was encouraged by the new technical rules package for Phoenix, likening it to the 2018 cars and remained optimistic about his chances this week. “It’s been kind of a decent track for us over the years,’’ Truex said. “I felt like, since the repave, it’s taken a little bit for us to get our arms around it. I feel like we’re getting better there and that’s a good thing. “We’ve had some good runs there the last couple years. Last fall, I felt like we were about the closest we’ve been in a few years at least to having a shot. With the new rules going back a few years, we ran well there in 2018, so hopefully we can expand on that and find some more speed there.”
Sunoco Rookie Report: Reddick seizes rookie standings lead
NCS Sunoco Rookie of the Year Standings
Rookies
Points
Tyler Reddick
55
John H. Nemechek
51
Cole Custer
44
Brennan Poole
34
Christopher Bell
13
Quin Houff
8
Last week in California, two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick tied fellow Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender John Hunter Nemechek’s season-high water mark, finishing 11th. And in the process took the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings lead by just four points. In fact, three rookies earned top-25 finishes last Sunday – California’s Cole Custer was 18th and Nemechek was 25th.
Twice now (at Las Vegas and at Auto Club Speedway) Reddick, driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, has been the top finishing rookie.
It has been an adjustment for this class of rookies as none of the first-year drivers are ranked among the NASCAR Cup Series top 20 in the series driver standings three races in, but Reddick leads them, ranked 23rd with a four-point edge on Front Row Motorsport’s driver John Hunter Nemechek in 24th.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer is 26th in the standings just 11 points behind Reddick, and Premium Motorsport’s Brennan Poole, driver of the No. 15 Chevrolet, is 29th in the driver standings – 10 points behind Custer.
Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota, is ranked 32nd in the series driver standings, 32 points behind rookie standings leader Tyler Reddick. Quin Houff rounds out the rookie standings in sixth and is ranked 34th in the overall driver standings, 47 points back from Reddick.
The biggest surprise thus far has been Bell’s slow start, but it all could turn around this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. He won a NASCAR Xfinity Series race there in 2018. He’s led 259 laps in the last four races there and swept the pole position at the two races there last year in the Xfinity Series.
But Reddick will be hard to catch as the Californian has four top-10 finishes in five NASCAR Xfinity Series Phoenix starts with a best showing of third – in both of the 2019 races. Custer was runner-up in the 2019 Xfinity Playoff race and has finished top-10 in his last five races at the track.
Nemechek is a perfect three-for-three in top-10 Xfinity Series finishes at Phoenix. He won the pole position in his first start in 2018 and was a career best fourth in his last race there – last November. Made his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Phoenix last November and finished 27th.
Houff actually made his first NASCAR Cup Series start at Phoenix last March, finishing 30th. He was 29th in the November Xfinity Series race there.
Reddick, Custer, Poole, and Bell will all be making their series track debuts this weekend at Phoenix.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Phoenix Raceway welcomes the NASCAR Xfinity Series
As the NASCAR Xfinity Series prepares to compete in the LS Tractor 200 at Phoenix Raceway this Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, many of the drivers, crew chiefs and teams are looking at this weekend’s race as a learning experience because when the series returns to the desert in November it will be to crown an Xfinity champion. Phoenix Raceway has hosted the NASCAR Xfinity Series 36 times, dating back to the inaugural event on November 6, 1999 – won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon. From 1999 to 2004 the series visited the one-mile raceway just once a year, but since 2005 the facility has been the stage for two NASCAR Xfinity Series races a year. This season the second visit will be the championship race for the series’ Playoffs. The 36 Xfinity Series Phoenix races have produced 19 different pole winners and 18 different race winners. Joe Gibbs Racing dominated this event last season, winning the pole with Christopher Bell and then winning the race with Kyle Busch. Busch leads the series in poles (nine) and race wins (11) at Phoenix Raceway. Phoenix Raceway is currently riding a streak of five different Xfinity winners dating back to William Byron’s win in November of 2017; followed by Brad Keselowski (March 2018), Christopher Bell (Nov. 2018), Kyle Busch (March 2019) and Justin Allgaier (November 2019). Three former Xfinity Phoenix winners are entered this weekend – Busch, Keselowski and Justin Allgaier.
Harrison Burton already setting records as a rookie
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Harrison Burton is the first Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate to post three top-five finishes in as many races to start the season.
In fact, a driver starting the Xfinity season with three consecutive top fives has only occurred in the series 16 times and Burton is the 11th different driver all-time to accomplish the feat; joining Sam Ard (1984), Dale Jarrett (1988), Dale Earnhardt (1990, 1991), Harry Gant (1991), Terry Labonte (1995), Kevin Harvick (2004, 2005), Carl Edwards (2007, 2009, 2010), Elliott Sadler (2012, 2018), Brad Keselowski (2014) and Kyle Busch (2014).
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Harrison Burton has made three starts this season, posting one win (Auto Club), three top fives (second at Daytona, fifth at Las Vegas and first at Auto Club) and an average finish of 2.7.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s rookie tandem are finding their footing
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders Harrison Burton and Riley Herbst flexed their muscles this last weekend at Auto Club Speedway, finishing first and second, respectively, becoming the youngest 1-2 finish in series history.
Harrison Burton not only grabbed his first win in the series, he also catapulted himself into the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings lead by 10 points over second-place Chase Briscoe. Plus, he locked in his spot in the Playoffs with the victory. Now the 19-year-old will turn his attention to Phoenix Raceway as this weekend will be his series track debut. “I’m excited to get to Phoenix and get back to racing this weekend,” said Burton. “I ran well there in a Truck a couple of times. Ran ARCA West a time there too, so I have some experience at Phoenix. It’s one of my favorite racetracks.” But Burton is not the only one with success last weekend, Riley Herbst’s second-place finish on Saturday was a huge boost to his championship hopes jumping him five spots in the driver points from 16th to 11th – now just inside the Playoff cutoff. Herbst’s season had a slow start with an incident at Daytona miring him back in points, but he has since rebounded with a ninth-place finish at Las Vegas and a runner-up last weekend in California. Herbst will be looking for more redemption this weekend at Phoenix as the 21-year old from Las Vegas made his series track debut at the track last season starting 11th but finishing 30th after being caught in an incident early in the race.
Briscoe, Gragson, Jones spin their tires in the points at California
Three drivers looking forward to moving on from Auto Club Speedway this weekend are Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson and Brandon Jones. All three dropped spots in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings after posting their worst finishes of the 2020 season thus far. Now all three look to Phoenix Raceway this weekend to realign their championship focus.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe finished 19th at Auto Club Speedway last weekend following a late race spin, and as a result he lost the series points lead to Harrison Burton dropping to second in the standings, 10 points back. Despite the speed bump last Saturday, Briscoe is already having a strong season posting a win (Las Vegas) and two top fives in three starts. With his win, his position in the Playoffs all but guaranteed, now Briscoe’s main goal is racking up more wins and Playoff points. Expect the 25-year-old to likely bounce back this weekend at Phoenix where he has made two starts posting two top 10s and average finish of 7.0.
Another front runner heading into last weekend’s race at California was JR Motorsport’s driver Noah Gragson, but a mid-race incident with the No. 10 of Ross Chastain relegated the Las Vegas native to a 26th-place finish – his worst of the season. The low finish dropped him a staggering seven spots in the top 10 in points from second to ninth. Fortunately for Gragson, he won the season-opener at Daytona and is already locked in to the postseason. But you can count on Gragson trying to regain his early season momentum this weekend at Phoenix. The 21-year-old has made two series starts on the one-mile raceway, posting an average finish of 10.5.
Feeling the biggest gut punch from last weekend’s lackluster finish was Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones, who dominated the first two stages of the race leading the first 73 laps of competition and taking home both stage wins. Unfortunately, all that unraveled after getting pushed up the track and into the wall, causing a tire rub during the final stage resulting in a 30th-place finish.
Jones’ success in the early stages, though, softened the blow to his points total, dropping him just one spot in the points from fifth to sixth. Unlike Briscoe and Gragson, Jones is still looking for his first win of the season, which could come this weekend.
“Our number 19 team is coming off of three very strong races to start the season.” Said Jones. “After winning the pole and sweeping the first two stages last week, it gave me the confidence I need to carry into Phoenix. As I look at data and notes from last year, I have already picked up on several areas I can improve on before getting on track activity. It will be a very important weekend to learn since this is also the track that will hold the title to the XFINITY championship. Phoenix Raceway is extremely technical and can trick you into overdriving the track.”
The 23-year-old has made eight starts at Phoenix posting, two top-10 finishes and an average finish of 11.875.
Cindric, Sieg, Haley, Chastain keep climbing the standings ladder
While some of the front runners in the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series driver points standings had some rough outings at Auto Club Speedway, four drivers – Austin Cindric, Ryan Sieg, Justin Haley and Ross Chastain – were able to capitalize on the others’ misfortunes.
Team Penske’s Austin Cindric leap-frogged three spots in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings from sixth to third following his third-place finish at Auto Club Speedway. Now the 21-year -old sets his sights on the series standings lead just 18 points away. Cindric skidded through Daytona with a 25th-place finish due to an incident, but quickly grabbed a gear at Las Vegas, finishing second and then third last weekend at California. Cindric is one of the early favorites heading into this weekend at Phoenix because he has made four series starts there, posting two top fives, three top 10s and an average finish of 7.8.
RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg is also proving he and the No. 39 Chevrolet team are true contenders this season for the championship. Sieg is currently fourth in the standings, up three spots after finishing fourth at Auto Club Speedway – his third top-10 finish in as many races. Sieg is only 24 points back from the series standings lead as the series heads to Phoenix. Sieg has made 13 series starts at Phoenix, posting a best finish of 10th at the one-mile facility in this race last season.
Kaulig Racing’s duo of Justin Haley and Ross Chastain is already seeing the benefits of a two-team, full-time operation. Haley is currently fifth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings, up three spots from eighth, following a fifth-place finish at Auto Club Speedway. His teammate, Chastain, is not far behind him in seventh in the series driver standings, also up three spots from 10th following an eighth-place finish last weekend.
Both Kaulig Racing drivers are anticipating their luck to continue this weekend in Phoenix. Haley has made two series starts at Phoenix Raceway, posting an average finish of 9.5. Chastain has made nine series starts at Phoenix, posting a best finish of 15th in 2018.
“We are headed back to the desert for the final leg of our West Coast swing,” said Chastain. “I am actually excited to shift! This will be my first time going into the race preparing to shift to third gear. I’ve watched guys do it in the Xfinity Series for years and never was able to. It will be a bit of a learning curve for me, but going there with a racecar prepared to do it is an awesome feeling for me that my team puts that into it. The top 10s have been great to start the year, but obviously we want a lot more. There have been a lot of mistakes on my end, but if we clean those up, I think we will have a shot come the end of Saturday’s Xfinity race.”
Allgaier could use some good Phoenix mojo
JR Motorsport’s veteran Justin Allgaier returns to Phoenix Raceway after taking the checkered flag in last season’s Playoff race to secure his spot in the Championship 4. Fast forward to this year,
Allgaier sits 10th in points looking for a jolt to his championship run this season and Phoenix just might be the spark.
In three starts this season, Allgaier has only mustered one top 10 (Las Vegas) and an average finish of 16.7. But Phoenix has been quite the playground for Allgaier as of late. The 33-year old has made 19 series starts at the track posting two wins, seven top fives and 12 top 10s. His average finish at Phoenix is 8.6.
“Phoenix is always a track that I have circled on my calendar as one of my favorites,” said Allgaier. “We were fortunate enough to get another win here last year and it’s all because of how great of a job this team does of preparing fast Camaros. I know we’ll have another hot rod this weekend and I’m excited to see what we can accomplish during the race on Saturday.”
Loop Data also supports Allgaier finding success this weekend at Phoenix, he is ranked third in driver rating (105.2), average running position (7.587), fastest laps run (213) and is second in laps led (334).
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
On the way to Atlanta
It’s another off week for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series as they get ready for a battle on the 1.54-mile track of Atlanta Motor Speedway in one week.
The race on Saturday, March 14 (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will mark the third race of the 2020 season for the Gander Trucks and the first of a Saturday double-header with the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Grant Enfinger secured the season-opening win at Daytona International Speedway and Kyle Busch returned to the series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and took home another checkered flag to kick off 2020.
Quick facts about Atlanta Motor Speedway for the upcoming race:
The Hampton, Georgia track is 1.54-miles.
The race length is 200.2 miles, which is 130 laps. There is 24-degree banking in corners and five-degree banking on straightaways. The frontstretch is 2,332 feet and the backstretch is 1,800 feet. Ron Hornaday Jr. still holds the race record from March 18, 2005 at 142.424 mph. The closest margin of victory was in 2005 at 0.008 seconds and the greatest margin of victory was in 2015 at 8.752 seconds. There have been 12 different pole winners, 13 different race winners and 11 different winning truck owners. Five of 18 races have been won from the pole.
Gander Trucks Bounty: Beat Kyle Busch
It all started on Twitter when Kevin Harvick tweeted that any full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver who competes in a NASCAR Gander R V& Outdoors Truck Series race and beats Kyle Busch would also win an additional $50,000. Marcus Lemonis, the CEO of Camping World and Gander RV & Outdoors, pushed it even further raising the price to $100,000.
Busch currently has four more Truck Series races on his schedule. Atlanta Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway.
GMS Racing announced that Georgia native Chase Elliott will drive the No. 24 Chevrolet for the team, making Atlanta the first race where the bounty comes into play.
If Elliott doesn’t secure the win, Kyle Larson will get a shot at it, also with GMS Racing, at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Elliott will be back behind the wheel of the No. 24 again at Kansas.
Former NASCAR team owners Billy Ballew and James Finch have come together to run a truck entry for Erik Jones at Homestead-Miami Speedway in hopes of winning the bounty. Jones is the only one of the three that is a Truck Series champion.
However, if Busch is successful at holding off anyone from taking the bounty, Harvick will donate the money to the Bundle of Joy Foundation.
As a note, any driver taking up the bounty doesn’t have to actually win one of the races, they only have to finish ahead of Busch. If more than one Cup Series driver is competing against Busch in a single race, the highest-finishing driver will get the bounty. A driver is not allowed to wreck Busch for the money, either.
Chase Elliott’s NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Stats
Elliott has 12 starts to his name in the Gander Truck Series with two wins, eight top-five finishes, 10 top-10 finishes and three poles. Plus, he led a total of 301 laps and had an average start of 6.3 and average finish of 7.9.
His first Gander Trucks win came at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2013, in only his sixth career start in the series. His second win was in 2017 at Martinsville from the pole.
His first and only start at Atlanta Motor Speedway was in 2017. He started ninth and finished fifth. He’s never run a Truck Series race at Kansas so this season will mark his series track debut.
Kyle Larson’s NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Stats
Kyle Larson has 13 career starts in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Trucks Series with two wins, seven top fives, 10 top 10s and two poles.
His first Gander Truck win came at Rockingham Speedway in only his fifth start in the series. He later went on to win the Eldora Dirt Derby in 2016 from the seventh starting spot.
He has led 703 laps and has an average start of 7.3 and average finish of 8.5 in the Truck Series.
Larson will be making his fourth Gander Trucks start at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His first was in 2012, when he started on the front row but ended up finishing 27th due to a incident. He competed at Homestead again in 2014, starting on the pole and finishing runner-up. And his last start in the series was at Homestead in 2016. He started third and finished fourth.
Erik Jones’ NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Stats
Erik Jones has the most experience in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series of all three Cup drivers pursuing the bounty. He has 42 career starts from 2013-2018 with seven wins, 10 top fives, 35 top 10s and seven poles.
Not to mention, Jones is the 2015 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series champion, too.
Jones’ first win was at Phoenix Raceway in 2013 in only his fifth career Truck start. His most recent win was in 2015 at Texas Motor Speedway.
He has a Gander Trucks career average start and average finish of 7.0.
Points, points, points
Although the series is only two races into the season for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Trucks, taking a look at the driver point standings shows us who has been on top of their game since the start of the season.
Hattori Racing Enterprises driver Austin Hill has popped out of the gate quick this season and leads the driver standings with 82 points, nine markers up on second place Johnny Sauter. Hill has one top five and two top 10s in the first two races of the season and has led 11 laps.
Veteran ThorSport Racing driver Johnny Sauter is right in Hill’s rearview mirror in second in the Gander Truck driver standings with 73 points. He also has one top five and two top 10s on the year.
Ben Rhodes is right in Sauter’s sits in third in the series driver standings, 22 points back from driver standings lead, with one top-five finish this season. Rhodes gained a massive 16 spots in the standings after Vegas, just 13 points behind second place Johnny Sauter.
GMS Racing’s Brett Moffitt, the 2018 series champion, is in fourth in the Gander Trucks driver standings following Las Vegas with 59 points, 23 back from Austin Hill in the standings lead.
Moffitt’s GMS Racing teammate Sheldon Creed rounds out the top five in the standings with two top-10 performances in as many races. He has accumulated 58 points this season, 24 back from Hill and just one back from Moffitt.
Looking ahead to Atlanta, Hill will have his work cut out for him to hold on to the standings lead as of the top five in points Ben Rhodes has the best average finish on the 1.54-mile track with a 4.8; followed by Moffitt (5.3), Creed (12.0), Sauter (12.1) and Hill (13.8).
Sunoco Rookie Update: Zane Smith out front early
NGROTS Sunoco Rookie of the Year Standings
Rookies
Points
Awards
Zane Smith
57
1
Christian Eckes
55
0
Derek Kraus
48
1
Tanner Gray
44
0
Raphael Lessard
39
0
Ty Majeski
29
0
Spencer Davis
25
0
Tate Fogleman
25
0
Although we’re only two races into the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series 2020 season, here’s how the top three drivers in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings are faring thus far.
GMS Racing’s Zane Smith has leaped of front of the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings with 58 points; sixth in the Gander Trucks driver points after one top-10 finish in two starts this season.
Two points behind Smith is Kyle Busch Motorsport’s Christian Eckes in second in the rookie points and eighth in the Gander Truck driver standings. And seven points back from Eckes is McAnally Hilgemann Racing’s Derek Kraus in third in the rookie standings and 15th in the series driver standings.
Smith and Kraus are the first two drivers to win the Sunoco Rookie of the Race awards in 2020.
Smith opened the season strong with an 11th-place finish at Daytona and a sixth-place finish at Las Vegas. He has completed 100% of laps attempted and has earned an average finish of 8.5.
Eckes has had a slow start to the season, finishing 22nd at Daytona and 23rd at Las Vegas. The driver of the No. 18 Toyota was competing hard with his owner (and teammate) during the race at Las Vegas but ended up suffering from penalties and being involved in an incident late in the race.
Kraus has had mixed results too in 2020, finishing fourth at Daytona and 22nd at Las Vegas due to an incident on the third lap of the race and was unable to work his way back to the front of the field.
Looking ahead to Atlanta, the only series rookie that has made a previous Gander Trucks start at Atlanta is Spencer Davis in 2018 – he started fourth and finished 13th. The rest of the class will be making their series track debuts.
Chandler Smith returns to Kyle Busch Motorsports for eight races
Kyle Bush Motorsports announced that Chandler Smith will return to the organization for eight races in 2020. Smith will have primary sponsorship from JBL.
Smith’s schedule will kick off at Richmond Raceway in April for the start of the Triple Truck Challenge. His second race is slated to be at Dover International Speedway.
Smith had an impressive four starts with KBM last season, marking an average finish of 4.2 while driving a split schedule in the Nos. 51 and 46. Smith finished inside the top 10 in all of his starts, led 56 laps and also recorded three top-five finishes.
His best finish was runner-up at Bristol Motor Speedway. Smith also made starts for KBM’s Super Late Model program. He notched a runner-up finish in the All-American 400 at Fairground Speedway and finished sixth-place in the Snowball Derby.
Smith also ran part-time in the ARCA Menards Series collecting five victories, four poles, eight top fives and 10 top 10s. He led 666 laps and did all of that while only competing in 11 of 20 races.
He will also make starts at Michigan International Speedway, Word Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, Bristol, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Phoenix Raceway.
On Point Motorsports taps Danny Bohn for Atlanta
On Point Motorsports announced that Danny Bohn will run five races in the No. 30 Toyota Tundra in 2020 for the team starting at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The other races include Richmond Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
Bohn raced in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and finished runner-up the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour in 2012 taking the Rookie of the Year and Most Popular Driver honors.
Prior to Atlanta, On Point Motorsports had Brennan Poole in the No. 30 truck. In the two starts he made this season he putting up an average finish of 16.0.
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