NASCAR Atlanta Sunday, July 2, 2023
Atlanta Motor Speedway NASCAR Cup Series Stats Highlights
March 2022 first race on reconfigured & repaved track
Banking: 28º – Previous banking: 24º
Frontstretch width: 52 Feet – Previous width: 55 Feet
Backstretch width: 42 Feet – Previous width: 55 Feet
Turn width: 40 Feet – Previous width: 55 Feet
Turn radius: 741 Feet – Daytona Int’l Speedway: 987 Feet
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY TRANSFORMATION
163 DAYS (5 MONTHS)
STARTED AFTER JULY 11, 2021 NASCAR CUP SERIES RACE & COMPLETED IN DECEMBER
BANKING NOW 28º (PREVIOUSLY 24º)
17,000 TONS OF ASPHALT (PREVIOUS PAVING 1997)
Atlanta 3/22
William Byron
Atlanta 3/22 winner – Started 12th, Stage 1 winner & finished 9th in Stage 2, 8 times led for 111 laps (most), avg. running pos.: 4.7 (best)
Winner pit stops: William Byron (6 Stops) Lap 47, 106, 149, 204, 213, 255 (All caution)
Top 8 finishers all tied or scored their best finish of season
Bottom 7 finishers scored their worst finish of season
Top 5 Stage 1 & 2: None
Speeding: Chastain 2nd, Truex Jr. 8th, Bowman 10th, McLeod 19th, Biffle 20th
Best free pass finisher: Chastain 2nd (Free pass 5th & 6th cautions)
Rear of field: Keselowski 12th, Burton 25th
Best Hendrick: William Byron Winner
Best Gibbs: Martin Truex Jr. 8th
Best Stewart-Haas: Chase Briscoe 15th
Best Penske: Joey Logano 9th
Atlanta 3/22
Green flag time: 2:09:47
Caution time: 1:47:24
Most involved in crash: 13 (Lap 145)
Green at start: 24 Laps
Longest green run: 44 Laps (52-95)
Green to finish: 13 Laps
Out of race: 12 Drivers
Atlanta 7/22
Chase Elliott
Atlanta 7/22 winner – Started 1st, Stage 1 & 2 winner, 8 times led for 96 laps (most)
Winner pit stops: Chase Elliott (4 Stops) 63, 95, 162, 191 (All caution)
Top 5 Stage 1 & 2: Chase Elliott 1st & 1st, Ryan Blaney 4th & 4th
Best free pass finisher: Kyle Larson 13th
Best finisher with pit road speeding penalty: Martin Truex Jr. 11th
Best starting rear of field finisher: None
Best Hendrick: Chase Elliott 1st
Best Gibbs: Martin Truex Jr. 11th
Best Stewart-Haas: Aric Almirola 8th
Best Penske: Austin Cindric 3rd
Atlanta 3/23
Joey Logano
Atlanta 3/23 winner – Pole, Stage 1 winner & finished 2nd in Stage 2, 135 of first 159 laps led, 5 of final 101 laps led, took lead final lap
Winner pit stops: Joey Logano (4 Stops) 64, 132 (G), 164, 195
Stage 1 winner: Joey Logano 1st
Stage 2 winner: Austin Cindric 11th
Top 5 Stage 1 & 2: Joey Logano 1st & 2nd, Austin Cindric 2nd & 1st
Passed for final lead change: Brad Keselowski – Led 29 of final 30 laps
Winner final laps led: Joey Logano 1
Cautions: 5
Longest green run: 94 Laps (68-161)
Best free pass finisher: Ryan Blaney 7th
Best finisher with pit road speeding penalty: Ryan Blaney 7th
Best starting rear of field finisher: Christopher Bell 3rd
Best Hendrick: Alex Bowman 14th
Best Gibbs: Christopher Bell 3rd
Best Stewart-Haas: Chase Briscoe 24th
Best Penske: Joey Logano 1st
Laps Led: Ford 221 (8 Drivers), Chevrolet 20 & Toyota 19
48 Different winners in 118 NASCAR Cup Series Atlanta races
22 Champions won at Atlanta – 21 NASCAR Hall of Fame drivers won Atlanta
Bill Elliott & Chase Elliott only Georgia drivers to win Atlanta
7 Different winners last 7 Atlanta races – Keselowski, Harvick, Blaney, Kurt Busch, Byron, Elliott & Logano
March 45º Coldest Atlanta since 11/16/97 (44º) – Bobby Labonte winner
Stage 1 winner won last 3 Atlanta races
Final lead change with 2 or fewer laps to go last 2 Atlanta races
Cautions last 3 Atlanta races: 11 (3/22), 13 (7/22) & 5 (3/23)
Hendrick Motorsports won 16 Atlanta races with 8 different drivers
Joey Logano won Atlanta for first time in 19th try – Dale Jarrett & Ricky Rudd also won in 19th try
3 Won Atlanta in first try – Bob Burdick, Kevin Harvick & Fireball Roberts
Driver starting first won last 2 Atlanta races – Driver starting first winless previous 22 Atlanta races
Worst starting position of Atlanta winner: 39th – Bobby Labonte 11/01
5 Atlanta winners started 31st or worse
Consecutive Atlanta wins 14 times – Joey Logano won last Atlanta race
6 Won first career NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta
Chevrolet leads all with 43 Atlanta wins
Toyota won 3 Atlanta races – Winless last 12 Atlanta races
Toyota: First NCS win – 3/9/08 Atlanta Kyle Busch
Ford: 6 Wins last 9 Atlanta races
8/10/69: Ford swept top 5
11/7/83: Buick swept top 6
Only 2 swept Atlanta NXS & NCS races – Carl Edwards 3/05 (First career win both races) & Kevin Harvick 2018
9 Won first career pole at Atlanta
6 Atlanta overtime finishes – Leader at scheduled distance won 5
Drivers won first race of season at Atlanta 48 times
10 To go leader failed to win last 3 Atlanta races
6 Atlanta races settled by last lap pass
Drivers first win of championship season came at Atlanta 4 times
Atlanta speeding penalties – 2015: 5 / 2016: 1 / 2017: 13 / 2018: 1 / 2019: 4 / 2020: 8 / 3/21: 6 / 7/21: 2 / 3/22: 6 / 7/22: 2 / 3/23: 2
8/1/71 Atlanta win by Richard Petty was 5th consecutive win (Malta, Islip, Trenton, Nashville & Atlanta)
10/28/07 Atlanta win by Jimmie Johnson was 2nd win in 4-straight win streak
11/15/92 Alan Kulwicki wins championship after storybook battle with Bill Elliott
Jeff Gordon’s first NASCAR cup series race
Richard Petty’s final NASCAR Cup series race
3/11/01 Kevin Harvick first career win by .006 seconds over Jeff Gordon (Closest Atlanta finish)
3/9/08 Kyle Busch wins first NASCAR Cup Series race for Toyota (First win for Kyle Busch with Joe Gibbs Racing)
2/28/16 Jimmie Johnson 76th career win tying him with Dale Earnhardt
Jeff Gordon won championship in season-finale at Atlanta 1995 & ’97
Already clinched in 1998 when he won season-finale at Atlanta
Clinched championship at Atlanta in 2001 (season ended at New Hampshire)
Close finishes:
3/12/00 Dale Earnhardt over Bobby Labonte by .01 Seconds
3/20/05 Carl Edwards over Jimmie Johnson by .028 Seconds
(First NASCAR Cup Series win for Edwards – also won first NXS race a day earlier)
Vicious Crashes:
1967 Atlanta: Curtis Turner practice crash
3/7/10 Atlanta: Lap 323 Brad Keselowski vicious flip on frontstretch after Carl Edwards retaliation
3/9/97 Atlanta: Lap 284 Steve Grissom savage crash
Atlanta Motor Speedway NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats Highlights
21 Different winners in 34 Atlanta Xfinity Series races
Kevin Harvick only driver to win 3 straight Atlanta races – Austin Hill won last 2 Atlanta races
1 Winner from Georgia – Austin Hill (7/22 & 3/23)
Closest Atlanta finish: .085 Seconds – Austin Hill over Daniel Hemric (3/18/23)
Austin Hill only repeat winner last 8 Atlanta races (2 Wins) – 6 Others 1 win each
3 Won Atlanta & championship in same season – Johnny Benson (1995), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2012) & Ty Gibbs (3/22)
Fewest laps led by Atlanta winner: 1 – Jamie McMurray (2002) & Ty Gibbs (3/22)
First win for Jason Ratcliff – 2002 Atlanta (Jamie McMurray)
100th different NASCAR Xfinity Series winner – Jamie McMurray (2002 Atlanta)
4 Won first career Xfinity Series race at Atlanta
including Jeff Gordon in 1992 (20-Years-old) & Jamie McMurray in 2002 (26-Years-old)
4 Won first career Xfinity Series race at Atlanta
including Jeff Gordon in 1992 (20-Years-old) & Jamie McMurray in 2002 (26-Years-old)
7 of 34 Atlanta races won from first starting position
Most laps led in Atlanta race: 165 – Mark Martin (2000)
3 Atlanta races settled by last lap pass
Toyota: 5 Atlanta Xfinity Series wins (2016, ’17, ’19, 7/21 & 3/22)
Joe Gibbs Racing: 5 Atlanta Xfinity Series wins (2016, ’17, ’19, 7/21 & 3/22)