Cup

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Atlanta Motor Speedway saw the dawning of a new competition package in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and after all was said and done it was Jimmie Johnson taking a late lead en route to winning and tying Dale Earnhardt with his 76th career victory. Without any more delay, here are some of my key takeaways from Sunday’s race. 1) Phenomenal Racing If you didn’t like what kind of racing was on display then there’s something wrong. The package complemented by lower downforce and greater tireRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer In a race, timing is everything. When you pit, how long your pit stop takes, and as Matt Kenseth’s team learned during the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the order in which a tool is placed on the car. After starting in 13th, Kenseth quickly made his way up to the front, leading early and often. During a round of green flag pit stops on lap 117, in which Kenseth pitted from the lead, NASCAR penalized Kenseth and his No.20 DollarRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – With wrecks erupting behind him, Jimmie Johnson took the checkered flag in overtime under caution in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway—and then he remembered. Almost lost in the euphoria of Johnson’s second straight victory at the 1.54-mile track was the realization that, with his 76th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, he had tied the late Dale Earnhardt for seventh on the all-time wins list. But as the No. 48 Chevrolet rolled around the track on itsRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer After a disappointing start to the season at Daytona last Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports rolled into Atlanta for the first intermediate track race of the season and showed just how strong they could be with three of their four cars bringing home top-10 finishes. Jimmie Johnson led the way for the organization, taking the lead on the final round of green flag pit stops and holding off all comers to score his fifth win at Atlanta, as well as his 76th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win,Read More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Kevin Harvick has to be scratching his head right now. Since winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway in his first attempt — the 2001 spring race — he has not been able to record a win at the 1.5-mile speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Sunday, the trend continued Sunday in heart-breaking fashion. Harvick started the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 from the sixth position, and early on he showed patience. While other drivers blast past his No. 4 Chevrolet early in the race, Harvick would sit back andRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole winner Kurt Busch seems to have adapted to the 2016 low-downforce competition without missing a beat, but the same can’t be said for Team Penske driver Joey Logano, one of the preseason favorites to win the series title this year. Logano, who garnered the Coors Light Pole Award at Atlanta Motor Speedway last year, wasn’t close to having his No. 22 Ford dialed in when the series returned to the 1.54-mile track on Friday. The six-timeRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – One of the most outspoken advocates for removing downforce from the NASCAR Sprint Cup cars, Carl Edwards expects the sanctioning body’s move in that direction with the 2016 rules package to have a profound effect in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (1 p.m. ET on FOX). The combination of low downforce and a bumpy, abrasive racing surface should be a recipe for exciting, strategic racing in the first open-motor event featuring the 2016 rules. “I thinkRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor It’s no secret that Roush Fenway Racing has struggled mightily to rejoin the conversation of being one of NASCAR’s elite teams over the last couple of years. Roush was a perennial championship contending team year-in and year-out from the 1990s until the early 2010s. However, in the last two seasons the team has struggled to keep up with the powerhouse organizations in the sport: Hendrick, Penske, Gibbs and Stewart-Haas. The organization, which has seen its marquee drivers (Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards) jump ship inRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – Kurt Busch fell just short of beating brother Kyle Busch on the track during Friday’s time trials at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch covered the 1.54-mile distance in 28.925 seconds 191.668 mph) in the money round of knockout qualifying for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (1 p.m. ET on FOX), beating his older brother by .013 seconds. But the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota failed post-qualifying inspection, and his time was disallowed. ThatRead More