NASCAR Xfinity Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway Preview

Race Preview:

The Focused Health 250 is a 251-mile, 163-lap race around the 1.5-mile Echo Park (Atlanta) Speedway. Stage cautions will be on laps 45 and 90, and the checkered flag on lap 163. The prize purse is a total of 1,651,939 dollars. The teams will have four sets of Goodyear tires for the race. These are the same tires the Xfinity Series use on all ovals greater than one mile, and they have used them at Atlanta since 2022.

The Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway

Built in 1960, Atlanta Motor Speedway has seen numerous reconfigurations across its lifespan. Its most recent repave saw the track go from 24 degrees of banking to 28 degrees. This has turned the track into a mini-superspeedway, producing pack racing and moves we used to only see at Daytona and Talladega.

Austin Hill has the most wins on the new configuration, with five wins in the seven races. Christian Eckes set a new track record in the spring race, running a 30.402-second lap.

Xfinity Series Point Standings:

Here are the points following last week’s race at Pocono:

1. Justin Allgaier: 618
2. Austin Hill: 536
3. Sam Mayer: 518
4. Jesse Love: 502
5. Connor Zilisch *: 488
6. Carson Kvapil *: 442
7. Brandon Jones: 433
8. Jeb Burton: 424
9. Sheldon Creed: 420
10. Ryan Sieg: 418

* denotes Rookie

Drivers To Watch:

Some drivers are back in the Xfinity Series for this race. Aric Almirola is back in the #19 for Joe Gibbs Racing. Katherine Legge continues her drive with Jordan Anderson Racing in the #32 Camaro.

We are all watching the two Richard Childress cars of Austin Hill and Jesse Love. These two teams have been unstoppable in Atlanta in the past. 5 of 7 wins at this track since the reconfiguration. These cars are guaranteed to be fast and race-winning contenders.

Joe Gibbs Racing has been able to spoil the RCR party in the past, with John Hunter Nemechek and Ty Gibbs winning races on the superspeedway repave. Almirola finished third in the spring, and then two races later won at Phoenix in this car. I think Almirola could steal another. I also think his teammate, Taylor Gray has the pace to stop RCR too.

The Fords are always a toss-up. Sam Mayer has speed, but just can’t seem to find that winning piece. Harrison Burton knows how to win at the drafting tracks, stealing a win at Daytona last summer in the Cup Series. Look for those guys on Friday night.

Schedule for the Xfinity Series at Atlanta:

Friday, June 27th:

• Qualifying: 
  • 3:00 PM Eastern
  • Coverage is on the CW App
• The Focused Health 250:
  • 7:30 PM Eastern
  • Coverage switches to the CW, and radio coverage is on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, provided by PRN.

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