Saturday’s Atlanta Motor Speedway action will be a doubleheader as John Hunter Nemechek and Austin Cindric respectively lead the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series fields to the green flags. The following day, Denny Hamlin will do so for the Cup Series.
Cup: JGR front row for Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 with Hamlin and Truex
Hamlin starts on the pole for the second time in 2021 after finishing third in Sunday’s Instacart 500 at Phoenix. While not an official pole, it is Hamlin’s first top-spot starting position at Atlanta since 2010, though he will hope to not repeat the events of that race as he finished last after suffering an engine failure. Instead, he aims to win at the track for just the second time in his Cup career after 2012. In 2020, he finished fifth.
Phoenix winner and Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Martin Truex Jr. will join him on the front row. While he has enjoyed much success on 1.5-mile tracks, he has yet to win at Atlanta but has finished in the top ten there in all but one start since 2010. It is also his first front-row starting spot at Atlanta since winning the pole in 2009.
Interestingly, the qualifying formula has the next two rows filled with team-mates. Team Penske drivers Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski occupy Row 2, while Hendrick Motorsports‘ Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are in the third.
In the driver change department, Joey Gase replaces Garrett Smithley in Rick Ware Racing‘s #53; it will be Gase’s second start in the car after the Daytona 500. Starting last will be Cindric in his second career Cup race. Cindric’s entry will make thirty-nine total drivers in the field after three consecutive races with thirty-eight.
Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
2 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
4 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
5 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
6 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
7 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
8 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
9 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
10 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
11 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
12 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
13 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
14 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
15 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
16 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
17 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
18 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
19 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
20 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
21 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
22 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
23 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
24 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
25 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet |
26 | 77 | Justin Haley* | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
27 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
28 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
29 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
30 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
31 | 78 | B.J. McLeod* | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford |
32 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
33 | 51 | Cody Ware* | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
34 | 15 | James Davison | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
35 | 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
36 | 53 | Joey Gase | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
37 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
38 | 66 | Timmy Hill* | MBM Motorsports | Ford |
39 | 33 | Austin Cindric* | Team Penske | Ford |
* – Ineligible for Cup points
Xfinity: Points leader and Phoenix winner Cindric on pole for EchoPark 250
While Cindric will end his Atlanta weekend by starting last, it will begin by starting first in his main series’ race. The points leader’s flying start to his season continues with his third pole and fourth front-row start in five races so far. To go with his two wins, including last Saturday in Phoenix, he is the only driver to have top-five finishes in every race to date.
Jeb Burton, who finished sixth at Phoenix, will start on the front row for the first time as a Kaulig Racing driver. Along with Cindric, Burton is the only other driver to score top tens in all five races in 2021.
Taking over for Ty Gibbs in JGR’s #54 is Truex in his first Xfinity start since 2010. He finished ninth and eleventh in his two series starts at Atlanta during his title runs in 2004 and 2005. Mason Massey, a Georgia native, will make his season début in B.J. McLeod Motorsports‘ #99 that Stefan Parsons ran at Phoenix. Cody Ware returns to the #17 that RWR fields in alliance with SS-Green Light Racing (SSGLR will field Ware’s car, a Chevrolet); J.J. Yeley drove it last week. In the MBM Motorsports camp, David Starr returns to his full-time #13 after driving the #61 at Phoenix as Loris Hezemans was in the former; Chad Finchum will pilot the #61 at Atlanta.
Ronnie Bassett Jr. (#77, Bassett Racing), Jordan Anderson (#31, Jordan Anderson Racing), and Andy Lally (#03, Our Motorsports) are the DNQs.
Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
1 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford |
2 | 10 | Jeb Burton | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
3 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
4 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet |
5 | 20 | Harrison Burton | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
6 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet |
7 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
8 | 02 | Brett Moffitt* | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet |
9 | 2 | Myatt Snider | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
10 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet |
11 | 18 | Daniel Hemric | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
12 | 26 | Santino Ferrucci | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota |
13 | 11 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
14 | 74 | Bayley Currey | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet |
15 | 44 | Tommy Joe Martins | Martins Motorsports | Chevrolet |
16 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
17 | 66 | Timmy Hill | MBM Motorsports | Toyota |
18 | 54 | Martin Truex Jr.* | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
19 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet |
20 | 4 | Landon Cassill | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet |
21 | 48 | Jade Buford | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet |
22 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet |
23 | 15 | Colby Howard | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet |
24 | 07 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet |
25 | 23 | Blaine Perkins | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet |
26 | 0 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet |
27 | 1 | Michael Annett | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet |
28 | 17 | Cody Ware | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet |
29 | 90 | Dexter Bean | DGM Racing | Chevrolet |
30 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet |
31 | 47 | Kyle Weatherman | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet |
32 | 99 | Mason Massey | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet |
33 | 52 | Gray Gaulding | Jimmy Means Racing | Chevrolet |
34 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet |
35 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford |
36 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet |
37 | 78 | Jesse Little | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Toyota |
38 | 61 | Chad Finchum | MBM Motorsports | Toyota |
39 | 5 | Matt Mills | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet |
40 | 13 | David Starr | MBM Motorsports | Ford |
* – Ineligible for Xfinity points
Truck: Nemechek joined by boss on front row for Fr8Auctions 200
While JGR Toyotas hold the front row for the Cup race, Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyotas will do so for the Truck race. Nemechek and his employer Kyle Busch respectively finished first and second during the series’ last race two weeks ago at Las Vegas, and will start Atlanta in the same positions. It is Nemechek’s first front-row start of 2021 and his first in the Truck Series since Michigan in 2018 (he had switched to a part-time Truck schedule from 2018 to 2020 as he focused on the upper series). Nemechek won the Atlanta Truck race in 2016.
Busch enters his second of five permitted Truck races. He has five wins in the series at Atlanta, most recently in 2019. Toyotas occupy the first three rows before the Chevrolets of GMS Racing team-mates Zane Smith and Sheldon Creed break it up.
Spencer Davis, another Toyota driver, will make his season début. Although the owner/driver had hoped to run the full 2021 schedule, the plans were abandoned when he failed to qualify for the opener at Daytona and would have been excluded from the grid for the next non-qualifying races as the entry list exceeded forty drivers.
Perhaps the most notable driver change is the return of Bill Lester for his first NASCAR race since 2007 as he takes over David Gilliland Racing‘s #17 from the eponymous owner/driver. Ryan Ellis enters his first national series event in two years in Reaume Brothers Racing‘s #34 that B.J. McLeod drove at Las Vegas; Ellis’s last Truck start was at Michigan in 2016 while his latest national race was 2019 Road America in the Xfinity Series. Formerly the PR representative for now-part-time Cup team Go Fas Racing, he hosts the Not Another Racing Podcast and will also run a part-time Xfinity schedule for BJMM. Ross Chastain will run his first Truck race of the year for Niece Motorsports in their #44 that Conor Daly ran in Vegas. Reaume team-mate Akinori Ogata takes over for Jesse Iwuji in his first start of the year. Codie Rohrbaugh returns to his CR7 Motorsports #9 that he let Grant Enfinger drive at Vegas, while Enfinger heads back to his normal part-time #98 ThorSport Racing ride after Christian Eckes ran it.
Like at Vegas, various drivers will once again receive from Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis, though mainly through Camping World subsidiary Overton’s this time. Creed, Ellis, Parker Kligerman, and Niece drivers Brett Moffitt, Ryan Truex, and Carson Hocevar will have Overton’s on their trucks, while Lester has Camping World.
Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
1 | 4 | John Hunter Nemechek | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota |
2 | 51 | Kyle Busch* | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota |
3 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota |
4 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota |
5 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Toyota |
6 | 16 | Austin Hill | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota |
7 | 21 | Zane Smith | GMS Racing | Chevrolet |
8 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | GMS Racing | Chevrolet |
9 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
10 | 45 | Brett Moffitt | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet |
11 | 18 | Chandler Smith | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota |
12 | 22 | Austin Wayne Self | AM Racing | Chevrolet |
13 | 13 | Johnny Sauter | ThorSport Racing | Toyota |
14 | 15 | Tanner Gray | David Gilliland Racing | Ford |
15 | 75 | Parker Kligerman | Henderson Motorsports | Chevrolet |
16 | 25 | Timothy Peters | Rackley WAR | Chevrolet |
17 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet |
18 | 02 | Kris Wright | Young’s Motorsports | Chevrolet |
19 | 98 | Grant Enfinger | ThorSport Racing | Toyota |
20 | 9 | Codie Rohrbaugh | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet |
21 | 30 | Danny Bohn | On Point Motorsports | Toyota |
22 | 12 | Tate Fogleman | Young’s Motorsports | Chevrolet |
23 | 24 | Raphael Lessard | GMS Racing | Chevrolet |
24 | 3 | Jordan Anderson* | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet |
25 | 20 | Spencer Boyd | Young’s Motorsports | Chevrolet |
26 | 23 | Chase Purdy | GMS Racing | Chevrolet |
27 | 41 | Dawson Cram | Cram Racing Enterprises | Chevrolet |
28 | 1 | Hailie Deegan | David Gilliland Racing | Ford |
29 | 19 | Derek Kraus | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Toyota |
30 | 26 | Tyler Ankrum | GMS Racing | Chevrolet |
31 | 17 | Bill Lester | David Gilliland Racing | Ford |
32 | 40 | Ryan Truex | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet |
33 | 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing | Chevrolet |
34 | 04 | Cory Roper | Roper Racing | Ford |
35 | 32 | Bret Holmes | Bret Holmes Racing | Chevrolet |
36 | 34 | Ryan Ellis | Reaume Brothers Racing | Toyota |
37 | 6 | Norm Benning | Norm Benning Racing | Chevrolet |
38 | 33 | Akinori Ogata* | Reaume Brothers Racing | Chevrolet |
39 | 11 | Spencer Davis | Spencer Davis Motorsports | Toyota |
40 | 44 | Ross Chastain* | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet |
* – Ineligible for Truck points