NASCAR at Atlanta 2018: Start Time, Ticket Info, Lineup, TV Schedule and More
After a successful stop in Florida for the Daytona 500, the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for Sunday's Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.
Thanks to his checkered flag at the Daytona 500, Austin Dillon already has the rest of the field thinking about an automatic playoff bid. While only the second race of the season, Atlanta presents an opportunity for a driver to get hot as the rest of the field remains in a feeling-out period.
Then again, last year saw an eyebrow-raising number of automatic bids earned as the field tried to work with rules changes and the new stage-based format. It will be interesting to see how drivers keep adapting in the early goings of this year, starting with Atlanta.
Here's a look at everything to know about Sunday's event.
Viewing Details
Where: Atlanta Motor Speedway
When: Sunday, 2 p.m. ET
Watch: Fox
Tickets: StubHub
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500
(18) Kyle Busch
(31) Ryan Newman
(4) Kevin Harvick
(19) Daniel Suarez
(2) Brad Keselowski
(17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
(41) Kurt Busch
(42) Kyle Larson
(14) Clint Bowyer
(20) Erik Jones
(10) Aric Almirola
(11) Denny Hamlin
(1) Jamie McMurray
(95) Kasey Kahne
(21) Paul Menard
(22) Joey Logano
(34) Michael McDowell
(88) Alex Bowman
(43) Darrell Wallace Jr.
(6) Trevor Bayne
(47) AJ Allmendinger
(48) Jimmie Johnson
(24) William Byron
(37) Chris Buescher
(3) Austin Dillon
(12) Ryan Blaney
(9) Chase Elliott
(13) Ty Dillon
(38) David Ragan
(32) Matt DiBenedetto
(23) Gray Gaulding
(72) Cole Whitt
(00) Jeffrey Earnhardt
(15) Ross Chastain
(78) Martin Truex Jr.
(51) Harrison Rhodes
2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Standings
| 1. Austin Dillon (1) | 47 |
| 2. Ryan Blaney | 58 |
| 3. Joey Logano | 50 |
| 4. Darrell Wallace Jr. | 47 |
| 5. Paul Menard | 46 |
| 6. Michael McDowell | 39 |
| 7. Denny Hamlin | 37 |
| 8. Ryan Newman | 34 |
| 9. Aric Almirola | 33 |
| 10. Chris Buescher | 33 |
| 11. Trevor Bayne | 31 |
| 12. Martin Truex Jr. | 30 |
| 13. Clint Bowyer | 29 |
| 14. Alex Bowman | 29 |
| 15. AJ Allmendinger | 28 |
| 16. Kurt Busch | 27 |
Drivers to Watch
Brad Keselowski
To say Brad Keselowski didn't have a great time at the Daytona 500 would register as an understatement.
The Penske Racing driver of the No. 2 Ford had to start 31st and wound up 32nd, earning five points in the process.
The culprit? A wicked crash that also ended Danica Patrick and Chase Elliott's days, as well as Keselowski's, with only 96 laps to go.
Yet here comes Keselowski in Atlanta, at an event he won a year ago and at a track he, albeit humorously, seems to know well and enjoy, as Matt Weaver of Auto Week captured:
Now would also be a good time to mention Keselowski finished last year's Daytona 500 27th before going on to win in Atlanta. He only posted one more win the entire year over what was a solid season overall, so look for him to be aggressive once again in pulling off the same turnaround feat.
Ryan Blaney
Above, one might notice Ryan Blaney holds the most points in the series.
Call Blaney the opposite of Keselowski, as he started strong out of the third slot and went on to lead 118 laps before a late crash saw him finish seventh.
NASCAR is NASCAR, as the late wreck ruined a dominant run by one of the sport's next generation of stars. Youth aside, he took the disappointment in stride.
"You can have the best car in the world and not win the race," Blaney said, according to Jessica Ruffin of NASCAR's official site. "I thought we had a good car today but you just try to figure out what you can do better for next time and it’s a shame it didn’t work out for us, but you try to live and learn and live and move on."
Blaney also won the first Can-Am Duel before the big race itself, so he's clearly one of the hottest drivers in the field, something that shouldn't change much going into Sunday because of an unfortunate hiccup.
After taking a checkered flag once a year ago and clearly running better than most so far, Blaney's pushing for an early-season win wouldn't come as a surprise.
Austin Dillon
We wouldn't get far without talking about the Daytona 500 winner and the most talked-about driver in NASCAR, Austin Dillon.
Dillon only lead one lap at Daytona after starting 14th, but it was the critical one before he made his way to Victory Lane.
Let Dillon tell it, though, and he has his mind on much bigger things—like becoming the first to win a title at the Camping World Truck Series, Xfinity Series and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
"That is my goal—to be the first to win all three," Dillon said, according to USA Today's Mike Hembree. "I feel like that would be a heck of an accomplishment. I have thought about it a lot this week. After you win a huge race like that, what is next? In my eyes, that is the next goal."
Easier said than done, obviously, considering Dillon's lone win over four years as a full-time driver was back in 2017.
But after stealing one at arguably the most important race of the season, Dillon can sit back and focus on his goal while potentially turning the momentum gained at Daytona into quite the season-long performance.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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