This weekend, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series will take on the 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway, which has been a drafting track since a 2022 repave. The lower series of NASCAR will partake in a doubleheader event, a speedway staple since 2015, giving fans more bang for their buck by providing a day of action with one ticket. How can you beat two races for the price of one?
Fr8 208 Analysis
The racing begins at 1:30 PM EST, with the tough trucks of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series attempting to conquer the High Banks of Hampton in a 135-lap battle. This will be the second of three drafting races for the season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and second in a row, and Marietta, Georgia’s very own Corey Heim hopes to capture his second victory at his home track. Heim was declared the winner when Parker Kligerman was disqualified during inspection after last weekend’s Fresh From Florida 250, so Heim will have an opportunity to start the season winning two-in-a-row.
Also entered in Saturday’s race is defending race winner, Kyle Busch, who’ll pilot Spire Motorsports’ #7 Chevrolet entry on Saturday afternoon. Busch will also be accompanied by fellow Cup Series regular, Michael McDowell, in Spire’s #07 Chevrolet. Expect Spire Motorsports to be strong at Atlanta, as Rajah Caruth finished 8th in last year’s Fr8 208, piloting his #71 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet. Rookie Andrés Pérez de Lara, who’s the defending ARCA Menards Series Champion, is still finding his grove in the Craftsman Truck Series, so expect him to improve on his 14th-place finish from last weekend, if he can stay out of trouble and follow along his teammates.
Looking to bounce back from last weekend is Niece Motorsports driver, Kaden Honeycutt, who was caught up in an early accident last weekend ay Daytona and finished 6th in last year’s Fr8 208. Honeycutt is due for a win and if he can stay out of trouble this weekend, expect the Niece Motorsports driver to challenge for his first-career NCTS victory. Keep an eye out for Ty Majeski, who finished runner-up in this race last year and is -3 in the points standings, and so is Talking Rock, Georgia native Chandler Smith, who had a strong race at his home track in 2022. Smith finished 4th in his last NCTS truck start on the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway and finished 6th last week at Daytona, after having a strong run in his #38 Ford F-150.
Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 Analysis
To cap off an already-exciting day of racing, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will have their turn at the fast mile-and-a-half at 5PM EST, immediately following the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race with a 163-lap race, going into the sunset. This race is often dominated by Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, who grew up racing on the Quarter-Mile track on the Start/Finish Line in Legend Cars. RCR always brings fast cars to drafting tracks and it’s almost a given that he or teammate, Jesse Love will start and finish up front, with Love winning this past weekend’s United Rentals 300 at Daytona, after Hill’s race ended prematurely due to a mechanical issue. It’s a given that RCR will be the team to beat, if last week was any indication of how strong they’ll be on Saturday evening.
One of the guys that we should look out for is Alpha Prime Racing driver, Parker Retzlaff, whose car is an RCR affiliated entry. His #4 Suave Chevrolet will have speed during once he’s in the draft, and with Retzlaff having strong runs throughout his NASCAR Xfinity Series career and after finishing seventh in his NASCAR Cup Series debut last summer at Daytona, Retzlaff is going to surprise a lot of people, if he can run up front and contend for a top-5 and maybe even a win.
Tucker, Georgia native, Ryan Sieg will have a fast #39 Ford Mustang on Saturday as well, with Sieg hoping to try his luck at a win, after coming close so many times throughout his career. Since RSS Racing is one of the few Ford teams on the NASCAR Xfinity Series grid, their factory support will ensure this car is a force to be reckoned with and they have a wheelman as a driver.
Both the Fr8 208 and Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250 can be caught on TV tomorrow, ensuring a full day of racing action. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race will be on FS1 tomorrow at 1:30 PM EST, with the NASCAR Xfinity Series race coming on the CW at 5:00 PM EST. You won’t want to miss some of the best racing on the planet and Atlanta Motor Speedway has quickly become a fan favorite, catch all the action if you’re free this Saturday!
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