The top three series in NASCAR stay in the Southeastern United States as they made their way slightly north from Daytona to Atlanta. A rookie dominated the Xfinity Series race but came up short when the race went to overtime. Meanwhile, the winningest driver in Craftsman Truck Series history found the lead late and held on to win another truck series race. Let’s recap the Saturday NASCAR action at Atlanta.
RAPTOR King of Tough 250 – Xfinity Series
Jesse Love looked to be cruising to victory for Richard Childress Racing. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender started on the pole and dominated the early portions of the race. Love swept the first two stages leading 157 of the 169 laps on the day. The rookie had the lead entering the overtime laps but ran out of fuel.
Love’s misfortune wound up being his teammate’s gain. Austin Hill managed to save enough fuel that he could drive full throttle during overtime. Hill took the lead and held off a hard-charging Chandler Smith to record his second win of the season and eighth of his career. He’s the first driver since Tony Stewart in 2008 to win the first two races of the NASCAR Xfinity season. It’s also Hill’s third win in the last four Atlanta races.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Atlanta Top 10
- Austin Hill
- Chandler Smith
- Shane Van Giesbergen
- Sheldon Creed
- Parker Retzlaff
- Jeremy Clements
- Anthony Alfredo
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Ryan Truex
- Sammy Smith
NASCAR Xfinity Series Standings
- Austin Hill
- Sheldon Creed
- Riley Herbst
- Chandler Smith
- Jesse Love
- Parker Retzlaff
- Ryan Truex
- AJ Allmendinger
- Shane Van Giesbergen
- Sammy Smith
FR8 208 – Craftsman Truck Series
Earlier in the day, Kyle Busch proved he’s still good behind the wheel even if he doesn’t own his own truck series team anymore. In the offseason, Busch sold his team to Spire Motorsports. The winningest driver in Craftsman Truck Series history found victory lane in his first race for his new team. Busch took the lead when Grant Enfinger was forced to pit on lap 129 of the 135-lap race. From there, he held off Ty Majeski and Corey Heim for the final five laps to secure the win. It was his 65th win in the Craftsman Truck Series.
The race has big implications for the championship. Because NASCAR only allows drivers to compete for the championship in one series, and Busch is a Monster Energy Cup Series regular, he is not one of the Championship competitors. Enfinger’s late race struggles, and Majeski’s and Heim’s inabilities to pass Busch cost them guaranteed spots in the Truck Series playoffs. Still, it’s a long season, and I expect all three of those names to compete for the title.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Atlanta Top 10
- Kyle Busch
- Ty Majeski
- Corey Heim
- Taylor Gray
- Nick Sanchez
- Kaden Honeycutt
- Tyler Ankrum
- Rajah Carruth
- Daniel Dye
- Dean Thompson
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Standings
- Tyler Ankrum
- Ty Majeski
- Nick Sanchez
- Corey Heim
- Rajah Carruth
- Bret Holmes
- Matt Crafton
- Taylor Gray
- Christian Eckes
- Daniel Dye
Next Up For NASCAR
The Monster Energy Cup Series drivers take the track at Atlanta Sunday. William Byron looks to match Austin Hill by winning the first two races of the season. Meanwhile, the other drivers look for their first wins of the season and to join Byron in the Cup Series playoffs.
All three series will leave Atlanta and head west to Las Vegas for their third race of the season. The weekend kicks off with the trucks on Friday night, followed by Xfinity on Saturday and the Cup Series on Sunday.
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