The West Coast Swing to open the NASCAR season is over as the Cup series heads to Georgia this weekend for the NASCAR Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Last week William Byron went to victory lane for the second time this season, but once again the race itself wasn’t the biggest story.
The Hendrick cars were all penalized for an issue with hood louvers on the 5, 9, 24, and 48 cars. Denny Hamlin was also penalized after some bold comments on his seemingly never-ending feud with Ross Chastain as well.
We'll take it from here @phoenixraceway. We got next! Willy B is on a STREAK. Can he make it 3 in a row and back-to-back March wins in Atlanta?
— Atlanta Motor Speedway (@ATLMotorSpdwy) March 12, 2023
See y'all soon @NASCAR.#Ambetter400 | #RAPTOR250 | #fr8208 @AmbetterHealth | @AxaltaRacing | @fr8auctions pic.twitter.com/fPlLoBnEEC
Now drivers will take on the high banks of the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Ambetter Health 400 where we could see some unusual suspects at the front given that this track now runs closer to Daytona or Talladega as opposed to the other 1.5-mile tracks on the circuit. Let’s take a look at the entry list.
| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart Haas Racing | Ford |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 7 | Corey Lajoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Josh Berry | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | J.J. Yeley | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart Haas Racing | Ford |
| 42 | Noah Gragson | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 43 | Erik Jones | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 77 | Ty Dillon | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 78 | BJ McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford |
| 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet |
One thing to keep an eye on all weekend will be the new pit road commitment line. With it being located all the way on the back stretch entering turn 3, I wouldn’t be surprised to see pit entry issues at Atlanta.
Woah. Pitting at Atlanta will be interesting… pit road commitment line/speed line is on the apron on entry into T3. pic.twitter.com/kUi46322W6
— Anthony Alfredo (@anthonyalfredo) March 13, 2023
Superspeedway races or races that essentially become the same style of race as a superspeedway tend to be a bit unpredictable. However, the best superspeedway driver in the field today, in my opinion, is Denny Hamlin. The Virginia native is a multiple time Daytona 500 winner for a reason.
Check out the schedule below to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the action this week.
NASCAR Ambetter Health 400 Schedule & How To Watch
Friday 03/17
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying – 2:05 p.m. CT on FS1
NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying – 3:35 p.m. CT on FS1
Saturday 03/18
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – 10:35 a.m. CT on FS1
Fr8 208 (NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series) – 1:00 p.m. CT on FS1
Raptor 250 (NASCAR Xfinity Series) – 4:00 p.m. CT on FS1
Sunday 03/19
Ambetter Health 400 (NASCAR Cup Series) – 2:00 p.m. CT on FOX
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