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Beginning Of NASCAR Cup Series And Supermotocross Playoffs Headline NBC Sports’ Big Motorsports Weekend Across NBC, Peacock, USA Network, And CNBC

by MikeSeptember 6, 2024

Live Pre-Race Coverage of First NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Race from Atlanta Motor Speedway Begins Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network

NBC Sports Goes “NASCAR Nonstop” for Quaker State 400 available at Walmart at Atlanta on USA Network, Providing Live Coverage of Every Green Flag Lap

Live Coverage of Round 1 of 2024 SuperMotocross Playoffs Starts Saturday, at 2:30 p.m. ET on Peacock from zMAX Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 5, 2024 – NBC Sports’ motorsports coverage this weekend is headlined by the first race in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Round of 16 playoffs on Sunday on USA Network from Atlanta Motor Speedway and the first round of the SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs on Saturday on Peacock from zMAX Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

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Christopher Bell – No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE Preview – Atlanta Motor Speedway

by MikeSeptember 5, 2024

BELL AT ATLANTA: Christopher Bell has one top-five and two top-10 finishes in his previous eight starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS). In the spring race this year Bell suffered damage from an incident early in the race, resulting in a 34^th-place finish. Bell’s best finish of third came in the spring of 2023 at the 1.54-mile track.

BACK ON THE BOX: Crew chief Adam Stevens will return to the track this Sunday at Atlanta.

STEVENS PLAYOFF HISTORY: Adam Stevens has guided his teams to playoff berths in each of his 10 seasons as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief. The 2015 and 2019 championship-winning crew chief also holds the record for most Championship 4 appearances by a crew chief with seven, including the past two years with Christopher Bell. (more…)

Ryan Truex / No. 20 Gazoo Racing Toyota GR Supra Preview – Focused Health 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

by MikeSeptember 5, 2024

TRUEX AT ATLANTA: Ryan Truex and the No. 20 Gazoo Racing Toyota GR Supra crew head to Atlanta this weekend for the Focused Health 250, fresh off back-to-back wins for the No. 20 car at Daytona and Darlington. Truex has five starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, including three on the new configuration. In five starts at the track, Truex has two top-fives, four top-10s, eight laps led, and an impressive finish of 7.0. Truex has a best finish of third which he has earned twice in 2022 and 2023. Since joining JGR and running on the track’s new configuration, Truex’s worst finish at Atlanta is ninth which came earlier this year when he ran out of fuel coming to the checkered flag.

LAST TIME OUT: Truex’s last start at Daytona turned into a career highlight as he scored his third career Xfinity Series win, and his second win in just eight starts this season. Truex ran up front for most of the night as he started sixth and earned sixth and third place finishes in the first two stages, respectively. Truex led 28 laps en route to his victory, which included the final eight laps to secure the sixth win on the year for Tyler Allen and the No. 20 Toyota GR Supra crew. (more…)

Grandview Speedway Hosts Triple Division NASCAR Program This Saturday Night, Freedom 76 Weekend September 20-21

by MikeSeptember 5, 2024

TRIPLE DIVISION PROGRAM WITH MODIFIED & SPORTSMAN PLUS VINTAGE THIS SATURDAY AT GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY

FREEDOM 76 MODIFIED CHAMPIONSHIP SEPTEMBER 21, FREEDOM 38 SPORTSMAN CHAMPIONSHIP SEPTEMBER 20

TWO WEEKS LEFT IN TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP CHASE – MODIFIED & SPORTSMAN TITLES STILL UNDECIDED

BECHTELSVILLE, PA. – The 62^nd anniversary season of racing action at Grandview Speedway heads into the month of September with a three division race card slated for this weekend. (more…)

Sheldon Creed / No. 18 CW Sports Toyota GR Supra Preview – Focused Health 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

by MikeSeptember 5, 2024

CREED AT ATLANTA: Sheldon Creed takes his summer hot streak and his CW Sports Toyota GR Supra to Atlanta this weekend for the Focused Health 250. In five starts at the track, Creed has scored one top-five, two top-10s, 55 laps led, and an average finish of 16.2. In his last start at the track earlier this season, Creed scored his best finish at Atlanta, which was a fourth-place performance.

DARLINGTON RECAP: Creed showcased one of the greatest Xfinity Series performances as well as perhaps the worst heartbreak of his career last week at Darlington. After starting second, Creed ran in the top-five for the entire day, proving to be the class of the field along with teammate Christopher Bell. After a fifth-place finish in stage one, Creed came back to score his first stage win of the year in stage two. In the final stage, Creed chased down Bell from four seconds behind to take the lead with eight laps to go before a late-race caution sent the race in overtime. Creed lost the lead on the last minute round of pit stops and could not overcome the setback in overtime, leaving him to finish third despite leading 30 laps on the day. (more…)

Atlanta Motor Speedway to Jump Start 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs

by MikeSeptember 5, 2024

Last time the NASCAR Cup Series came to Atlanta Motor Speedway, it set the closest top-three finish in series history with Daniel Suarez scantly beating Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch to the line in a photo-finish for the ages.

Now, with all the mounting pressures of the Playoffs, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the 1.54-mile track to break-open the postseason with some high-speed, close drafting action in this Sunday’s Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart (3 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – the first race of the 2024 Playoffs.

Atlanta Motor Speedway is the fifth different track to host the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. New Hampshire Motor Speedway hosted the first race of the Playoffs from 2004–2010, then Chicagoland Speedway held the first race of the Playoffs from 2011–2017, followed by Las Vegas Motor Speedway from 2018-2019 and then Darlington Raceway from 2020-2023. Prior to the 2024 season, Atlanta Motor Speedway has hosted five other Playoff races – the first event of the Playoffs’ Round of 8 (Race No. 33 of 36) from 2004-2008.

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NASCAR Xfinity Series Sets Its Eyes on Atlanta Motor Speedway

by MikeSeptember 5, 2024

After dancing with the Lady in Black last weekend, the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to its second drafting track race in three weeks at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Focused Health 250 on Saturday, September 7 at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, the NBC Sports App, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

The 1.54-mile track will be hosting its sixth race since its reconfiguration in 2022. Since then, Atlanta has produced five different pole winners but just three different race winners, none of which came from the first starting position.

Superspeedway ace Austin Hill has won half of the Xfinity races at Atlanta over the last three seasons, capturing the checkered flag at least once in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

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‘The Last Great Colosseum’ Up Next in the Round of 10 for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

by MikeSeptember 5, 2024September 5, 2024

For the second time this season, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series will return to Bristol Motor Speedway. The competitors will get four weeks off to prepare and go over strategy for the UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics (Thursday, September 19 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM Radio).

In total, this will be the sixth time Bristol has hosted a CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff Race (2019-2024). This season marks the second time that Thunder Valley will host an event in the Round of 10. Previously, the half-mile track in the mountains served as the elimination race in 2021.

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Chandler Smith – No. 81 Wheelers Toyota GR Supra Preview – Focused Health 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

by MikeSeptember 5, 2024

SMITH AT ATLANTA: Georgia-native Chandler Smith will return to his home track this weekend as the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) races at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS). Smith has one top-five finish in three starts at AMS, which came earlier this year when he finished in second.

DARLINGTON RECAP: Smith started the latest NXS race at Darlington Raceway in fifth and struggled with handling for most of the race. The No. 81 earned an eighth-place finish.

ON THE PITBOX: Crew Chief of the No. 81, Jeff Meendering has visited Victory Lane 10 times as a NXS crew chief, most recently with Smith at Richmond in March 2024. His teams have collected 67 top-five finishes, 138 top-10 finishes, and 14 pole positions under his leadership. (more…)

Taylor Gray – No. 19 Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra Preview – Focused Health 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

by MikeSeptember 5, 2024

GRAY AT ATLANTA: Taylor Gray started 19th and finished fourth in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier this year. That race was his only experience at the 1.54-mile track so far.

GRAY XFINITY SEASON: Gray has claimed a pair of top-five finishes and three top-10s in nine NASCAR Xfinity Series starts this season. He made an incredible first impression with a third-place finish in his debut at Richmond Raceway in March. More recently, Gray posted top-five qualifying efforts in his last two starts at Pocono Raceway and Michigan International Speedway on the way to back-to-back top-10 finishes. (more…)