The 2022 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 20, 2022 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Contested over 325 laps on the 1.54-mile-long (2.48 km) asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway, it was the fifth race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. It was the first race at Atlanta to use superspeedway rules (in line with the traditional restrictor plate tracks with a reduced horsepower package and track limits rules), with the new reconfiguration increasing the banking from 24 degrees to 28 degrees and new pavement.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 5 of 36 in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | March 20, 2022 | ||
| Location | Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.54 mi (2.48 km) | ||
| Distance | 325 laps, 500.5 mi (806 km) | ||
| Average speed | 126.584 miles per hour (203.717 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Stewart-Haas Racing | ||
| Time | 2.850 Score (Pandemic formula) | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 111 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Jeff Gordon | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 2.36, 4.003 Million Viewers | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Doug Rice and Mark Garrow | ||
| Turn Announcers | Rob Albright (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4) | ||
Report
editBackground
edit
Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a track in Hampton, Georgia, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It is a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) quad-oval track with a seating capacity of 111,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two 1.5-mile (2.4 km) ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The front stretch and back stretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval. The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
edit
Friday's practice session was canceled due to inclement weather. Practice replaced qualifying Saturday.[8] Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 29.708 seconds and a speed of 186.616 mph (300.329 km/h).[9]
Practice results
edit| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 29.708 | 186.616 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.744 | 186.391 |
| 3 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.755 | 186.322 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was cancelled because of a need to add additional practice to the reconfigured circuit. Chase Briscoe was awarded the pole for the race as a result of the pandemic formula with a score of 2.850.[10]
Starting Lineup
editRace
editStage Results
edit
Stage One Laps: 105
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 43 | Erik Jones | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 45 | Kurt Busch | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 2 | Austin Cindric (R) | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 105
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage Results
edit
Stage Three Laps: 115
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 325 | 52 |
| 2 | 7 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 325 | 36 |
| 3 | 9 | 45 | Kurt Busch | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 325 | 39 |
| 4 | 13 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 325 | 46 |
| 5 | 33 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 325 | 32 |
| 6 | 6 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 325 | 40 |
| 7 | 14 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 325 | 30 |
| 8 | 26 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 325 | 33 |
| 9 | 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 325 | 28 |
| 10 | 11 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 325 | 31 |
| 11 | 22 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 325 | 26 |
| 12 | 24 | 6 | Brad Keselowski[a] | RFK Racing | Ford | 325 | -69 |
| 13 | 19 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 325 | 27 |
| 14 | 23 | 43 | Erik Jones | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 325 | 29 |
| 15 | 1 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 325 | 30 |
| 16 | 36 | 77 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 325 | 0 |
| 17 | 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 325 | 30 |
| 18 | 35 | 15 | David Ragan | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 325 | 19 |
| 19 | 34 | 78 | B. J. McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 325 | 18 |
| 20 | 37 | 44 | Greg Biffle | NY Racing Team | Chevrolet | 325 | 17 |
| 21 | 8 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 325 | 16 |
| 22 | 10 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 325 | 22 |
| 23 | 27 | 20 | Christopher Bell [b] | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 325 | 14 |
| 24 | 29 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 321 | 13 |
| 25 | 31 | 21 | Harrison Burton (R) | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 321 | 12 |
| 26 | 32 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 300 | 11 |
| 27 | 25 | 38 | Todd Gilliland (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 297 | 10 |
| 28 | 5 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 245 | 11 |
| 29 | 15 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 212 | 17 |
| 30 | 21 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 212 | 10 |
| 31 | 28 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 13 |
| 32 | 16 | 2 | Austin Cindric (R) | Team Penske | Ford | 200 | 6 |
| 33 | 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 171 | 4 |
| 34 | 20 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 150 | 3 |
| 35 | 17 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 101 | 2 |
| 36 | 18 | 42 | Ty Dillon | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 101 | 1 |
| 37 | 30 | 16 | Noah Gragson (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 23 | 0 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
edit- Lead changes: 46 among 20 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 11 for 65
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 3 hours, 57 minutes and 14 seconds
- Average speed: 126.584 miles per hour (203.717 km/h)
Post-race
editBrad Keselowski, who finished 12th, was penalized 100 playoff points when an illegally modified body part was found on his car during a post-race inspection. In addition, Matt McCall, his crew chief, was fined $100,000 and suspended for the next four races. The penalty dropped Keselowski from 6th in the point standings to 35th.[11]
Media
editTelevision
editThe Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 was carried by Fox in the United States. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and five-time Atlanta winner Jeff Gordon called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled pit road for the television side, and Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.
| Fox | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | In-race analyst |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer |
Jamie Little Regan Smith |
Larry McReynolds |
Radio
editThe race was broadcast on radio by the Performance Racing Network and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race from the booth when the field raced down the front stretch. Rob Albright called the race from atop a billboard outside of turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2, and Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. On pit road, PRN was manned by Brad Gillie, Doug Turnbull, and Wendy Venturini.
| PRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Mark Garrow |
Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson |
Brad Gillie Doug Turnbull Wendy Venturini |
Standings after the race
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Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ "2022 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
- ^ "Atlanta Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
- ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 14, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
- ^ "Starting Lineup". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. March 18, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ "Practice Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ "Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ "NASCAR cancels Friday practices at Atlanta due to weather". NASCAR.com. Hampton, Georgia: NASCAR. March 18, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ Utter, Jim (March 19, 2022). "Stenhouse leads action-packed practice at Atlanta". Motorsport.com. Hampton, Georgia: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ Utter, Jim (March 18, 2022). "Rain reshuffles Atlanta NASCAR weekend schedule". Motorsport.com. Hampton, Georgia: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ a b "Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing receive L2 penalty for Atlanta part modification". 25 March 2022.
