NASCAR at Atlanta Motor Speedway 2017: Start time, lineup, TV schedule, more
It’s NASCAR race day at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and we've got everything you need to know to get ready for Sunday's Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.
START TIME: TV host and Atlanta native Ty Pennington, who can currently be seen on The Food Network's American Diner Revival, will instruct drivers to start their engines at 2:37 p.m. ET today, followed by the green flag at 2:46 p.m. So if you want to skip the pre-race show and just tune in for the race, turn on your TV by 2:46 p.m.
RACE DISTANCE: The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 is 325 laps around the 1.5-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway for a total of 500 miles.
SEGMENTS: Beginning this season, NASCAR is dividing every race into segments and awarding one bonus point to the winner of each stage. Segment lengths will be different for every race. Also, the top 10 finishers of segments 1 and 2 will be awarded regular-season points in descending order from 10 to 1. Here are the segments for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500: Stage 1: 85 laps; Stage 2: 85 laps; Stage 3: 155 laps.
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NATIONAL ANTHEM/FLYOVER: Atlanta rock band Ed Roland and the Sweet Tea Project will sing the national anthem prior to today's race. F-22s from the Tyndall Air Force Base located near Panama City, Fla., will perform a flyover.
TV/RADIO SCHEDULE: FOX will broadcast the race on TV and has a pre-race show beginning at 2 p.m. ET. The Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius/XM Radio will call the race on the radio.
LIVE STREAMING: FOX is offering a live stream through its FOX Sports Go app.
WEATHER: Mostly cloudy but pleasant. The Weather Channel is calling for a high of 66, mild winds and no chance of rain.
LAST TIME: Jimmie Johnson won at Atlanta for the second consecutive season and made it three in a row for Hendrick Motorsports after Kasey Kahne won in 2015. Johnson led the final 45 laps, winning in overtime ahead of teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. and tying Dale Earnhardt Sr. with his 76th career victory. It marked the first of five 2016 victories for Johnson en route to his record-tying seventh Cup Series championship.
STARTING LINEUP: Kevin Harvick took the pole, turning a lap of 190.398 mph in the third round of qualifying on Friday. Harvick has led more laps than anyone at each of the last three Atlanta races — a total of 442 laps in all — but he failed to win any of them. Ryan Newman, seeking his first win since the 2013 Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis, will start on the outside of the front row.
Here is the starting lineup for Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (car number in parentheses):
1. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford
2. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet
3. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota
4. (17) Ricky Stehnouse Jr., Ford
5. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford
6. (22) Joey Logano, Ford
7. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet
8. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
9. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota
10. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
11. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
12. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet
13. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford
14. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford
15. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford
16. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota
17. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet
18. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
19. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
20. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet
21. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota
22. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford
23. (77) Erik Jones, Toyota
24. (10) Danica Patrick, Ford
25. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford
26. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
27. (34) Landon Cassill, Ford
28. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet
29. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet
30. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford
31. (23) Gray Gaulding, Toyota
32. (83) Corey LaJoie, Toyota
33. (15) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet
34. (38) David Ragan, Ford
35. (33) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet
36. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet
37. (72) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet
38. (55) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet
39. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet
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