2019 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

The **2019 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500** was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on February 24, 2019, 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 second race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

## Report

### Background

**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 frontstretch and backstretch 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.

## First practice

Clint Bowyer was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 30.774 seconds and a speed of 180.152 mph (289.927 km/h).

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## Qualifying

Aric Almirola scored the pole for the race with a time of 30.550 and a speed of 181.473 mph (292.052 km/h).

## Final practice

Clint Bowyer was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 30.954 seconds and a speed of 179.104 mph (288.240 km/h).

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## Race

### Stage 1

Aric Almirola started the race from the pole and had no problem pacing the field early while the rest of the pack maneuvered its way through. Kyle Busch started the race from the rear in a backup car but had no problems moving his way into contention as the leaders held firm.

Almirola led 35 of the first 36 laps before NASCAR waved a scheduled competition caution to allow crews to make adjustments due to rain on the track the night before. The No. 10 however was slow on exit from pit road, allowing Larson to restart from the lead. Larson had no problem doing what Almirola did on the first go around, leading in clean air.

Kevin Harvick a two-time winner at Atlanta, finished second in the stage in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, as Almirola dropped to third in his No. 10 SHR Ford.

Kyle Busch, who started at the rear of the field after going to a backup car following a crash in practice Saturday, was 12th in the stage after rising as high as fifth.

### Stage 2

Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick battle it out
Harvick won the race off pit road between stages, while Almirola was penalized for speeding and had to restart from the rear. Joey Logano and Alex Bowman got tangled up exiting their stalls and lost considerable track position as well.

The No. 4 held serve despite a four-wide challenge on the restart. Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson then began battling for second, with Larson eventually claiming the position. Harvick led 22 laps before getting loose and surrendering the lead back to Larson, who was gaining seconds each lap.

### Final Stage

Brad Keselowski comes out on top
Kevin Harvick won the race off pit road between stages and led the field to green to start the Final Stage. However it was Larson who controlled the restart -- another four-wide, exciting one -- and took the lead ahead of Kyle Busch and Truex with Harvick in fourth.

As Kyle Larson paced the field handily, Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin got green flag pit cycles going on lap 220. Luckily for the No. 11 and unfortunately for teammate Kyle Busch, who rubbed the wall, got a flat tire and brought the caution out shortly after Denny Hamlin's stop. This allowed Hamlin to take the wave around and get back onto the lead lap.

Joey Logano took control of the lead ahead of teammate Brad Keselowski as the race entered its final 40 laps. After reports of a loose wheel from Logano, the No. 2 took over the lead. Shortly after surrendering the lead, Logano brought his No. 22 down pit road to take care of that loose wheel and eliminated himself from contention for the win.
Daniel Hemric, who was running inside the top 10, followed Logano down pit road a few laps later with reports of a tire going down. The rookie was making a run for his first career win in just his second Cup Series start in the No. 8 car.

As it came down to the wire, Brad Keselowski was tailed by Martin Truex Jr., but he was able to hold off the No. 19 coming to the checkered flag and won the race by a small margin.

### Stage Results

**Stage One**

 File:Kyle larson (47223207921).jpg
*Laps:* 85

**Stage Two**

 File:Kevin harvick (47223208601).jpg
*Laps:* 85

### Final Stage Results

 File:Brad keselowski (40258230863).jpg
**Stage Three**
*Laps:* 155

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 26 among 9 different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 5 for 30
* Red flags: 0
* Time of race: 3 hours, 30 minutes and 33 seconds
* Average speed: 142.626 miles per hour (229.534 km/h)

## Media

### Television

The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 was carried by Fox in the United States. Mike Joy, five-time Atlanta winner Jeff Gordon and three-time Atlanta winner Darrell Waltrip covered the race from the booth. Pit road was manned by Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum.

### Radio

The 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 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 & 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, Brett McMillan, Wendy Venturini and Doug Turnbull.

 **Lead announcer:** Doug Rice**Announcer:** Mark Garrow | **Turns 1 & 2:** Rob Albright**Turns 3 & 4:** Pat Patterson | Brad GillieBrett McMillanWendy VenturiniDoug Turnbull

## References

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