2018 Atlanta Motor Speedway Preview

Catch the Action
Saturday, Feb. 24 | 4:30 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 – Active Pest Control 200 benefiting Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Race 2 of 23: Atlanta
Track: 1.54-mile Quad-oval
Distance: 130 laps, 200.2 miles
Format: Three Stages (Stage 1: 40 Laps, Stage 2: 40 Laps, Final Stage 50 Laps, ending at Lap 130.)

Ford Fact – Atlanta Motor Speedway
The NCWTS goes to 20 different race tracks during their 23-race, nine-month racing season. Among those tracks, Ford-powered F-150’s have found victory lane at 15 different racing venues. Atlanta Motor Speedway, site of Saturday’s Active Pest Control 200, is one of five tracks that Ford has yet to visit victory lane in their 95 series victories. However, Ford Performance is credited with one Keystone Light Pole Award at the 1.54-mile track – Rick Crawford (March 2005). Can ThorSport Racing help Ford find their way to victory lane in the Peach State Saturday?

ThorSport Racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway
ThorSport Racing has 39 starts by 14 different drivers (Tracy Hines, Tina Gordon, Matt Crafton, Kerry Earnhardt, Willie Allen, Shelby Howard, Johnny Sauter, Justin Marks, Dakoda Armstrong, Cameron Hayley, Ben Rhodes, Rico Abreu, Grant Enfinger and Cody Coughlin) at AMS since 2004. The Sandusky, Ohio based team’s success includes 177 laps led en route to one pole (Crafton, 2016), one win (Crafton, 2015), five top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.

Team Info/Stats:
Crew Chief: Jeff Hensley
Driver Point Standings: 3rd
Owner Point Standings: 3rd
Spotter: David Pepper

News and Notes:

• This Week’s No. 98 ThorSport Racing/Curb Records Ford F-150… The No. 98 ThorSport Racing team will unload chassis No. 42 for Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Active Pest Control 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS). This is the same chassis Grant Enfinger piloted in 2017 at Chicagoland Speedway (fifth), and Las Vegas Motor Speedway (ninth).

• All About Atlanta… Enfinger has two starts at AMS (2016 & 2017). In 2016 the Champion Power Equipment driver finished fifth and most recently, Enfinger led four laps en route to an eighth-place finish. In two starts, the ThorSport Racing driver’s best start is fourth (2016).

• Jerrod Niemann – This Ride… Country music singer-songwriter, and Curb Records artist, Jerrod Niemann, will be featured on Enfinger’s “ride” at AMS Saturday. Niemann, who is known for his hits, “Drink To That All Night,” and “Lover, Lover,” will perform a free concert in the AMS Fan Zone at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, leading into the Active Pest Control 200 at 4:30 p.m. ET.

• Catch Grant at Atlanta… Enfinger will join his fellow ThorSport Racing teammates for the NCWTS autograph session, in the AMS Kids Zone (Midway) from 9-9:45 a.m. ET Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018.

Chatting with Grant Enfinger…

You’ve had two solid finishes at Atlanta Motor Speedway. What are the keys to getting around the 1.54-mile track?

“I don’t have all the answers to getting around Atlanta, but I’ve run there twice, and I enjoy the challenges of adjusting to the track from a tire-wear standpoint throughout a run. You aren’t going to have a perfect truck for an entire run, so it’s about managing what you have better than the competition. Matt (Crafton) is one of the best there, so I’ve got a good teammate to lean on.”

Atlanta Motor Speedway hasn’t been paved since it was made a quad-oval in 1997. Do you think the tracks age is a good thing or a bad thing? Should they repave?

“The track having an old surface is definitely a good thing. For the most part, newly paved tracks don’t provide good side-by-side racing until they have been weathered for a few years. I think all tracks should wait as long as possible before they repave, so they can provide good side-by-side racing for the fans, and a surface the drivers and crews have to constantly be adapting to.”

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cards, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles an Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 203,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit corporate.ford.com.

About ThorSport Racing
Entering its 23rd season of competition, ThorSport Racing, based in Sandusky, Ohio, is the longest-tenured NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team, competing in the series since 1996. With 1,017 starts to its credit, the team has amassed three driver championships, 26 wins, 199 top-five and 420 top-10 finishes, 22 pole awards and 4,121 laps led in NCWTS and the ARCA Racing Series.