Keep up with this weekend's Folds Of Honor/Quick Trip 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway.

 

 

SUNDAY - JOHNSON COMES FROM BACK OF THE PACK TO WIN IT ALL

Jimmie Hendrick celebrates his 71st Sprint Cup Series vicotry, his 4th at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and his first in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Johnson is now the second driver to claim a spot in the Chase for the Championship. (Credit: Rich Iceland)With 13 of 325 laps remaining, Jimmie Johnson wasted no time pulling away from the rest of the field to collect his 71st career win, and make the Chase by winning the 56th Annual Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Kevin Harvick finished second followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth. Martin Truex Jr., AJ Allmendinger, Brett Moffitt, Brad Keselowski an Ryan Newman rounded out the top 10. Truex Jr., put the Furniture Row Racing team fifth in the point standings, there best position in the 10 year history of the team out of Denver, Colorado.

“This thing was just bat fast,” Johnson stated from Victory Lane.

Johnson's final challenge occurred over the final 13 laps, which still failed to heat up his crew chief.

“There was no sweating, I could tell you that,” stated Chad Knauss, referring to the weather conditions. “I was freezing today. 
“I was nervous, for sure. Dale (Jr.) had a super fast car. He was obviously very aggressive on the restarts. He had his plan before the green flag ever flew of what he was going to do.  You could see that materializing before we got to the start/finish line. 

“I had concerns, but, man, getting down through three and four, Jimmie just rocketed through three and four. Once we got the lead, I felt like as long as it stayed green, we'd be able to maintain it. 

“But, man, you never know. 

Johnson was as confident as his crew chief.

“I felt like if I got clean air, I was going to be in good shape. When Junior was able to get to my outside, I didn't know what was going to happen down the backstretch,” said Johnson. “I felt like I could run out through three and four.  I tried it and made it. It definitely took a big commitment throttlewise to get that done.”

“Jimmie ran great today.,” proclaimed Kevin Harvick. “It was a lot of fun racing with him. All in all a great day.”

Despite his second place finish Harvick was accepting of his second place finish. The records show he started second, but in reality the #4 Jimmy John's/Budweiser Chevrolet started outside the top 33 after losing an engine in Saturday's practice.

“It was a lot of fun, to be honest with you,” said Harvick. “As a driver, you look at this place that you have options. You know you can pass people. There's a lot of places you go to you're going to get stuck, you're going to have the aero push, have a harder time with it than you will here.

“It was a lot of fun coming up through there. Jimmie was right up in front of me coming up through the pack. We made it to 13th or 14th on the first run in about 20 laps.

Wrecker tows Jeff Gordon's #24 3M Chevrolet to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage following an accident on the backstretch on lap 252. Gordon has now been involved in a wreck in both of the races startig the 2015 seaason, his final as a driver in NASCAR: (Credit: Rich Iceland)“It was fun. I was looking forward to it.”

Harvick and Johnson started 43rd and 37th, respectively.

Jeff Gordon was the victim of disaster for the second race of the season when he was caught up in a accident on lap 257. Denny Hamlin got loose and turned sideways in the middle of the track. In all Hamlin, Jamie McMurray, Gordon and Ryan Newman were involved.

“I saw the No. 11 (Hamlin) going sideways. I had him cleared. I stood on the gas and went by him; but I guess he might have clipped the No. 1 (Jamie McMurray) and it turned the No. 1 back into me. After that I was just along for the ride,” explained Gordon after walking healthily out of the infield care center. It looks like maybe the No. 31 (Ryan Newman) came down in trying to avoid the No. 11 and got into the No. 1 and then he clipped me in the left rear and sent me down the back straightaway.

“It wouldn’t have been too bad except that I found that one spot where there’s no SAFER barrier. I can’t believe it. That’s amazing to me. Anyway, hopefully soon that will get fixed. It was a pretty big impact. I hate it for this team. We were struggling. We didn’t have the 3M Chevrolet that I thought we were going to have, but we weren’t giving up on it. We were going to make gains and we finally got ourselves in the top 10 and I think we had a shot of getting into the top five. But obviously it’s not the way we want to start our season.”

Gordon officially finished 41st and now sits 36th in the driver point standings.

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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - HARVICK RUNS AWAY WITH XFNITY VICTORY AT ATLANTA

Kevin Harvick raised the trophy in voctory lane for winning the xfinity Series 24th annual Hisense 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway . Credit: Rich IcelandKevin Harvick kept looking in his rearview mirror for Joey Logano in the final laps.

Logano never appeared.

Harvick cruised to his first xfinity Series win of the year and his 45th xfinity win overall, by staying ahead of Logano at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The win was also Harvick's third consecutive Atlanta win in the xfinity Series.

Harvick was able to beat Logano, driver of the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford, off of pit road on three seperate occasions during Saturday's Hisense 200.

Logano started on the pole and led a majority of the laps early in the race.

"Joey probably had a little bit better car than us on the second half of the run," Harvick told TV reporters in victory lane. "So it played out for us in the end as we were able to have that short run and take off."

Ty Dillon finished third followed by Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Paul Menard, Brian Scott, Matt Kenseth, Regan Smith and Kyle Larson.

On the final restart, Harvick was given a strong push by JR Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott. With this push, Harvick jumped out to a lead over Logano who started on the outside. Due to a loose left wheel, Logano was not able to make the final push everyone, including Harvick, expected. The vibration from the wheel thwarted any chance Logano had.

"I couldn't see where I was going," Logano said. "That was one problem and then obviously when it’s in the back of the car you definitely lose a lot of rear grip, but you keep your foot in it trying anything."

Harvick was able to gain track position because of several timely pit stops during the course of the race. Under the guidance of JR Motorsports newcomer Dave Elenz, the pit crew was able to get Harvick out of the pits before Logano on every yellow flag pit stop - none more important than the final pit stop under caution which came with 27 laps to go

"That pit stop was what won the race," Harvick admitted. "They made great adjustments up there on the pit box and our car got better every time and in the end we won the race and that's what it's all about."

Kevin Harvick takes a winning spin after collecting the win in the xfinity Series 24th annual Hisense 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Credit: Rich IcelandLogano was trying to win an xfinity Series race for the first time, not only for himself but for Team Penske. Logano has finished second in the two previous xfinity Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"It seems like I finish second in this race all the time," Logano said. "I want to win at this race track and I’m gonna keep trying to run this xfinity race until I get it.”

While the runner up finish is disappointing for Logano, he downplays the impact it will have on him moving forward throughout the season.

“It wasn’t that bad. We still finished second," Logano said. "I know it’s not a win, but it could be a lot worse. We learned some things today and I think we learned some things that can actually translate to tomorrow, so I think as a team we’ll grow as Team Penske."

After two races, Ty Dillon and Chris Buescher are tied for the xfinity Series points lead. Daytona xfinity winner, Ryan Reed, trails the leaders by eight points in third.

 

Matt Crafton, driver of the #88 Fisher Nuts/Menards Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Hyundai Construction Equipment 200 on February 28, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. 

KESELOWSKI NOT ON THE POLE FOR TRUCK RACE - After a careful look at video, NASCAR officials determined Brad Keselowski had not taken the green flag when making a lap which was the quickest of the qualifying effort in the Camping World Truck Series.

Keselowski had made a lap earlier in the final session, so he will start 10th in the Hyandai Construction Equipment 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Once Keselowski's lap was dis-qualified Ben Kennedy returned as the quickest qualifier with a 31.378 second lap followed by Erik Jones, Cameron Hayley, Daniel Suarez and John Wes Townley.

ENGINE BLOWN IN HARVICK CHEVROLET - With NASCAR rules reducing the overall horsepower of the engines in the Sprint Cup Series the possibility of a blown engine throughout an entire weekend appeared to be seriously reduced.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the Jimmy John's/Budweiser Chevrolet out of Stewart/Haas Racing, felt his engine fail during the final series practice Saturday afternoon. The engine replacement means while the books may show Harvick started on the outside pole, the reality is he will start at the rear of the field in 43rd.

“This is a very rare occasion,” admitted Harvick. “This is the first one I have ever had.The engine shop does a great job.”

Happening on Saturday means Harvick will have the freshest engine of the group in his race car when the green flag waves.

“ I am just glad that it happened today. Our Jimmy John’s/Budweiser team is doing a great job and the car is handling good. If we were going to have something happen, this is a good place to have it happen because you can pass.”

Harvick will be passing fast to get his car back up to the front of the field as quickly as possible.

So no concern, “It will just make for a better show.”

 

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, leads the field past the green flag to start the NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 28, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sarah Glenn/NASCAR via Getty Images)Jeffrey Earnhardt, driver of the #55 Fronius USA/Viva Auto Group Chevrolet, spins out during the NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 28, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)Daniel Suarez, driver of the #18 ARRIS Toyota, leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 28, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt/NASCAR via Getty Images)

Ben Kennedy, driver of the #11 Local Motors Toyota, leads the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Hyundai Construction Equipment 200 on February 28, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)Tyler Reddick, driver of the #19 DrawTite Ford, leads a pack of trucks during the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Hyundai Construction Equipment 200 on February 28, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)Ben Kennedy, driver of the #11 Local Motors Toyota, leads the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Hyundai Construction Equipment 200 on February 28, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)Matt Crafton, driver of the #88 Fisher Nuts/Menards Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Hyundai Construction Equipment 200 on February 28, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sarah Glenn/NASCAR via Getty Images)Matt Crafton, driver of the #88 Fisher Nuts/Menards Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Hyundai Construction Equipment 200 on February 28, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)Matt Crafton, driver of the #88 Fisher Nuts/Menards Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Hyundai Construction Equipment 200 on February 28, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/NASCAR via Getty Images)

 

 

 

 

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - LOGANO STRETCHES DAYTONA SUCCESS TO ATLANTA 

With issues in the inspection process sending cars to the back of the inspection line only 34 of 47 cars were were able to make qualifying attempts in the first round for the Folds of Honor/Quiktrip 500 to be held on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Among those failing to make a qualifying lap were Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Regan Smith and Matt Kenseth.

Mike Wallace, Matt DiBenedetto, Michael Annett and Reed Sorenson failed to make the race.

At the end of three qualifying sessions Joey Logano posted the fastest lap – 28.477 seconds , 194.683 mph – with a significantly different car than last year's cars.

This is the ninth career pole for Logano and his first at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Kevin Harvick was second fastest, followed by Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards. Kyle Larson, Ryan Newman, Sam Hornish Jr., Dale Earnhardt and Kasey Kahne round out the top ten,

Logano, who admits the team concentrated solely on qualifying during practice, was fastest in the first round of qualifying and second quickest in the second round knowing he could still go faster.

“I felt like we definitely left some out in the second round,” admitted Logano when asked about his qualifying runs. “The first round we went out and the car was money. It felt perfect. I told Todd, ‘It’s good. I don’t know what to tell you.’ That’s special because you don’t get those cars very often, so we didn’t touch it and we got a little bit too loose. I had to lift off of two on the second run, so we gave up some speed there and were still second. I said, ‘OK, as long as we tighten this thing up and I run it just as hard, hopefully we can win the pole.’ I felt confident that my car could do it, I just had to hit the line just right. You’re going so fast around here that if you hit the bump just the wrong way it will jerk your car up a lane and it’s over, it will make your car looser. If you overcorrect just a little bit, you lose the yaw in your car and you’re up the race track.  It’s a fast, technical race track, which is a big challenge because I remember the first time I came here I qualified 42nd, and was completely confused on what to do.  I actually told Todd, ‘This isn’t a place that we qualify very well,’ and we haven’t in the past before.  Once again, this is one of those tracks we focused the whole time in practice on qualifying trim today.  We never came out of qualifying trim and focused on trying to make speed with our race car and it paid off once again. As long as we keep working hard, we’re seeing results.”

Kevin Harvick was quick to admit his failure to capture the pole came from his own mistake.

“I just did a bad job,” Harvick stated. “Obviously, in Round 1 I missed Turn 1 and in the last round, I missed Turn 1 again and just didn’t get to the bottom like I needed to in order to get back in the throttle.”

Despite not taking the pole Harvick feels good going into the race.

“The No. 22 (Joey Logano) has probably been the fastest in a single car run, but I feel really good about our car on the long haul and that’s what matters.”

Jeb Burton, the son of former driver Ward Burtion, is the only rookie driver in the field. His start, from 40th, is based on car owner points,

Back in the garage those who failed to make any qualifying laps due to their inspection issue blamed NASCAR for their problems.

"I don't know,” stated Kenseth, when asked about the issue. “Obviously, they weren't organized enough to get everybody through tech it appears, so I don't know. We've got all the people up there to watch qualifying and they don't really get top watch everybody qualify, so it's kind of confusing and disappointing for sure.”
Why did the issue occur?
"I don't really know. I'm not educated enough on that to give you a good answer. I think you'd have to ask Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) or somebody there. I don't really know. I don't typically go with the car through inspections, so I don't know."

NASCAR's new Sprint Cup Series Director, Richard Buck, came to the media center to talk about the issue. On the way out, he admitted there were teams which had similar issues with their cars prior to practice.
“We've got a new rules package here. We saw yesterday teams getting to the limits, which is there job.
Several teams told reporters the NASCAR inspectors were slacking. Buck did not agree.
“As far as slacking off at all on that, we don't do that. We treat everybody the same. There was cars that came through there two and even a couple cars that came through three times. Everybody got a fair shot at coming through there in a timely manner, and then obviously at the end, we saw the time frame and we were hustling and pushing. I was pushing all of our officials, but that pushing on the officials was  is pushing to physically keep the same accuracy when it was a mechanical job, but the laser itself, it's automated, so there was no difference from the first cars that went through there to the last ones.”

NASCAR REMEMBERS THEE DIXON - NASCAR officials released a statement on the passing of Thee Dixon, former team owner in the 1980s and 1990s. 

"NASCAR extends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Thee Dixon, a passionate team owner whose love for racing fueled his unmatched positive spirit. Dixon was one of NASCAR’s early African-American team owners, fielding teams in NASCAR’s Sportsman Series, Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series from the late 1980s through the turn of the century. He was universally admired by all who knew him, a friendly presence on pit road and in garages throughout the series, and his dedication to the sport will forever serve as an example for the NASCAR family."

NO TRACK BAR ADJUSTMENT FOR DANICA - Danica Patrick has used her track bar adjustments while racing in other series, but in practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway her team left it alone. 

“I didn’t use it at all yesterday," said Patrick. "I have used it though when we tested the function at Michigan after the second race there. They gave us the adjustment and I used it all day. I think we were only supposed to use it at one point in time but I used it all day. When you give the driver a feature they’re going to use it. With Atlanta, we weren’t making extremely long runs (Thursday). To test things, you really need to give it the couple laps that you need to give it. To be getting after the track bar and things like that, it would have I think confused me more on what the adjustments did. At the point where we going to try to make a long run before we went into trying a qualifying run, I was going to use it on a long run but I only probably only did six or seven laps and the car wasn’t quite good enough to stay out there. I thought we needed another adjustment so I decided to come in. I’m comfortable using it and I feel like everyone will use it quite a bit at different points like pitting and restarts. There’s a lot to think about there. I’m interested to see how it will work to be honest. If everyone is able to use their car out there, I’d think it will make for less passing. It will be interesting to see how it pans out. It’ll make the drivers happy. Trust me, when you’re really loose or really tight, you really want to fix it. I’m sure it’ll make us more comfortable.”

David Ragan, driver of the #18 M&M's Crispy Toyota, drives in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 27, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Energizer Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 27, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmie John's/Budweiser Chevrolet, prepares to drive during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 27, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sarah Glenn/NASCAR via Getty Images)

Daniel Suarez, driver of the #51 ARRIS Toyota, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Hyundai Construction Equipment 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 27, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt/NASCAR via Getty Images)GIVING ADVICE - When asked what advice he could offer a young driver, Ryan Newman offered, “No matter what you do be yourself. If that makes you nervous then that is fine, but be honest with your answers.”

TALKING POINTS - Kasey Kane's communication lines with new crew chief Keith Rodden are working just fine. 

“It’s been really good," Kahne said. "When you are testing you can try a few more things. At the same time we were just trying to be prepared for today and for the weekend. We weren’t able to test a lot of things, but we were able to run through a fair bit of stuff. Working with Keith (Rodden, crew chief) has been great. I think it can only get better as we go, but it started off basically where it ended when he was my engineer. We started working I think the first time he was my engineer was 2004 in the Xfinity series and we have kind of been on and off together ever since then. It felt really good at Daytona, the test and now this weekend. The rest of the weekend I think will go great. I think there is a lot more to it than just the communication side. It’s kind of the preparation at the shop throughout the winter. The guys, how they look at things and how our cars are built. He has done a really great job with all that stuff.”

Tyler Reddick drives the #19 DrawTite Ford during practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Hyundai Construction Equipment 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 27, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sarah Glenn/NASCAR via Getty Images)

Ty Dillon, driver of the #33 Rheem Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Hyundai Construction Equipment 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 27, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)

GORDON'S GREATEST ATLANTA LESSON - In his last season as a full-time driver Jeff Gordon is relishing the lessons learned at each stop. 

“The track’s changed quite a bit over the years," said Gordon in reference to Atlanta Motor Speedway. "I loved the configuration that I started with here and then they redid it with the pavement, and it was tough to get used to get used to that new configuration with the pace and the grip level. So I had to change and adapt to that. I really like how it started to wear out to get to where it is today. This type of track I really love. What you do on those tracks in these circumstances is you still work hard on getting the balance right but I love that you never get yourself locked into one particular place on the race track where you think you need to run. You need to search around and find things. I go back to the tools. We don’t really have tools in the car – now we have is the track bar adjuster. Prior to that, your tool was moving around and how you brake in the corner, how you use the throttle and how you get out of the throttle. I’ve always tried to be real smooth, manage the tires and not abuse the tires. But some of that also can be utilizing the track and the width it has. I still think Kevin Harvick is the best I’ve seen at going around the bottom and using the yellow line. I had to adapt to that last year to hang with him on one of the runs when I got loose running up top. I kind of think that when it comes to running at the top, that’s my bread and butter at this place. I’ve got a certain line in turns 3 and 4 that I use and sometimes I can make a different one work there, too. When those lines and the car is working for me and I hit it right, I feel like we’re almost unbeatable.”

TALKING TRUCK - NASCAR truck racer Tyler Reddick is making the most of his practice session. 

“It’s three hours long," said Reddick. "It’s a practice, but it’s also a test in a sense. We’re gonna be able to have data acquisition on our trucks and we’re gonna be able to learn a little bit more than we normally would being it’s the first time the trucks have been here in such a long time. That’s gonna help me a lot. That’s gonna help my crew a lot in understanding what’s going on with the truck, and it’s just gonna speed up the process for us and the others as well. We have to take advantage of all the time we’ve got. We’ve got three hours. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but it still is. We have a few angles we want to attack this track with a few different setups and we’ll just see what works the best. I would say at the end of our second set of tires and toward the end of practice we’ll have a decision on what we like better and we’re just gonna go with that. We have plenty of time. We have a few options to go with and I really hope we can just get up to speed real quick here. It looks like we’ll be able to do that with no issue.”

ABOUT THE GOODYEAR TIRES - These are the specifics of the Goodyear Tires used in this weekend's event. 

Tire: Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials

Set limits: Sprint Cup: 5 sets for Friday/Saturday practice/qualifying and 12 sets for the race; 
Xfinity: 7 sets for the event; 
Camping World Truck: 7 sets for the event

Tire Codes: Left-side -- D-4384; Right-side -- D-4602

Tire Circumference: Left-side -- 87.40 in. (2,220 mm); Right-side -- 88.43 in. (2,246 mm)

Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front -- 22 psi; Left Rear -- 20 psi; 
Right Front -- 50 psi; Right Rear -- 47 psi

Teams in all three NASCAR series will run the same Goodyear tire set-up at Atlanta this weekend . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that Sprint Cup and Xfinity teams have run at this track the last two seasons . . . this left-side tire code (D-4384) has actually been run at Atlanta since 2012 . . . this right-side tire code (D-4602) incorporates Goodyear Racing’s multi-zone tread technology, which debuted at Atlanta in 2013 . . . the tire features two distinct tread compounds -- one for endurance and heat resistance on the inboard two inches of the tread and one for traction on the outboard 10 inches . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run liners in all four tire positions at Atlanta . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.

 

 

 

THURSDAY NOTEBOOK -

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, stands in the garage during a testing session at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 26, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/NASCAR via Getty Images)Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR Vice President of Innovation and Racing Development, speaks to members of the media after a testing session at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 26, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/NASCAR via Getty Images)Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 3M Chevrolet, stands in the garage during a testing session at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 26, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/NASCAR via Getty Images)Brett Moffitt, driver of the #55 Aaron's 60th Anniversary Dream Machine, stands in the garage during a testing session at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 26, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/NASCAR via Getty Images)David Ragan, driver of the #18 M&M's Crispy Toyota, speaks to the media after a testing session at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 26, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/NASCAR via Getty Images)Regan Smith, driver of the #41 Haas Automation Chevrolet, stands in the garage during a testing session at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 26, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/NASCAR via Getty Images)Clint Bowyer drives the #15 5-Hour Energy Toyota during a testing session at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 26, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/NASCAR via Getty Images) Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, sits in his car during a testing session at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 26, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/NASCAR via Getty Images) Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Arris Toyota, stands in the garage during a testing session at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 26, 2015 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/NASCAR via Getty Images)