After a chaotic start to the season with the Daytona 500, NASCAR continues the superspeedway action with Atlanta Motor Speedway. With the repave and reconfiguration, Atlanta offers a different type of superspeedway experience. For the Cup Series, arguably this track now brings the best pack style racing between the three tracks. The tighter confines prevent the newly found stagnation of the pack, allowing drivers’ talents to shine through more. Last year’s Ambetter Health 400 had a historic finish, but the entire race was one worth rewatching. As for the other two series, not so much. The reconfiguration and aero-package places Atlanta somewhere in between an intermediate and superspeedway. No matter how well regarded the action is, who will be picked as the Critical Path Security 6 Drivers to Watch for spring Atlanta?
Atlanta Motor Speedway is rarity on the NASCAR schedule. Either all three series can put on an equally entertaining show or the two lower series outshine the Cup Series. However, Atlanta clearly favors the Cup Series. However, the question of how much the track will continue to wear factors into how the racing will evolve. Will this race still favor the superspeedway aces or drift back to the usual suspects? Maybe this year is too early to consider that transition, but no one will know until the cars/trucks hit the track on Friday. Between each series, which two drivers will be the ones to watch this weekend?
Ambetter Health 400
Brad Keselowski
Surprisingly, Brad Keselowski factored little into the Daytona 500. Usually a fixture of the front, Keselowski found himself riding toward the back of the pack. In Stage 1, he managed to drive forward and finish second before getting a chance to make a pass on Joey Logano. After that though, Keselowski lacked good track position until he got caught up in a wreck. Heading into Atlanta, the subpar Daytona performance should be motivation to make a statement at a superspeedway. Yet, Keselowski’s 2024 results bring into question any potential optimism.
Last year, Brad Keselowski finished 33rd (DNF) and 19th at Atlanta. While the results are not ideal, the more concerning aspects of his starts were the lack of stage points. Between the four stages, Keselowski only finished inside the Top-10 once. The playoff race especially felt concerning, as it was Keselowski’s best chance in the Round of 16 to beef up his point total. However, this is still a small sample size. 2023 saw Keselowski look incredible at Atlanta. It would be shocking if the 6 car did not feature strongly at both Daytona and Atlanta. At this moment, look for Keselowski to be a factor for both stage wins and the overall race win.
Daniel Suarez
From a driver who struggled at Atlanta last year to the most successful, Daniel Suarez will certainly be one to watch this weekend. In the two Atlanta races, Suarez won the spring date and finished runner-up in the fall. Both races greatly impacted Suarez’s playoffs, as the win got him into the playoffs and his second place result set him up nicely to advance to the Round of 12. For this weekend, Suarez will look to repeat that same success from 2024.
Although 2024 was a strong Atlanta year for Suarez, the reconfiguration has been a boom for the Trackhouse driver. His average finish since 2022 sits at 7.3. Removing his lone DNF during this era of the track, Suarez has yet to finish worse than 6th. Prior to the new configuration, Suarez had a career best finish of 10th with an average finish of 21.7. Daniel Suarez does not immediately pop out as someone to expect greatness from on a superspeedway like Atlanta. However, the proof is in the results that Suarez is the most reliable hand at the track.
Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250
Harrison Burton
Fresh off a Top-10 at Daytona, Harrison Burton will look to put his superspeedway skills to use at Atlanta Motor Speedway. During his Cup Series career, Burton only managed to pick up a single Top-10 in 6 starts. However, superspeedways were usually where Burton shined. His win in last year’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 will be replayed periodically to highlight that underdog story. For his first Xfinity Series start on the reconfigured Atlanta, maybe something from his Cup runs will transfer over.
With that said, the Xfinity Series races very differently compared to Cup at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Pack racing is not as common, with cars managing to stay together via a single file line around the top. Will Harrison Burton be able to adjust to this different style of superspeedway racing? Burton demonstrated the ability to find speed at this track prior to the repave. In his Xfinity career, he has 2 Top-5s in 3 starts. It will be something to watch to see if Harrison Burton can be a factor in the Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250.
Josh Williams
The only returning driver to the Kaulig Racing Xfinity Series program was Josh Williams. Being joined by 2 rookies, Williams has to serve as the veteran of the organization. Last year, Williams put up a career season. However, it did fall well short of the expectations for a Kaulig entry. This year will serve as a “prove it” season for Williams, as Kaulig as a whole will look to improve upon a subpar 2025.
After finishing 20th in the season opener, Josh Williams will certainly hope to improve upon that. His weekend started out great, as he qualified third behind the RCR duo. Of course, where you start does not always translate to where you finish, especially on a superspeedway. That said, Williams did pick up a Top-10 in his last trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway. With a strong starting spot, Williams could ride the line and stay within the Top-10 all race long.
Fr8 208
Ben Rhodes
It certainly looked to be a promising opening race for Ben Rhodes. At Daytona, Rhodes drafted well and remained within the Top-5 for most of the race. At the end, he looked potentially primed to make a race-winning move. Instead, he got caught up in the last lap wreck and fell to 20th. From one superspeedway to another, Rhodes should excel this weekend at Atlanta as well. In his first 2 starts at the reconfigured Atlanta, the ThorSport driver picked up a couple of Top-5s.
After his worst season since his rookie year, Ben Rhodes is a bounce back candidate for 2025. While Rhodes has yet to have a dominate season, his consistency has been his calling card. It was weird to see the 99 team struggle, especially in Top-10 speed. Daytona looked to be a promising start, but Atlanta will also help gauge where this team is at for 2025. Plus, Rhodes has won the championship in every odd-numbered year since 2020. Will the Truck Series version of Joey Logano reclaim his title?
Tyler Ankrum
At the young age of 24, Tyler Ankrum is a Craftsman Truck Series veteran at this point in his career. The 2025 season will mark Ankrum’s 7th fulltime year. Easily, last season proved to be his best year, as he made the playoffs and set career bests in every statistical category. Heading into Atlanta, Ankrum will look to pick up his first win since 2019. Atlanta might be the best place for him to pull it off as well.
Last year in this race, Ankrum led a race-high 46 laps. Unfortunately, Ankrum failed to lead any of the 3 most important laps: stage enders and the final lap. The 18 truck looked to be in position to win the race until a mistake by the young driver saw the win vanish from his grasp. Ankrum looked strong at Daytona last week, but an engine issue during Stage 2 ruined his day. As long as McAnally-Hilgeman Racing can keep a healthy engine under Ankrum, then he should be one to watch for the win Saturday afternoon.
Critical Path Security is a cyber security firm protecting clients in the United States and the world beyond. Founded in 2017, they are as dedicated as ever to providing coverage for their clients in numerous industries. Please give them a follow (X, Facebook, LinkedIn) and thank them for returning with their weekly sponsorship of the Critical Path Security 6 Drivers to Watch
