On Sunday, Atlanta Motor Speedway will play host to the second race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series. Ahead of the Ambetter Health 400, here are some favorites to keep an eye on.
Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Team Penske
Cindric led a race-high 59 laps in the Daytona 500, but was forced to settle for an eighth-place finish. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner has been one of the best superspeedway racers in the Next-Gen era, and his record at Atlanta proves it. In his last five starts at the reconfigured superspeedway version of Atlanta, Cindric has an average finish of 8.0 and has led 146 laps, including 92 when the Cup Series paid a visit to AMS in September of 2024. Cindric should be able to be in the mix all afternoon on Sunday.
Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Team Penske
Logano won Stage 2 of the Daytona 500 and led 43 laps before a mechanical issue put him back in the pack. Logano had enough speed to get back into the top-five, however, and that same speed should be present on Sunday. Logano has won two out of the last four Atlanta races, and led 140 laps at the track in the spring of 2023.
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, RFK Racing
Keselowski is yet to win at Atlanta since the reconfiguration, but he came very close to defeating Logano in the spring of 2023. Keselowski led 47 laps in that race en route to a runner-up finish, and backed it up with a sixth-place finish in the summer. RFK Racing’s cars are always fast on superspeedways, and Keselowski himself is one of the best superspeedway racers in NASCAR history. The No. 6 will likely be at the front of the field for much of Sunday afternoon.
William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
Byron has quietly become one of the best superspeedway racers in the field. After winning the Daytona 500 for the second year in a row on Sunday, his attention shifts to Atlanta. where he’s won twice since the reconfiguration. Byron doesn’t usually lead all that many laps at superspeedway races, but he always finds a way to get to the front when the pay window opens.
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
The reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway hasn’t been kind to Hamlin, as he only has one top-10 finish in the six races since Atlanta became a drafting track. Like Byron, he always ends up near the front of the pack late in superspeedway races, and he has three Daytona 500 victories to prove it. If he can survive the carnage that will inevitably take place, Hamlin will be a factor late in the race.
The Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway will go green shortly after 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, with coverage on FOX, the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Pre-race coverage will begin at 2 p.m. ET on FOX.
Ambetter Health 400 Weekend Schedule:
Saturday, Feb. 22: NASCAR Cup Series Pole Qualifying, 11:30 a.m. ET (Amazon Prime)
Sunday, Feb. 23: NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400, 3 p.m. ET (FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
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