By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor

Ahead of each NASCAR race weekend, Kickin’ the Tires previews the upcoming races, looking at the storylines entering the events while highlighting when and where to watch them. 

Weekend Schedule

Friday, Feb. 23

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice: 11:35 a.m.-12:55 p.m. (FOX Sports 1)

NASCAR XFINITY Series practice: 1:05-1:55 p.m. (FOX Sports 1)

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice: 2:05-2:55 p.m. (FOX Sports 1)

NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice: 3:05-3:55 p.m. (FOX Sports 1)

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice: 4:05-4:55 p.m. (FOX Sports 1)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying: 5:15 p.m (FOX Sports 1)

Saturday, Feb. 24

NASCAR XFINITY Series qualifying: 9:10 a.m. (FOX Sports 1)

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying: 10:35 a.m. (FOX Sports 1)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice: 12:00-1:20 p.m. (FOX Sports 1)

NASCAR XFINITY Series Rinnai 250: 2:00 p.m. (FOX Sports 1)

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Pest Control 200 benefiting Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta: 4:30 p.m. (FOX Sports 1)

Sunday, Feb. 25

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500: 2:00 p.m. (FOX)

(All times ET)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Race Name: Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway (Hampton, Ga.)

Race Length: 325 laps, 500.5 miles

Race Stages (Laps): 85, 85, 155

Track Length: 1.54 miles

Track Record: 197.478 mph (Geoffrey Bodine, 1997)

What Happened Last Year: Brad Keselowski overcame a loose lug nut to steal the day after a late overtake of Kyle Larson. Kevin Harvick, who dominated the day to lead 292 of the event’s 235 laps, saw his first solid shot at a win with Ford fall by the wayside courtesy of a late speeding penalty.

What to Watch For

The First “Real” Race

The Daytona 500 might open the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, but any who watch it know the event is anything but regular.

The year’s second race at Atlanta offers the first chance for teams to compete in an event that’s more typical of the tour – where the field can become spread out and drafting’s effects are far less drastic.

Atlanta will also provide the first opportunity to accurately gauge the strength of each manufacturer and  team in the field, from the young stars like William Byron to the new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

Austin Dillon and Darrell Wallace Jr. were able to soar to strong results at Daytona International Speedway, but can they continue the success on an intermediate oval? Will the teams at Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and others be able to bounce back from restrictor-plate letdowns to flex their competitive muscle once more? How often can we expect to hear the phrase “Stage winner, MTJ” this year?

Sunday’s race won’t provide the definitive answer to all for these questions, but it will offer the year’s first true test.

Tire Wear

Last season it appeared that Atlanta was finally due for a repave. The race was celebrated as the last run for the old surface, and most talks leading into the race weekend revolved around cherishing and enjoying the tire wear and handling woes it caused.

Then Speedway Motorports, Inc. president Marcus Smith announced that the organization had changed their minds. The track would stay in its current state for another year.

As a result, Atlanta figures to be a game of tire management once more. Teams will see their speeds drop drastically over the course of a run, allowing for varying strategies to unfold should the caution flag wave at opportune times.

Few tracks on the NASCAR circuit emphasize tire wear much like Atlanta. Darlington Raceway has a similar penchant for worn rubber during the Southern 500, and former mainstay Rockingham Speedway also forced teams to pit road for fresh Goodyear tires after each caution flag.

Otherwise Atlanta mostly stands alone, meaning Sunday’s race should offer a sight that can at times seem rare in the sport. The ability of each driver and team to manage their tires and salvage their equipment should be paramount, meaning there could be some surprises in the front half of the field.

While My (Race Track) Gently Weeps

The old racing surface promises to make for classic racing when the field is able to take to the 1.5-mile oval for their 500-mile event, but it may also be a chief reason for lengthy rain delays if the current weather radar proves true.

Atlanta’s old, worn surface makes it highly susceptible to weepers – water collected under the porous asphalt that seeps back up onto the track when there isn’t enough drainage after a storm. These pockets of water can cause nightmares for track personnel, continually pumping water and making slick spots on the racing surface until they’re finally dried up.

The weather forecast calls for rain on both Sunday and Monday, meaning it’s likely NASCAR will need a bit of luck to escape the race weekend without any stoppages. Should heavy rains fall on the old surface, the delays could prove to be long and tedious, with weepers forcing the grid to hold long after the rest of the racing surface is dried.

The key for the Cup Series field will be to get to the end of Stage 2 on Lap 170. After that the race can be deemed official. Should the event be nearing that mark as weather approaches, don’t be surprised if one or more teams try to make a strategy play in an effort to steal a victory.

And if they don’t get to that point before rain arrives?

Prepare for a long day.

Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Entry List

NASCAR XFINITY Series

Race Name: Rinnai 250

Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway (Hampton, Ga.)

Race Length: 163 laps, 251.02 miles

Race Stages (Laps): 40, 40, 83

Track Length: 1.54 miles

Track Record: 192.300 mph (Greg Biffle, 2003)

What Happened Last Year: Kyle Busch soared when it counted to claim a highly competitive race which saw each driver in the top four lead 20 or more laps. Brad Keselowski followed, with Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick rounding out the top four in a Cup-dominated event. Elliott Sadler followed in fifth to lead all XFINITY Series regulars.

What to Watch For

Cup Series Domination

If there’s one thing consistent about XFINITY Series races at Atlanta, it’s Cup Series drivers leading the way.

Only two XFINITY Series regulars have won on the 1.5-mile oval since 2000, with Jamie McMurray claiming the 2002 edition of the race in the midst of his rise up to Cup with Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR), and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. claiming the fourth of six wins he’d manage in a 2012 championship run shortly before his ascendance to NASCAR’s top tour.

While series regulars do sometimes rise into the race lead for short stints at the track, the endings of the 250-mile race are traditionally settled between Cup Series regulars. Busch has claimed the last two races at the track, with Kevin Harvick triumphing in the three races from 2013-15.

There are only three Cup Series regulars entered in Saturday’s race – Harvick, Joey Logano and Ty Dillon. Because of that, the odds for an XFINITY Series regular to win the event are as high as they’ve ever been,

That said, don’t count out the Cup Series vets until they’re eliminated from contention. History shows they’ll likely still be the ones fighting for the win at race’s end.

Fresh Talent

Saturday’s 163-lap race will be the first chance for many XFINITY Series newcomers to run on a standard intermediate oval with the tour.

Chase Briscoe will make his series debut in the race, competing in his first NASCAR-sanctioned event since he claimed last year’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Hoosier will pilot the No. 60 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing as the first run of his partial 2018 schedule.

Also making his series debut in the event will be John Hunter Nemechek – the 20-year-old son of four-time Cup Series winner Joe Nemechek. The prospect will run his first race with CGR after a Truck Series effort than included five wins and two playoff berths in 77 starts.

Truck Series Championship 4 contender Austin Cindric will return for his third start on NASCAR’s second tour, making his second start for Team Penske after crashing out of his debut with RFR at Daytona. JGR prospect Kyle Benjamin will also make his series return, starting his sixth race for the team after a 2017 run that led to a career best finish of second at Iowa Speedway.

Rinnai 250 Entry List

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Race Name: Active Pest Control 200 benefiting Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway (Hampton, Ga.)

Race Length: 130 laps, 200.2 miles

Race Stages (Laps): 40, 40, 50

Track Length: 1.54 miles

Track Record: 182.735 mph (Rick Crawford, 2005)

What Happened Last Year: Christopher Bell avenged a 2016 crash out with a dominant performance in his Atlanta return, leading 99 of 130 laps and claiming a victory that would prove the be the catalyst for his championship run.

What to Watch For

A Chance to Shine

While the XFINITY Series races at Atlanta often go to Cup Series regulars, the Truck tour’s trip to Georgia has yielded a series regular in victory lane for five-straight seasons.

Ron Hornaday Jr. started the streak in 2011, holding the field at bay to claim one of four victories he’d manage on the year. Ty Dillon overtook Busch late in the 2012 edition of the race to score his first Truck Series victory.

The series took a two-year hiatus from Atlanta in 2013 & ’14, but when they finally returned in 2015 it was again a Truck Series regular that ended up in victory lane after Matt Crafton dominated the afternoon for the first of six wins. Nemechek followed in 2016, with Bell’s victory last year increasing the series regular win streak to five races.

With just one Cup driver on this weekend’s entry list, that streak has a strong chance to continue for another year. That means the opportunity is open to the starting grid to attempt to claim a victory and stamp their name on the preliminary playoff grid early.

Of course, it won’t be easy. Why? Because that one Cup Series driver entered is the early favorite…

The Kyle Busch Show

Brace yourself, Truck Series field. Kyle Busch is running this weekend.

Busch has earned a reputation for himself over the years for his ludicrous winning percentage in NASCAR’s lower levels. The Las Vegas, Nevada native has claimed 19 of his 36 starts in the Truck Series over the past five years – good for an impressive 52.78% winning percentage.

The 2015 Cup Series champion as four Truck Series wins at Atlanta, but hasn’t managed the feat since 2009. But with no other Cup competitors to contend with and the strength of his own Kyle Busch Motorsports team, ‘Rowdy’ promises to be the driver to beat in Saturday’s 130-lap show.

Getting in Spec, Part II

The 2018 season-opener offered the first chance for Truck Series teams to compete with the new spec motor, but the tour’s trip to Atlanta will be the motor’s first true test.

As stated in last week’s preview, the battle between the old motors and new spec motors promises to be a storyline throughout the season. The tour’s top teams will continually gauge which of the two engines offers stronger power and reliability throughout the season.

Saturday’s run will see the new motor tested on a traditional track for the first time. How the teams with the spec motors fair could have a quick impact on the tour’s championship structure and usage of the engine throughout the rest of the season.

Active Pest Control 200 Entry List