There were plenty of former Thursday Thunder drivers competing during the NASCAR weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway but Austin Dillon had the best finish in NASCAR Cup race.
Dillon took sixth in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Folds of Honor Quick Trip 500.
Chris Buescher and William Byron weren’t far behind their fellow Thursday Thunder alumnus as they took seventh and eighth respectively.
Chase Elliot’s day came to an end at lap 220 as his engine blew and he finished in 38th place.
“I hate it for sure,” he said. “I felt like we were in a decent position to work on it throughout the day. I appreciate the effort; it was great to be back in Georgia.”
Elliott, also an alumnus of AMS’s Thursday Thunder summer series, failed two pre-race inspections and was sent to the back of the field to start the race.
Elliott battled his way back early in the race and by lap 12, he was in the top 20. He made it to the top 15 by lap 33 and then top 10 at lap 39.
For the rest of stage 1, Elliott remained in the top 10 and moved up to fourth place after at the beginning of stage 2. Former Thursday Thunder drivers Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace both turned in respectable performances as Logano took 15th and Wallace 16th.
Timmy Hill, another Thursday Thunder alumnus, finished 36th. Hill’s car failed three pre-race inspections and he started at the back of the pack with Elliott.
Ryan Sieg was the top former Thursday Thunder driver in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Echo Park 250 as he finished 10th. Timmy Hill finished 20th while Mason Massey finished 32nd.
Austin Hill had his best race of the season with a second-place finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Fr8Auctions 200.
“All in all a solid day,” he said. “I wish we were racing here again because I love Atlanta Motor Speedway, my home track. I can’t thank the fans enough for coming out and watching today. It was great having them back. I just wish we had gotten the job done. I wish we could come here again, it’s a fun place to run.”
Grant Enfinger finished 11th, while Hailie Deegan finished 21st, Jordan Anderson 25th and Chandler Smith 35th.
“I appreciate Champion Power Equipment coming on board for this race, but I wish we could have had a better outing for them,” Enfinger said. “I just couldn’t quite get the handle on our Toyota Tundra all day. We made it better and better…we just never really got a good handle on it all day.”