NASCAR 2023 Xfinity Series: Sammy Smith grabs pole in Atlanta after rain cancelled qualifying

After an action-packed United Rentals 200, the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series arrived at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Fans are eagerly awaiting the start of yet another exciting Xfinity race this Saturday (March 18). The RAPTOR King of Tough 250 will be live on FS1 and MRN at 5:00 pm ET.

The fifth race of the 2023 Xfinity Series season will be contested on a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) permanent tri-oval-shaped superspeedway. The 38 drivers will compete over 163 laps in the race to secure a chance at driving down Victory Lane.

Motorsport journalist Bob Pockrass shared the starting line-up for RAPTOR King of Tough 250 on his official Twitter account.

In Friday’s washed-out Xfinity qualifying race, last week’s winner Sammy Smith claimed his first career Xfinity Series pole and will be joined by his teammate John Hunter Nemechek.

The 38-driver lineup was determined by the NASCAR series rulebook’s qualifying metric. This means that Sammy Smith will start on pole because of his past performances at Phoenix Raceway.

He will be followed by Austin Hill, Ryan Truex, and Riley Herbst rounding out the top five. Chandler Smith, Sheldon Creed, Cole Custer, Josh Berry, and Sam Mayer complete the top 10.

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2023 NASCAR RAPTOR King of Tough 250 starting line-up

NASCAR Cup Series

Here are the starting positions of the 38-car grid at Atlanta Motor Speedway:

1. #18 - Sammy Smith (R)
2. #20 - John Hunter Nemechek
3. #21 - Austin Hill
4. #19 - Ryan Truex
5. #98 - Riley Herbst
6. #16 - Chandler Smith (R)
7. #2 - Sheldon Creed
8. #00 - Cole Custer
9. #8 - Josh Berry
10. #1 - Sam Mayer
11. #11 - Daniel Hemric
12. #25 - Brett Moffitt
13. #48 - Parker Kligerman
14. #39 - Ryan Sieg
15. #78 - Anthony Alfredo
16. #27 - Jeb Burton
17. #31 - Parker Retzlaff (R)
18. #10 - Justin Haley (i)
19. #7 - Justin Allgaier
20. #02 - Kyle Weatherman
21. #9 - Brandon Jones
22. #92 - Josh Williams
23. #51 - Jeremy Clements
24. #43 - Ryan Ellis
25. #24 - Connor Mosack (R)
26. #28 - Kyle Sieg
27. #38 - Joe Graf Jr.
28. #26 - Kaz Grala
29. #6 - Brennan Poole
30. #45 - Sage Karam
31. #44 - Jeffrey Earnhardt
32. #35 - Patrick Emerling
33. #53 - Joey Gase
34. #4 - Garrett Smithley
35. #08 - Gray Gaulding
36. #07 - Blaine Perkins (R)
37. #91 - Chad Chastain (i)
38. #66 - Caesar Bacarella

Catch all NASCAR teams and drivers at the Atlanta Motor Speedway for RAPTOR King of Tough 250 on Saturday. The race will be broadcast on FS1 and MRN.