| Type: | NASXFIN |
| Location: | Hampton, Georgia, Atlanta Motor Speedway |
| Race No: | 2 |
| Season No: | 33 |
| Year: | 2016 |
| Race Name: | Heads Up Georgia 250 |
| Official Name: | 25th annual Heads Up Georgia 250 |
| Date: | February 27 |
| Course Mi: | 1.54 |
| Course Km: | 2.48 |
| Scheduled Mi: | 251.02 |
| Distance Mi: | 251.02 |
| Scheduled Km: | 403.98 |
| Distance Km: | 403.98 |
| Scheduled Laps: | 163 |
| Distance Laps: | 163 |
| Pole Time: | 29.887 |
| Pole Driver: | Kyle Busch |
| Pole Team: | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| Avg: | 137.065mph |
| Most Laps: | 119 |
| Most Driver: | Kyle Busch |
| Most Team: | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| Car: | 18 |
| First Driver: | Kyle Busch |
| First Team: | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| Network: | FS1 |
| Radio: | Performance Racing Network |
| Announcers: | Adam Alexander, Clint Bowyer, and Michael Waltrip |
The 2016 Heads Up Georgia 250 was the 2nd stock car race of the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and the 25th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, February 27, 2016, in Hampton, Georgia, at Atlanta Motor Speedway a 1.54 miles (2.48 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 163 laps to complete. Kyle Busch, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing led a dominating 119 laps, holding off Kyle Larson late to earn his 77th career NASCAR Xfinity Series win and his first of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing and Erik Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a track in Hampton, Georgia, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It is a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) quad-oval track with a seating capacity of 111,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two 1.5-mile (2.4 km) ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval. The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.
The first practice session was held on Friday, February 26 at 9:00 AM EST. Erik Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.236 and an average speed of 183.358mph.[2]
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Erik Jones (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.236 | 183.358 | |
| 2 | 16 | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 30.315 | 182.880 | ||
| 3 | 11 | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 30.377 | 182.507 | ||
| Full first practice results | |||||||
The second practice session was held on Friday, February 26 at 12:30 PM EST. Daniel Suarez of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.478 and an average speed of 181.902mph.[3]
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.478 | 181.902 | ||
| 2 | 20 | Erik Jones (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.634 | 180.975 | |
| 3 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.659 | 180.828 | |
| Full first practice results | |||||||
The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, February 26, at 3:00 PM EST. Erik Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.551 and an average speed of 181.467mph. [4]
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Erik Jones (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.551 | 181.467 | |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.641 | 180.934 | |
| 3 | 3 | Ty Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.718 | 180.481 | |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | |||||||
Qualifying was held on Saturday, February 20, at 8:30 AM EST. Since Atlanta Motor Speedway is under 2miles, the qualifying system was a multi-car system that included three rounds. The first round was 15 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 15 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 24 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Round 3 consisted of the fastest 12 drivers from Round 2, and the drivers would have 5 minutes to set a time. Whoever was fastest in Round 3 would win the pole.[5]
Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing would win the pole after advancing from the preliminary round and setting the fastest lap in Round 3, with a time of 29.887 and an average speed of 185.499mph.[6]
Nobody failed to qualify.
| Pos | Driver | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elliott Sadler | 70 | |||||||
| 2 | Daniel Suarez | 67 (-3) | |||||||
| 3 | Ty Dillon | 65 (–5) | |||||||
| 4 | Brandon Jones | 64 (–6) | |||||||
| 5 | Justin Allgaier | 63 (–7) | |||||||
| 6 | Brendan Gaughan | 60 (-10) | |||||||
| 7 | Bubba Wallace | 58 (-12) | |||||||
| 8 | Blake Koch | 53 (-17) | |||||||
| 9 | Ryan Reed | 51 (-19) | |||||||
| 10 | Jeremy Clements | 50 (-20) | |||||||
| 11 | Erik Jones (R) | 48 (-22) | |||||||
| 11 | Jeb Burton | 48 (-22) | |||||||
| Official driver's standings | |||||||||