The 2016 Great Clips 200 was the 2nd stock car race of the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and the 8th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, February 27, 2016, in Hampton, Georgia at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.54 mile (2.48 km) permanent tri-oval shaped speedway. The race took the scheduled 130 laps to complete. At race's end, John Hunter Nemechek, driving for his family team, NEMCO Motorsports, held off Camden Hayley in the final 2 laps, and earned his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win, along with his first of the season. To fill out the podium, Timothy Peters, driving for Red Horse Racing, would finish in 3rd, respectively.
Background
The race was held at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series stock car races since its inauguration in 1960.
The venue was bought by Speedway Motorsports in 1990. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two intermediate 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, with a new official length of where before it was . The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
#DriverTeamMakeSponsor00Cole Custer (R)JR MotorsportsChevroletHaas Automation1Travis KvapilMAKE MotorsportsChevroletCorvetteParts.net02Tyler YoungYoung's MotorsportsChevroletRANDCO, Young's Building Systems4Christopher Bell (R)Kyle Busch MotorsportsToyotaJBL05John Wes TownleyAthenian MotorsportsChevroletESPFanClub.org6Norm BenningNorm Benning RacingChevroletNorm Benning Racing07J. J. Yeley (i)SS-Green Light RacingChevroletEngine Parts Plus8John Hunter NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevroletNEMCO Motorsports9William Byron (R)Kyle Busch MotorsportsToyotaLiberty University10Jennifer Jo CobbJennifer Jo Cobb RacingChevroletWestside Vapor11Ben KennedyRed Horse RacingToyotaJacob Companies13Cameron HayleyThorSport RacingToyotaCabinets by Hayley17Timothy PetersRed Horse RacingToyotaRed Horse Racing19Daniel HemricBrad Keselowski RacingFordCalifornia Clean Power20Austin HillAustin Hill RacingFordArco Design & Build21Johnny SauterGMS RacingChevroletAllegiant Air22Austin Wayne Self (R)AM RacingToyotaAM Technical Solutions23Spencer GallagherGMS RacingChevroletAlamo Rent a Car29Tyler ReddickBrad Keselowski RacingFordCooper-Standard Automotive32Justin Marks (i)Braun MotorsportsToyotaKaterra33Grant Enfinger (R)GMS RacingChevroletAlamo Rent a Car41Ben Rhodes (R)ThorSport RacingToyotaAlpha Energy Solutions44Tommy Joe MartinsMartins MotorsportsChevroletClikIt.tv, Diamond Gusset Jeans49Timmy HillPremium MotorsportsChevroletDirk and Rock50Ryan Ellis (i)MAKE MotorsportsChevroletMAKE Motorsports51Daniel Suárez (i)Kyle Busch MotorsportsToyotaArris59Korbin ForristerLira MotorsportsFordTilted Kilt, MOMO, The Sports Agency63Garrett Smithley (i)MB MotorsportsChevroletInstalco66Jordan AndersonBolen MotorsportsChevroletColumbia SC - Famously Hot71Carlos ContrerasContreras MotorsportsChevroletRaceTrac74Tim ViensMike Harmon RacingChevroletRaceDaySponsor.com75Caleb HolmanHenderson MotorsportsToyotaFood Country USA, Lay's81Ryan TruexHattori Racing EnterprisesToyotaAisin86Brandon BrownBrandonbilt MotorsportsChevroletNcaselt, Coastal Carolina University88Matt CraftonThorSport RacingToyotaHormel, Menards92Parker KligermanRBR EnterprisesFordBlack's Tire Service98Rico Abreu (R)ThorSport RacingToyotaSafeliteOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice The first practice session was held on Friday, February 26, at 10:00 AM EST, and would last for 55 minutes. Grant Enfinger, driving for GMS Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.873, and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed133Grant Enfinger (R)GMS RacingChevrolet30.873179.57424Christopher Bell (R)Kyle Busch MotorsportsToyota31.004178.816388Matt CraftonThorSport RacingToyota31.092178.310Full first practice results
Second practice The second practice session was held on Friday, February 26, at 1:30 PM EST, and would last for 55 minutes. John Wes Townley, driving for his family team, Athenian Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 31.107, and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed105John Wes TownleyAthenian MotorsportsChevrolet31.107178.224219Daniel HemricBrad Keselowski RacingFord31.182177.79539William Byron (R)Kyle Busch MotorsportsToyota31.257177.368Full second practice results
Final practice The final practice session was held on Friday, February 26, at 4:00 PM EST, and would last for 85 minutes. Grant Enfinger, driving for GMS Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 31.011, and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed133Grant Enfinger (R)GMS RacingChevrolet31.011178.775288Matt CraftonThorSport RacingToyota31.146178.00034Christopher Bell (R)Kyle Busch MotorsportsToyota31.157177.938Full final practice results
Qualifying Qualifying was held on Saturday, February 27, at 10:00 AM EST. Since Atlanta Motor Speedway is at least 2.0 miles (3.2 km), the qualifying system was a single car, single lap, two round system where in the first round, everyone would set a time to determine positions 13–32. Then, the fastest 12 qualifiers would move on to the second round to determine positions 1–12.
Matt Crafton, driving for ThorSport Racing, would win the pole, setting a lap of 30.836, and an average speed of in the second round.
Five drivers would fail to qualify: Jordan Anderson, Korbin Forrister, Norm Benning, Tim Viens, and Ryan Ellis.
Full qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTime (R1)Speed (R1)Time (R2)Speed (R2)188Matt CraftonThorSport RacingToyota30.969179.01830.836179.790205John Wes TownleyAthenian MotorsportsChevrolet30.947179.14530.854179.68534Christopher Bell (R)Kyle Busch MotorsportsToyota30.817179.90130.858179.662433Grant Enfinger (R)GMS RacingChevrolet30.883179.51630.908179.371513Cameron HayleyThorSport RacingToyota31.076178.40131.014178.758600Cole Custer (R)JR MotorsportsChevrolet31.125178.12031.036178.631741Ben Rhodes (R)ThorSport RacingToyota31.108178.21831.068178.447881Ryan TruexHattori Racing EnterprisesToyota31.145178.00631.071178.430919Daniel HemricBrad Keselowski RacingFord31.107178.22431.083178.3611011Ben KennedyRed Horse RacingToyota31.116178.17231.089178.3271123Spencer GallagherGMS RacingChevrolet31.174177.84131.132178.0801217Timothy PetersRed Horse RacingToyota31.227177.53931.209177.641Eliminated in Round 11351Daniel Suárez (i)Kyle Busch MotorsportsToyota31.250177.408 - -1432Justin Marks (i)Braun MotorsportsToyota31.262177.340 - -159William Byron (R)Kyle Busch MotorsportsToyota31.265177.323 - -1621Johnny SauterGMS RacingChevrolet31.287177.198 - -1792Parker KligermanRBR EnterprisesFord31.317177.028 - -188John Hunter NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevrolet31.371176.724 - -1963Garrett Smithley (i)MB MotorsportsChevrolet31.412176.493 - -2022Austin Wayne Self (R)AM RacingToyota31.438176.347 - -2129Tyler ReddickBrad Keselowski RacingFord31.439176.341 - -2202Tyler YoungYoung's MotorsportsChevrolet31.528175.844 - -2320Austin HillAustin Hill RacingFord31.546175.743 - -2486Brandon BrownBrandonbilt MotorsportsChevrolet31.547175.738 - -2575Caleb HolmanHenderson MotorsportsToyota31.571175.604 - -2607J. J. Yeley (i)SS-Green Light RacingChevrolet31.618175.343 - -2798Rico Abreu (R)ThorSport RacingToyota31.665175.083 - -Qualified by owner's points2844Tommy Joe MartinsMartins MotorsportsChevrolet31.730174.724 - -291Travis KvapilMAKE MotorsportsChevrolet31.795174.367 - -3049Timmy HillPremium MotorsportsChevrolet31.930173.630 - -3171Carlos ContrerasContreras MotorsportsChevrolet31.950173.521 - -3210Jennifer Jo CobbJennifer Jo Cobb RacingChevrolet - - - -Failed to qualify3366Jordan AndersonBolen MotorsportsChevrolet31.848174.077 - -3459Korbin ForristerLira MotorsportsFord32.319171.540 - -356Norm BenningNorm Benning RacingChevrolet33.383166.073 - -3674Tim ViensMike Harmon RacingChevrolet - - - -3750Ryan Ellis (i)MAKE MotorsportsChevrolet - - - -Official qualifying resultsOfficial starting lineup
Race
Race recap Matt Crafton and John Wes Townley would lead the field to the green flag. On the initial restart, Townley would spin his tires, resulting him losing several positions. Christopher Bell advanced to the second spot, and eventually took the lead from Crafton on lap 7. After leading 20 laps, Bell's right front tire would go down, giving the lead back to Crafton. He would maintain the lead, until the first caution clock expired on lap 38. On the second restart, Johnny Sauter's truck would lose power, and was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop. He drove past his pit stall and entered the track again, thinking that his truck would get up to speed again, which was unsuccessful. He went to the garage to replace the ignition box, and eventually returned to the race several laps later. The second caution came out at lap 60, after William Byron suffered a blown engine. Tyler Reddick made an unscheduled pit stop during the third restart, after reporting a vibration. Red Horse Racing teammates, Timothy Peters and Ben Kennedy, also had unscheduled pit stops, as Peters suffered a vibration, and Kennedy's shifter would pop out of place. Crafton would continue to lead, until Bell made his way back to front, and retook the lead with around 40 laps to go. The second caution clock would expire with 25 laps to go. John Hunter Nemechek and Crafton lead the field back to green flag. Spencer Gallagher would spin his tires, causing the outside lane to have a slow restart. As a result, Daniel Suárez would move into second, and immediately went to the outside lane to try and pass Crafton for the lead. The two were side by side coming into turn two. As they were exiting turn two, Bell would accidentally turn Suárez sideways, causing him to hit the side of Crafton's truck. They would spin in front of the field, with Crafton and Suárez receiving numerous damage. Surprisingly, everyone would make it through the wreck. The race would go under red flag to assess all the damage.
Final laps The field would restart with 15 laps to go, with Nemechek and Cameron Hayley leading the field. Bell would quickly take the lead back a lap later. He would suddenly blow a tire with 8 laps to go, causing him to hit the outside wall hard. Nemechek and Townley would lead the field on the final restart with 2 laps to go. Townley would spin his tires once again, causing Cameron Hayley to advance into the second spot. Nemechek held off Hayley in the final 2 laps, and would earn his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win. Hayley, Peters, Hemric, and Enfinger would round out the top 5.
Race results