Casey Atwood

Casey Atwood
Atwood at the 2004 Stater Bros. 300
Born	(1980-08-25) August 25, 1980 (age 36) Antioch, Tennessee, U.S.
Achievements	Youngest Pole sitter in Xfinity Series history
Awards	1996 Fairgrounds Speedway Rookie of the Year
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career
75 races run over 4 years
Best finish	26th (2001)
First race	2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 (Richmond)
Last race	2003 Brickyard 400 (Indianapolis)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 4 1
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
158 races run over 10 years
2009 position	44th
Best finish	8th (2000)
First race	1998 GM Goodwrench Service Plus 200 (Rockingham)
Last race	2009 Able Body Labor 200 (Phoenix)
First win	1999 DieHard 250 (Milwaukee)
Last win	1999 MBNA Gold 200 (Dover)
Wins Top tens Poles 2 30 6
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
4 races run over 2 years
Best finish	52nd (2005)
First race	1996 Federated Auto Parts 250 (Nashville)
Last race	2005 World Financial Group 200 (Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Statistics current as of July 3, 2012.

Casey Lee Atwood (born August 25, 1980 in Antioch, Tennessee) is an American former driver. A former competitor in NASCAR competition, he is the youngest pole winner in Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) history, earning a pole start at the age of 17.

Atwood had his most success in the Busch Series in 1999 and 2000, driving the No. 27 Chevrolet for Brewco Motorsports. Atwood became the youngest winner in series history in 1999 at 7008595080000000000♠18 years, 313 days (the record would later be broken in 2008 by Joey Logano at 7008569851200000000♠18 years, 21 days old). Atwood's performance led many to label him as "the next Jeff Gordon," and landed him a factory-backed Dodge ride in the Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) with Evernham Motorsports for 2001. His struggles at the Cup level over two seasons, however, derailed his career, with his last Cup start coming in 2003 at the young age of 22. After spending parts of seven seasons back in the Busch Series, Atwood's national series career ended in 2009.

Growing up in Antioch, Tennessee outside of Nashville, Atwood became interested in racing at a young age. By the age of ten, Atwood was racing go-karts. He later progressed to Late Model Stock racing by the age of 15. He was the 1996 rookie of the year at Nashville Speedway USA. Casey attended John Overton High School in Nashville until he dropped out in 1999 to pursue his racing career.

Atwood debuted in the NASCAR Busch Series in 1998 at North Carolina Speedway with a modest 21st-place finish, but stunned the racing world upon his next attempt. At his home track Nashville Speedway in March, the 17-year-old Atwood qualified on the pole position, making him the youngest pole winner in NASCAR history. A brilliant performance would follow, as Atwood led 104 laps and ultimately brought his No. 28 Red Line Oil Chevrolet home in 2nd place to Mike McLaughlin. Atwood made sporadic starts over the course of the year, none equal to his second race, but after moving from Larry Lockamy's part-time team to Hensley Racing in September, the driver had strong showings at Atlanta (where he started 36th but made his way to the front) and Homestead (where he claimed his second pole). By the end of 1998 he had won two poles and 5 top 20's in 13 races.