Ben Atkins
Ben Atkins | |
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Age | 41 |
Nationality | ![]() |
STARS Lowe's Premier Series | |
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Car # | 48 |
Years Competed | 2008-2025, 2030- |
Debut Season | 2008 |
Current Team | Sawatari-Toyota Motorsports |
Former Team(s) | ATK Motorsports, McBrien Racing, RA Racing |
Championships | 2 (2012, 2018) |
Pole Positions | 28 |
Wins | 47 |
Top 5 Finishes | 151 |
Top 10 Finishes | 224 |
First Start | 2008 Empire State 450 (New York) |
First Win | 2008 STARS Hall of Fame 101 (Charlotte) |
Last Win | 2023 Blizzard Entertainment 150 (Iowa) |
Last Start | 2030 Spotify Wrapped Championship 200 (Kansas) |
STARS Lowe's Truck Series | |
Years Competed | 2007-2025 |
Debut Season | 2008 |
Former Team(s) | ATK Motorsports, McBrien Racing |
Championships | 0 |
Pole Positions | 4 |
Wins | 5 |
Top 5 Finishes | 13 |
Top 10 Finishes | 23 |
First Start | 2007 Monster Energy 100 (Talladega) |
First Win | 2008 New York 225 (New York) |
Last Win | 2017 Rocky Mountain 100 (Pikes Peak) |
Last Start | 2025 Lowe's Pro Championship 100 (Kansas) |
Best Result | 29th |
AAS Nationwide Series career | |
Car # | 27 |
Years Competed | 2025- |
Current Team | ATK Motorsports |
Championships | 0 |
Pole Positions | 0 |
Wins | 2 |
Top 5 Finishes | 4 |
Top 10 Finishes | 7 |
First Start | 2025 Empire State 50 (Albany) |
First Win | 2025 Daytona 40 (Daytona) |
Last Win | 2028 AAS @ Chicagoland (Chicagoland) |
Last Start | 2028 AAS @ Chicagoland (Chicagoland) |
Best Result | 35th (2025) |
Miscellaneous | |
BenAtkins27 | |
Created By | Ben |
STARS Driver |
Ben Atkins (born April 9th, 1989) is a British STARS Lowe's Premier Series driver from Chester, England. He is best known for being a two time champion in the series, earning championships in 2012 and 2018, which earned him a spot in the STARS Hall of Fame, as well as winning the Indianapolis 500 in 2025 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2030. Atkins owns ATK Motorsports, with which he won 5 LPS drivers championships, 5 LPS owners championships, 2 LTPS drivers championships and 1 LTPS owners championship. Atkins currently owns the Lowe's Premier Series and previously acted as CEO of the series.
Early Career: 2003-2007
Atkins started his career in open wheel racing, running in the Formula Ford series in 2003 at the age of 14. After a championship winning season in 2004, Atkins moved onto Clio Cup Racing, earning regular wins, before being scouted into British Touring Cars at the age of 17 in 2006. Atkins spent two years in Touring Cars, earning six career wins and a best championship effort of 4th in 2007 before being scouted into STARS by Frank McBrien, who was looking to expand his two car team to a three car team.
McBrien Racing: 2008-2013
Atkins took only 11 attempts to take a win in STARS, when he took victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and his second at Talladega Superspeedway towards the end of his rookie season, with his teammate and friend Bradley Carlisle pushing him. Atkins finished his rookie season 14th in points despite his two wins due to his lack of pace on Short Tracks, and a brash and aggressive driving style that led to multiple DNFs.
Atkins would not win a race in 2009 but would finish 9th in points, finding consistency and having calmed down in his driving style. 2010 was the Englishman's break out year, however, as he took 8 wins, including the season opening, prestigious Empire State 450. Other wins included a Road Course sweep at Watkins Glen, Sonoma and Willow Point, as well was another Charlotte Motor Speedway victory, and wins at Daytona, Chicagoland and Darlington. Atkins, however, came short in his title fight as Frank McBrien took his second title, winning by 18 points over Atkins.
Atkins' winning ways did not stop in 2011 as he took another 4 wins, winning at Pocono, Talladega, Watkins Glen and Auto Club, and finishing fourth in points, but 2012 turned out to be his year as he earned 5 wins, including a sweep of the Road Courses (Watkins Glen and Sonoma only, this time) again while earning another Empire State 450 and another set of wins at Charlotte and Talladega en route to a dominating title victory.
Form was difficult to find for Atkins in 2013 however, and he was left without a win that season, finishing only 11th in points, and at the end of the season, he left Frank McBrien's organisation to join RA Racing.
RA Racing: 2014-2015
Atkins got a slow start to 2014 as RA Racing were finding their feet, and reliability disappointed him. Fans had started to label Atkins as a one hit wonder, but he fought back, taking consecutive wins at Texas Motor Speedway, Darlington, Homestead and Las Vegas to end the season, and rally back to finish 8th in points.
2015 proved to be successful, despite only one win at Watkins Glen. Atkins was on track 3rd in points after consistent top five finishes but was sidelined by injury at the end of the season at Talladega, slamming the wall head on in the tri-oval at 200mph, before the car rolled over several times. Atkins suffered a concussion in the accident and missed the final four races of the season, dropping him to 16th in points.
ATK Motorsports: 2016-2023
2016 was a year to remember for Atkins, as he expanded his team to three cars, hiring hotshot rookie Matilda Dillinger and veteran Grant Macintosh. Atkins won his third Empire State 450, and took home wins at Homestead, Kentucky and a retribution win at Talladega, the event he had been injured in just the year before. However, despite a slim points lead entering the final race of the season, Atkins was unable to take home his second championship, after a bold move by Matilda Dillinger seen her pass Atkins on the last lap for both the win and the championship at Las Vegas, demoting Atkins to second in points.
Atkins went into 2017 confident after his good form in the previous year, but he started out with a crash early on at New York. Atkins got the pole and led the early laps at Charlotte, but had a tire let go coming to a restart, but he still recovered to finish on the lead lap, just outside of the top 10. Atkins' first win came in the form of his first career short track win at Pikes Peak, where he led the final laps to deny teammate and rookie Casey Lester of his first career win. Atkins' form continued, and with a win at Eurospeedway with a late pass on Frank McBrien, Atkins qualified for the inaugural chase.
Atkins dominated the first race of the chase at Dover International Speedway, but pit road contact with Ryan Matthews led to Atkins suffering race ending problems with just 12 laps to go. With a penalty being assessed after the race for improper conduct during driver introductions at Atlanta Motor Speedway along side Evie Vance, Atkins was in a must-win situation at both Chicagoland and LORP. At Chicagoland, Atkins could only finish 15th after crash damage. The penalty was overturned entering LORP, but Atkins was still behind the cut-off point, and could only muster up a 21st place finish, and with a Matilda Dillinger win, Atkins was eliminated in the first round. A lacklustre set of final races meant that he could only earn a 15th place points finish.
2018 started with Atkins earning a top 10 in the Empire State 450. Atkins followed this up with a 2nd place finish at Watkins Glen, leading the most laps. Atkins led the most laps again at New Hampshire, but despite leading 116 of the 200 laps, a crash with William Carmichael saw him restricted to a 32nd place finish. Atkins' good form was finally rewarded with a win at the Oklahoma City Motorsports Complex superspeedway. Atkins doubled down on this win with another just before the start of the chase at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, and again, he qualified for the chase.
Despite a DNF at Atlanta, Atkins was likely to make the second round of the chase after a second place finish at New Jersey, but Atkins made a statement of intent with a dominating win at Lucas Oil Raceway Park. Atkins did not have a good second round after bad results at both Indianapolis and Talladega, but he managed to advance by saving his round with a win a Chicagoland. This win marked the first time Atkins has won on all four track types in a single season. After a retirement at the penultimate race at Sonoma, despite him looking incredibly fast, it seemed to be that Atkins was set to be eliminated from the case, being 4th in points but knocked out as Ruby McBrien had won in the stage. However, a Mac Hanley points penalty for intentionally wrecking Grant Macintosh saw Atkins advance to the final four.
Atkins seemed to be the slowest of the four championship contenders despite outqualifying Ruby McBrien, as his pace at the beginning of the race saw him running fourth behind Macintosh, Carlisle and McBrien. However, as the end of the race brought along a long-run, Atkins worked his way up to the front and took the lead with 38 laps to go. Despite late race cautions, Atkins never gave up his lead, taking home the victory at Las Vegas and earning his second STARS Lowe's International Series championship.
As the reigning series champion, Atkins started 2019 out with a 9th place finish in the Empire State 225, before holding off Lacey Starling to score an emphatic win at Watkins Glen. The next week at New Hampshire, Atkins would have a huge crash which saw him barrel roll twice in the middle of turn 1, but he rebounded with another road course win in the infield course in Oklahoma. Depsite these being his only two wins in the regular season, Atkins would make the playoffs for the third year straight. Atkins would make the round of 12, but would be eliminated after poor results in the second round. Atkins' playoffs did not treat him well, and despite a 2nd place finish to teammate and eventual champion Evie Vance, Atkins' title defense ended with an 11th place finish in points with 2 wins, 8 top 5's, 14 top 10's and 2 poles.
Atkins started 2020 with another strong showing in the Empire State 225, finishing 5th. At Charlotte, Atkins would score a record fourth win at the track, leading the last 10 laps. Atkins missed the race at Memphis to be at home for the birth of his children, Alyssa and Isabella, then suffered another massive crash, going upside-down on the backstretch at Orlando. Atkins recovered to lead 89 of 90 laps at Wiscasset for his second win of the year, making the playoffs again. Atkins would win his way into the round of 12, scoring the victory at Kansas. Atkins would score two top 5's in the round of 12, easily making the round of 8 as the top seed, but this is where his playoffs would end, as he failed to make the final four. Atkins would finish the season 7th in points, scoring 3 wins, 11 top 5's, 13 top 10's and 2 poles.
Despite his success in the previous runnings of the race, Atkins blew up just 14 laps into the Empire State 300 to start the 2021 season. After a quiet start to the season, Atkins would take his first and only win of 2021 in a flag-to-flag domination at Old Spice. Yet again, Atkins would make the playoffs, starting with a 2nd place finish at Rockingham. Atkins would advance through the rounds of 16 and 12, making the round of 8 with extremely consistent showings. It looked like Atkins had hit his stride at the right time, finishing third at Indianapolis to begin the round of 8. However, a huge crash at Kentucky which sparked a fierce rivalry with AJ Stratton derailed his progress, and despite recovering from a spin to finish 12th at Iowa, it wasn't enough for Atkins to make the final four. Atkins finished the season with a blowover accident at Las Vegas after being turned by Nico Yazawa. Atkins finished 2021 8th in points with 1 win, 8 top 5's, 13 top 10's and 3 poles.
Atkins again was consistent throughout 2022, but spent much of his season with his playoff hopes in the balance, as he failed to register a win in the entire regular season. Despite this, Atkins held the points lead for much of the season, and despite a high amount of winners throughout the regular season, Atkins advanced into the playoffs, ending the regular season second in points. However, Atkins did not continue his playoffs like his regular season, instantly scoring a win at Rockingham to advance to the round of 12. He immediately followed this up by winning again the next week at Charlotte, his fifth at the track, extending his record for most wins there. Atkins scraped through the round of 12, but managed to advance by the skin of his teeth. After a dominating win at LORP, Atkins automatically advanced to the final four for the second time in his career. Despite an incredible season, Atkins suffered damage in a crash at Las Vegas, having to settle for 18th, and 3rd in the final standings, with 3 wins, 11 top 5's, 16 top 10's and 3 poles. After this season, Atkins announced that 2023 would be his last as a full-time driver.
Atkins scored a top 10 to start his retirement year in the the Empire State 300, and would find victory lane early in the season with a risky pit strategy paying off at Dover. Atkins would score his first ever dirt track win, holding off teammate Evie Vance to win at Springfield. Atkins won again in a controversial finish at Iowa, beating Misaki Andou after Andou suffered damage in an incident with Matilda Dillinger. Despite being the dominant driver of the year alongside Ruby Mayberry, Atkins was unable to close out the championship in his retirement year, with his form faltering at the wrong time. Atkins finished 2023 with 3 wins, 15 top 5's, 18 top 10's and 1 pole.
Part Time Racing: 2024-2031
Atkins took up part-time racing in STARS and AAS from 2024 onwards, racing 5 times in the Lowe's Premier Series with little success in 2024. In 2025, Atkins had no plans to enter any Lowe's Premier Series races, but ended up participating in 2 races, leading 28 laps and finishing 12th at Daytona, and finishing 17th at Indianapolis. Atkins also entered the AAS race at Daytona, scoring his first career AAS win in the race. Atkins also won the Indianapolis 500 this year, leading the final 8 laps after passing Emmie Hutchinson for the win.
Atkins would not race in 2026 or 2027, but returned to AAS action in 2028, winning again in a one-off appearance at Chicagoland. Atkins would, again, sit out during the 2029 season, but would return to Lowe's Premier Series action in 2030, initially doing 5 races in preparation for a run at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Toyota. Atkins would end up winning Le Mans alongside Joe Branch, and ended up racing in 9 races with a best finish of 2nd at Charlotte, narrowly losing out to Scarlett Sanders. Atkins also nearly won the race at Kansas, but old tires meant he was passed late by teammate and eventual winner Tanner Mayberry. After this season, Atkins did not rule out a full-time return to racing, but eventually he elected to race part-time again in 2031, participating in 10 races. Atkins came close to victory twice during the year, scoring a top 5 finish after leading a handful of laps at Pocono, and finishing second to Harriet Ridley at the Las Vegas Speeddome, despite having the fastest car and having to make a late comeback.
Return to Full Time Racing: 2032
In the lead-up to the 2031 Yousoro Boats 150 at Auto Club, a race Atkins was competing in, he announced his full-time return to racing in the STARS Lowe's Premier Series at the age of 42 for Australian BMW Factory Support Team BrisCo Motorsports. The team are closely linked with Atkins' own team, ATK Motorsports, which he announced his wife Abigail would take the majority ownership of while he pursued a full-time racing career again. His wife also took majority ownership of the Lowe's Premier Series, while Atkins retained a minority stake in both the team and series. While it was a late return to full-time racing for him, Atkins admitted that now that his children had grown older and had started racing careers of their own, he wanted to be hands-on in their path to STARS, and it was a dream of his to share a car with them in a lower-tier series.
Personal Life
Atkins currently resides in Sacramento, California with his wife and former fellow driver Abigail, professionally known as Riko Vance. The couple have three children together, twins Isabella and Alyssa (born 14th July 2020) and Emilia (born 16th July 2022). Atkins is also best friends with her sister Evie Vance.
When not racing, Atkins is a fan of acting and theatre, and has voice acted in the past in anime dubs. Atkins also featured in several movies as a teenager, but stopped his acting career to persue racing.
Atkins is also an avid video gamer, prompting his 2017 sponsorship from American game publisher Sekai Project. Atkins has played in several Rock Band tournaments, playing both the Guitar and Drum controllers on Expert level.
Atkins shares a good friendship with McBrien Racing teammates Bradley Carlisle and Frank McBrien, and also is good friends with Connor Swift and part-timer Mac Hanley.
Atkins is known to get along with most people in the paddock, but has also been known to lose his temper in the past; notably a fight with Spencer Libra in 2014 at Richmond International Raceway after a last lap collision between the two seen Atkins in the wall. Atkins has been noted to have been working on his temper, however.
Atkins has been known to say he is "the least decisive person he knows" and has said it has cost him races before, whether it be deciding to suddenly pit or to make a move that turns out to be unsuccessful. During the 2011 Monster Energy 300 at Talladega, Atkins caused the big one by deciding to make a move then changing his mind. When trying to get back in line, he turned Kevin Miller at the front of the pack, causing an 18 car pile up.
Atkins is one of the tallest drivers in the paddock, measuring in at 6'3".