Logano Takes the Opening NASCAR Playoff Race at Atlanta

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HAMPTON, GA -RIS – Joey Logan, with pushing help from teammate Ryan Blaney wonthe opening NASCAQR Cup playoff race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday. Logano’s victory, his second of 2024, propels him into the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Playoffs. He and fellow playoff contender Daniel Suárez restarted alongside each other in overtime, each getting a push from their teammates with Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain pushing Suárez. Entering Turn 3 on the final lap, an errant shove from Chase Elliott put Chastain into the wall. The field stacked up behind, resulting in a multicar crash that involved playoff drivers Harrison Burton and Denny Hamlin.

A caution for debris with 10 laps to go set up a restart with just five laps remaining in regulation. With two laps to go, Noah Gragson spun into  the inside SAFER barrier after bouncing off playoff contenders Burton and Austin Cindric, sending the race into overtime.

"Incredible execution from the team," said Logano, who now has two Cup wins at Atlanta. "When it's playoff time, it's our time. As I said, we got to always get the level up when it comes playoff time. They gave me a great Mustang. She was fast all day. Got stuck in the back a little bit. It was hard to get track position back. Had a good restart and got towards the front. Had my teammate Blaney behind me. That really helped out in the last lap to be able to make sure a Penske car won, ultimately move on to the next round. Good day for all the Penske cars. Got a lot of stage points as well."

Logano spent six years living in a condo that overlooks the track, learning his trade. He has said at times that Atlanta Motor Speedway feels like home to him.

Suarez, who won at Atlanta earlier this year, just missed out on the sweep. "I was pretty confident that the top was going to be better," he said post-race. "We got a great launch, but we just got disconnected too early, and that obviously hurt us ... It's a little painful. I feel like we were in position. Sometimes, it's very difficult to predict who is going to get the best push and for how long they're gonna get it. But we're in contention."

Some drivers had trouble early. title favorite and top seed Kyle Larson crashed after losing control just a few laps shy of the Stage 1 finish. Chase Briscoe was also collected, ending his race. Beyond that, the opening two stages were fairly clean with Ryan Blaney winning Stage 1 and Austin Cindric winning Stage 2.

Later, Ty Gibbs got control of the race, hoping to secure his first career Cup win, but a caution for debris -- a Walmart banner on the front stretch -- forced another yellow with ten laps remaining. The closing laps evolved into a head-to-head fight between Penske and Trackhouse, but a wreck by Noah Gragson forced the race into overtime.

In the end, Logano chose the bottom and Suarez the top. They were even for a bit, but the Trackhouse drivers became disconnected in Turn 3. On the final lap, there was little Suarez could do against the Penske dup as Chastain got walled by Chase Elliott, igniting a race-ending crash.

Logano captured the checkered flag and due to the timing of the yellow, Suarez was second and Blaney third. Christopher Bell was fourth, Alex Bowman fifth. Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Austin Cindric rounded out the top ten.

It’s on to the road course at Watkins Glen next week in round two.

Unofficial Results: Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart, Atlanta Motor Speedway, September 8, 2024
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 7, Joey Logano (P), No. 22 Autotrader Ford, 266, 4, , 2, 9, 5, 47, Running
2) 30, Daniel Suarez (P), No. 99 Quaker State Chevrolet, 266, , 4, 2, 9, , 42, Running
3) 2, Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Dent Wizard Ford, 266, 1, 2, 1, 33, 1, 53, Running
4) 26, Christopher Bell (P), No. 20 Rheem Toyota, 266, , 10, , , , 34, Running
5) 11, Alex Bowman (P), No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 266, 3, 3, 2, 5, , 48, Running
6) 23, Tyler Reddick (P), No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota, 266, , , , , , 31, Running
7) 15, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Global Industrial Chevrolet, 266, , , 2, 24, , 30, Running
8) 16, Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 NAPA/Children's Chevrolet, 266, 7, 8, , , , 36, Running
9) 9, William Byron (P), No. 24 Relay Payments Chevrolet, 266, 8, 5, 2, 2, , 37, Running
10) 5, Austin Cindric (P), No. 2 Menards/Quaker State Ford, 266, 2, 1, 3, 92, 1, 46, Running
11) 14, Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 29, Justin Haley, No. 51 Grady Health System Ford, 266, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 18, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 266, 6, 7, 2, 13, , 33, Running
14) 27, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Oscar Mayer/Thomas' Chevrolet, 266, 5, 6, , , , 34, Running
15) 25, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 32, Carson Hocevar #, No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet, 266, , , 1, 1, , 21, Running
17) 20, Ty Gibbs (P), No. 54 He Gets Us Toyota, 266, 10, 9, 3, 37, , 23, Running
18) 21, Ryan Preece, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 266, , , 1, 2, , 19, Running
19) 19, Brad Keselowski (P), No. 6 King's Hawaiian Ford, 266, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 8, Austin Dillon, No. 3 BREZTRI Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 34, Zane Smith #, No. 71 Ambetter Health Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 1, Michael McDowell, No. 34 B'laster Work It Like A Pro Ford, 266, , , 2, 30, , 15, Running
23) 37, JJ Yeley(i)*, No. 44 US Aviation Academy Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 0, Running
24) 38, Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 Mavis Tire Toyota, 266, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 36, BJ McLeod(i)*, No. 78 Delgado Stone Chevrolet, 266, , , 1, 1, , 0, Running
26) 33, Erik Jones, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota, 266, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 3, Todd Gilliland, No. 38 CITGARD Ford, 266, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 4, Josh Berry #, No. 4 Decisely Insurance Ford, 266, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 24, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Leidos Toyota, 266, , , 1, 8, , 8, Running
30) 31, Cody Ware, No. 15 Mighty Fire Breaker Ford, 266, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 12, Harrison Burton (P), No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford, 265, , , , , , 6, Accident
32) 28, Shane Van Gisbergen(i), No. 16 Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet, 264, , , , , , 0, Running
33) 35, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 OLIPOP Ridge Rush Toyota, 262, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 13, Noah Gragson, No. 10 Overstock.com Ford, 258, , , , , , 3, Accident
35) 22, Martin Truex Jr. (P), No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, 254, 9, , , , , 4, Suspension
36) 17, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 205, , , , , , 1, Accident
37) 6, Kyle Larson (P), No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 55, , , , , , 1, Accident
38) 10, Chase Briscoe (P), No. 14 Mahindra Compact Tractors Ford, 55, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Race Length: 266 Laps, 409.64 Miles
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 6 Mins, 12 Secs.
Average Speed: 132 MPH
Margin of Victory: Under Caution

Stage 1 Top 10: 12, 2, 48, 22, 47, 1, 9, 24, 19, 54
Stage 2 Top 10: 2, 12, 48, 99, 24, 47, 1, 9, 54, 20

Comments: Joey Logano won the Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his 34th NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason indicated: No. 11, 19, 54 (unapproved adjustments).

Cautions: 8 for 44 laps;
Laps: 57-67 (No. 5, 14 Incident Turn 2 / Stage 1 Conclusion [None]);
115-119 (Debris on track [None]);
162-166 (Stage 2 Conclusion [None]);
176-181 (No. 42 Incident Backstretch [None]);
206-211 (No. 12, 19, 17, 16 Incident Backstretch [42]);
251-255 (Debris on track [16]);
260-264 (No. 21, 10 Incident Backstretch [16]);
266-266 (No. 71, 38, 11, 78, 42, 16, 43, 4, 15, 21, 23 Incident Turn 4 [None]).

Lead Changes: 24 among 14 drivers;
M. McDowell 1-29;
R. Blaney (P) 30-62;
BJ McLeod*(i) 63;
A. Bowman (P) 64-67;
A. Cindric (P) 68;
A. Bowman (P) 69;
A. Cindric (P) 70-115;
R. Preece 116-117;
A. Cindric (P) 118-162;
C. Hocevar # 163;
R. Chastain 164-167;
M. McDowell 168;
R. Chastain 169-177;
T. Gibbs (P) 178-199;
B. Wallace 200-207;
K. Busch 208-222;
W. Byron (P) 223;
K. Busch 224-232;
W. Byron (P) 233;
T. Gibbs (P) 234-247;
D. Suarez (P) 248-255;
T. Gibbs (P) 256;
J. Logano (P) 257-263;
D. Suarez (P) 264;
J. Logano (P) 265-266.

Unofficial Points: Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart, Atlanta Motor Speedway
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Ryan Blaney (P), 12, 27, 4, 2071, 0, 0, 2, 4, 19
2) Christopher Bell (P), 20, 27, 0, 2066, -5, 5, 3, 10, 32
3) Tyler Reddick (P), 45, 27, 0, 2059, -12, 7, 2, 3, 28
4) William Byron (P), 24, 27, 0, 2059, -12, 0, 3, 1, 22
5) Joey Logano (P), 22, 27, 4, 2054, -17, 5, 2, 2, 12
6) Alex Bowman (P), 48, 27, 6, 2053, -18, 1, 1, 0, 5
7) Austin Cindric (P), 2, 27, 3, 2053, -18, 0, 1, 3, 8
8) Chase Elliott (P), 9, 27, -1, 2050, -21, 3, 1, 1, 14
9) Daniel Suarez (P), 99, 27, 2, 2048, -23, 2, 1, 1, 6
10) Kyle Larson (P), 5, 26, -9, 2041, -30, 7, 4, 10, 40
11) Denny Hamlin (P), 11, 27, -5, 2028, -43, 13, 3, 6, 15
12) Ty Gibbs (P), 54, 27, 3, 2027, -44, 1, 0, 2, 4
13) Brad Keselowski (P), 6, 27, -5, 2026, -45, 1, 1, 0, 8
14) Harrison Burton (P), 21, 27, 0, 2011, -60, 15, 1, 0, 5
15) Martin Truex Jr. (P), 19, 27, 1, 2008, -63, 3, 0, 3, 4
16) Chase Briscoe (P), 14, 27, -3, 2006, -65, 2, 1, 0, 5
17) Ross Chastain, 1, 27, 2, 696, -1375, 1310, 0, 1, 0
18) Chris Buescher, 17, 27, -1, 691, -1380, 5, 0, 2, 0
19) Bubba Wallace, 23, 27, -1, 677, -1394, 14, 0, 1, 0
20) Kyle Busch, 8, 27, 0, 617, -1454, 60, 0, 1, 0
21) Todd Gilliland, 38, 27, 0, 510, -1561, 107, 0, 0, 0
22) Carson Hocevar #, 77, 27, 0, 492, -1579, 18, 0, 0, 0
23) Michael McDowell, 34, 27, 0, 483, -1588, 9, 0, 1, 0
24) Josh Berry #, 4, 27, 0, 469, -1602, 14, 0, 1, 0
25) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 47, 27, 1, 453, -1618, 16, 0, 0, 0
26) Noah Gragson, 10, 27, -1, 434, -1637, 19, 0, 0, 0
27) Ryan Preece, 41, 27, 1, 412, -1659, 22, 0, 0, 0
28) Erik Jones, 43, 25, -1, 405, -1666, 7, 0, 0, 0
29) Austin Dillon, 3, 27, 0, 399, -1672, 6, 1, 0, 0
30) Daniel Hemric, 31, 27, 0, 399, -1672, 0, 0, 0, 0
31) Justin Haley, 51, 27, 0, 391, -1680, 8, 0, 0, 0
32) Corey LaJoie, 7, 27, 0, 385, -1686, 6, 0, 0, 0
33) John Hunter Nemechek, 42, 27, 0, 359, -1712, 26, 0, 0, 0
34) Zane Smith #, 71, 27, 0, 346, -1725, 13, 0, 0, 0
35) Kaz Grala, , 17, 0, 169, -1902, 177, 0, 0, 0
36) Cody Ware, 15, 7, 0, 105, -1966, 64, 0, 0, 0
37) Joey Hand, , 1, 0, 43, -2028, 62, 0, 1, 0
38) Jimmie Johnson, , 6, 0, 39, -2032, 4, 0, 0, 0
39) Derek Kraus, , 5, 0, 32, -2039, 7, 0, 0, 0
40) David Ragan, , 1, 0, 17, -2054, 15, 0, 0, 0
41) Kamui Kobayashi, , 1, 0, 8, -2063, 9, 0, 0, 0
42) Will Brown, , 1, 0, 6, -2065, 2, 0, 0, 0
43) Cam Waters, , 1, 0, 2, -2069, 4, 0, 0, 0
44) Aj Allmendinger(i), , 11, 0, 0, -2071, 2, 0, 0, 0
45) Anthony Alfredo(i), , 2, 0, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 0, 0
46) Parker Retzlaff(i), , 2, 0, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 0, 0
47) Justin Allgaier(i), , 1, 0, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 0, 0
48) Ty Dillon(i), , 6, 0, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 0, 0
49) BJ McLeod(i)*, 78, 6, 0, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 0, 0
50) Shane Van Gisbergen(i), 16, 7, 0, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 1, 0
51) Joey Gase(i), , 1, 0, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 0, 0
52) Corey Heim(i), , 3, 0, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 0, 0
53) JJ Yeley(i)*, 44, 4, 4, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 0, 0
54) Riley Herbst(i), , 4, -1, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 0, 0
55) Austin Hill(i), , 4, -1, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 0, 0
56) Josh Williams(i), , 2, -1, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 0, 0
57) Josh Bilicki(i), , 1, -1, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 0, 0
58) Timmy Hill(i), , 2, 0, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 0, 0
59) David Starr(i), , 1, 0, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 0, 0
60) Chad Finchum(i), , 1, 0, 0, -2071, 0, 0, 0, 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series