TC Daily Pit Stop: Joey Logano Advances to Round of 12 with Atlanta Win; Larson, Briscoe Meet Early Exit
TC Daily Pit Stop: Joey Logano Advances to Round of 12 with Atlanta Win; Larson, Briscoe Meet Early Exit
TC Daily Pit Stop: Monday, September 9, 2024
With Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway complete, the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs have officially begun, and the season is beginning its most intense time. Next up is a trip to Watkins Glen, which promises to be memorable with a tire that is predicted to massively fall-off during a run.
Joey Logano Takes Push from Penske Teammate to Win at Atlanta
Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway came down to a direct face-off between a pair of teammates; Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney for Team Penske going up against Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain from Trackhouse Racing.
In a record-tying 11th Overtime finish this season, Ryan Blaney, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, was able to get his teammate clear of Daniel Suarez when it mattered most, allowing the No. 22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse to pull ahead.
Suarez, who triumphed in the most recent event at Atlanta in February, attempted to utilize the draft of the cars behind him to get a run, but was stalled out side-by-side with Blaney, allowing Logano to take the victory when a caution was displayed seconds before the checkered flag.
“We didn’t last year and it hurt a lot, but they just give me really fast cars on superspeedways and we always find ourselves towards the front of them, we just end up wrecking more times than not,” said Logano. “So, to be able to finally capitalize on a fast race car and win here in Atlanta again.”
Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, and Alex Bowman rounded out the top-five.
RACE RECAP
RACE RESULTS
DRIVER POINTS
OWNER POINTS
MORE NASCAR HEADLINES:
Patience Does Not Pay Off for Denny Hamlin in Atlanta: After a plugwire issue forced the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE to start shotgun on the NASCAR Cup Series field, Denny Hamlin decided to ride at the back of the field all day. That strategy, unfortunately, did not work, after Hamlin was in a last-lap wreck and finished 24th.
Playoff Contenders Blaney, Truex Sustain Damage in Crash with Buescher: Martin Truex, Jr. and Ryan Blaney had a good afternoon turn tough after an accident in the second stage of the race, that took out Truex and Chris Buescher. Blaney was able to patch his car up and continue.
Larson, Briscoe Taken Out in Massive Wreck to End Stage 1: After entering Sunday’s Quaker State 400 as the No. 1 seed, Kyle Larson has seen that points advantage evaporate, after a nasty wreck to end the first stage. Chase Briscoe, who entered below the cutline after a walk-off Darlington win, also took a massive shunt.
NASCAR TRIVIA:
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Joey Logano said it in his post-race interview.
It doesn’t match his car number, the approximate mileage of the Quaker State 400 or the time this newsletter was sent out at (ET).
Did you get yesterday’s question correct? Let’s check! Question: What is Austin Hill’s average finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway?
CORRECT ANSWER: 3.0. Austin Hill has been a beast at Atlanta Motor Speedway with five top-two finishes (including four wins) and a 12th-place in the Summer of 2023.
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