By Aaron Bearden

Takeaways from a memorable NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Main Takeaway

At its best, there’s nothing like NASCAR superspeedway racing.

And boy was it at its best on Sunday night. 

The Cup Series’ second points race of the year was one of the wildest in the modern era. There were big crashes as early as Lap 2, collecting all but three cars on the day. The field supplied a track record 48 lead changes and awed with three-and-four-wide moves that narrowly avoided disaster. 

But even all of that paled in comparison to the finish. 

Daniel Suarez, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney came to the checkered flag three-abreast for the win. On initial viewing it appeared Blaney had prevailed on the bottom, but closer inspection showed Suarez as the winner up top by all of an inch or two. 

The winning margin? .003 seconds, the third-closest finish in Cup history. Busch was just .007s back in third. 

Unsurprisingly, Suarez had no idea he’d won at the line. 

“I thought that I had the 8 (of Busch),” Suarez said. “I knew it was close. But I had no idea about the 12 (of Blaney). No idea.

 “At that point, I was just hoping I saw the tower and I thought I was first, and they told me we got it, but then we were under review, and I said, dammit.” 

Blaney had led the field into the white flag lap. But he got a bit too far ahead at the exit of Turn 2, allowing Busch and Suarez to make a run on him. Suarez inched into the fight up high while Busch split the pair in the middle. 

Settling for second was disappointing for the defending series champion, but he couldn’t complain. 

“What a cool finish,” Blaney said. “Appreciate the fans for sticking around. That’s a lot of fun. That’s always a good time when we can do that, race clean, three-wide finish to the end.

“Happy for Daniel. That was cool to see. Fun racing with Kyle. I can’t complain; I’ve won them by very, very little, too, so I can’t complain too much when I lose them by that much.”

Busch came inches away from sweeping his portion of the weekend, having won Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series race. The current points leader felt Suarez was able to capitalize on being the last one into the battle. 

“Typically whoever is behind getting into 3 prevails at the start-finish line with the side draft and everything, so I was — I think I was second to the 12 right there, and the 99 was the furthest back, and he made the ground back up with the side draft and stuff,” he said. 

It’s the second time Suarez has snuck by Busch on the final lap for a win. His first Xfinity Series victory in 2016 came after an overtake of Busch on the final lap at Michigan International Speedway. 

The pair were Joe Gibbs Racing teammates in Toyotas at the time. Now they both drive in Chevrolets. 

“It’s good to see Daniel get a win,” Busch said. “We were helping each being Chevy team partners and working together there. Shows that when you do have friends and you can make alliances that they do seem to work, and that was a good part of today.” 

The finish was one for the ages. It’ll rank among the best in NASCAR’s history and replay on highlight compilations for years to come. It was also the second major highlight of the Next Gen era. Trackhouse Racing also supplied the other one: Ross Chastain’s wall-ride in the fall 2022 race at Martinsville Speedway. 

It came at a time when NASCAR desperately needed one. 

NASCAR’s 2024 Cup Series season had gotten off to a rough start. The Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum was held early with minimal fanfare due to rain. The Daytona 500 weekend was a washout with ugly finishes, ended on a Monday in anticlimactic fashion. Potential new fans tuning in after watching the Netflix series “NASCAR: Full Speed” had yet to see the best NASCAR has to offer. 

That all changed Sunday night. NASCAR’s best stars supplied the sort of chaotic, intense finish that only they can provide. 

Good, Bad and Ugly

Good: Atlanta wins big

Is it weird to say Atlanta Motor Speedway might be NASCAR’s best drafting track? 

The thought seemed unthinkable heading into the Next Gen era. No one even knew if Atlanta would work for pack racing after its reconfiguration for the 2022 season. Those early races showed sparks, but they were met with mixed reactions. 

Atlanta was maligned by many drivers, particularly when its second race was added to the 2024 playoffs. An anonymous poll from The Athletic saw one driver wish for the track to be wild out. 

“I wish a tornado would hit that fucking place,” they said. 

Combine those bad vibes with the fuel-saving, wreck-marred Daytona 500 last week, and it’s easy to see why many entered Atlanta with little hope for a good weekend. 

But even many of those that lost left the race with a smile on their face. 

It’s hard to find much to criticize from Atlanta’s spring showcase. Yes, all but three drivers were involved in wrecks, but the crashes were a product of bold, dramatic moves. Most continued on after their incidents, too—Suarez himself was caught up in the 16-car melee on Lap 2. 

There were a track record 48 lead changes, seven more than in the Daytona 500. The draft created dramatic runs and there was little fuel saving or conservative driving to be found. Drivers could largely control their own destiny and drive through the field. 

“It was a wild race, but a fun race,” sixth-place finisher Ricky Stenhouse Jr. said. “I think the track is kind of coming into itself a little bit.”

“It was just fun, because you could be aggressive,” Chase Briscoe said after his crash. 

Even 32nd-place finisher Kyle Larson praised the race. “I actually had a lot of fun today,” he said. “It was super intense and it’s been a great race. It’s been the opposite from last weekend with no fuel saving and guys going at it, so it’s been fun.”

The old, worn-out pavement of pre-superspeedway Atlanta was a favorite of the drivers. But Speedway Motorsports was given justification for its reconfiguration with Sunday’s showdown. 

Suddenly that playoff race doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. 

Good: Daniel silences the doubters

Sunday’s photo finish went the way of the driver that needed it most. 

Suarez was the driver Trackhouse Racing went to when it was launching for 2021, “employee No. 4” according to co-owner Justin Marks. But he’d been overshadowed by teammate Ross Chastain in the first two years of the Next Gen era. 

The Mexican star had won at Sonoma Raceway in 2022, but he faded out of the playoffs in the Round of 12 while Chastain took Trackhouse to the Championship 4. Suarez then failed to make the playoffs at all in 2023, fading into obscurity while Chastain notched two wins and notably kept champion Ryan Blaney from victory lane in the season finale. 

Meanwhile Trackhouse itself was bulking up on talent. The organization has signed Truck Series champion Zane Smith, brought in Supercars ace and shock Chicago Street Race winner Shane van Gisbergen and added prospect Connor Zilisch to its ranks in the past six months. 

None of that means Suarez is in immediate danger. But simple math shows five potential future Cup drivers with a maximum team roster of four, even if Trackhouse were to acquire two extra charters. That led to a sense that Suarez could be on the hot seat heading into 2024. 

But the 2016 Xfinity Series champion claims he never felt that way. 

“I never felt like I was in the hot seat,” Suarez said. “A lot of people (were) talking about it. Shane coming on board and then Zane coming on board. But I never felt bad.

“I knew that last year wasn’t the year that I really wanted. I work. People that actually know me, they know how hard I actually work, and last year we worked hard, but we were not efficient. We were missing something. We were not firing on all eight cylinders. 

“In the off-season we went to work and we changed a little bit our system, the way we do things in a few areas, and I’ve been telling Ty, I’ve been telling Justin, saying, man, I can feel the team strong, I can feel the communication, the preparation, everything that we have, Squid, Matt Swiderski has done a hell of a job helping me to build a strong team, and I can feel it. I can feel it.” 

Marks said after Sunday that he doesn’t “envision necessarily a situation where Daniel is not a driver for Trackhouse Racing.” 

“Yes, this is a contract year for Daniel,” he said. “Does that mean that this is Daniel’s audition? No. It means that basically we are working on growing this company and making Trackhouse one of the powerhouse perennial championship-contending companies in this sport.

“On the hot seat? He just didn’t have the year that he wanted last year. But we know that he can get it done, and he’s a guy that can get it done.” 

Now that Suarez has gotten it done early, some of the pressure is off. He’s essentially locked into the playoffs, so his season is already an improvement on 2023. 

But Suarez vows to stay hungry. He has bigger goals for the year than just getting to the postseason. 

“I’m happy that we were able to do it early in the season because some people actually told me earlier, hey, now you can relax, you’re in the playoffs,” Suarez said. “Hell no. My goal is not to win one race. I want to head into the playoffs with at least a handful — with a few wins to be able to contend for a championship.

“I’m happy that we are secure in the playoffs, but to be able to win the championship, you won’t do it winning one or two races,” he added. “You have to win at least a handful of races to create points, and that’s the goal for the 99.

“The goal for me with the 99 is for you guys not to be surprised when the 99 is in Victory Lane.” 

Bad: Inspection woes leave Ford teams behind

Good weather be damned, there could be dark clouds hanging over a pair of Ford teams. 

Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) saw two of its teams fail pre-race inspection Friday. NASCAR confiscated roof rail deflectors from the teams of Noah Gragson (No. 10) and Ryan Preece (No. 41). 

Per section 14.5.6.1 of the NASCAR Rule Book, the roof deflectors must be painted, constructed of .05-inch-thick aluminum and installed perpendicular to the inspection surface in the applicable recessed slots on the greenhouse and roof flaps. They also must not interfere with the functionality of roof flaps.

The organization replaced the parts for the remainder of the weekend, but neither team was able to salvage a great result. Preece went on to finish a quiet 16th, while Gragson was lost to a Lap 2 crash in 36th.

“It’s definitely a bummer,” Gragson said of his run. “They started stacking up on the top and I thought we were gonna miss the 3 (Austin Dillon) and then got tagged in the right-rear by someone. I just got hit from behind and the car was pretty torn up. 

“We tried to keep it going, but then the rack started falling out of it, so we started losing steering and had to bring it in. It’s just a bummer, but we’re gonna go to Vegas and rebound.”

SHR was hit with an L3-level penalty last year after a May inspection failure for Chase Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford. The team never recovered, finishing 30th in the standings. Similar penalties could be killer for two programs looking to build something with drivers unproven at the Cup level.

Another unique confiscation came from within the Ford ranks at Team Penske. Joey Logano was forced to start at the rear and complete a pass-through penalty Sunday after his driving gloves were found in violation of Rule 14.3.1.1 of the Cup Rule Book for not meeting SFI safety guidelines.

The issue in question lied with the left-hand driving glove. It was a webbed glove that appeared modified to provide an aerodynamic advantage if he were to stick his hand out towards the window net—something that could have helped him snag a front row qualifying spot for the Daytona 500.

Logano’s penalties could have been race-ruining. But a timely caution on Lap 2 kept him in the mix. He went on to lead 27 laps before a Stage 2 block of Chris Buescher went awry and sent the defending Atlanta spring winner into the wall. The two-time champion was classified 28th at races end. 

Any penalties will be unveiled this week.

Ugly: Josh Williams’ Kaulig debut ends early

Josh Williams has a big opportunity this year with Kaulig Racing, but it’s off to an inauspicious start. 

Three weeks after he narrowly failed to qualify for the Busch Light Clash, Williams made his first Cup start for Kaulig at Atlanta. The Floridian hoped to make a mark at the same track where he’d memorably parked his damaged Xfinity Series ride on the front stretch last year. 

But Williams’ day was over before it could truly begin. He was caught up in the Lap 2 crash and immediately eliminated, classified last in 37th. 

“It’s just insane,” Williams said of the crash. “I had guys passing me when we were still wrecking. It’s just unfortunate for this No. 16 Alloy Employer Services Chevy team. I just have some bad luck and I need to figure out how to get rid of it.”

Good: The weather

Finally, a nice scheduled race day for the Cup Series. 

Notes

  • One one driver has managed to score top-10s in both of the opening races. But they were even better than that—Bubba Wallace has earned consecutive top-fives for the third time in his Cup career. 
  • Todd Gilliland has a Front Row Motorsports record, having led a team record 58 laps in Sunday’s race. It’s a shame he crashed and finished 26th, leaving him 31st in the standings. 
  • Kyle Busch has the early points lead for Richard Childress Racing. It’s the first time he’s topped the charts since his 2019 title win for Joe Gibbs Racing. 
  • Could Brad Keselowski’s season already be in jeopardy? The Michigander is 36th in the standings with a pair of early DNFs. He only had three total DNFs in his consistent 2023 playoff campaign. 
  • The 16 cars caught up in the pileup on Lap 2 set a track record for involvement in one crash. 
  • Chevrolet has won the opening two Cup points races for the second-straight year. The last time another manufacturer did so was in 2017, when Ford scored the first two victories with Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski. 
  • The Bowtie brand has actually swept the entirety of the NASCAR national series races in the opening two race weekends. It’s the first time any manufacturer has done so in the opening two tripleheader weekends.

Race Results

  1. Daniel Suarez
  2. Ryan Blaney
  3. Kyle Busch
  4. Austin Cindric
  5. Bubba Wallace
  6. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  7. Ross Chastain
  8. Michael McDowell
  9. Chris Buescher
  10. Ty Gibbs
  11. Harrison Burton
  12. Martin Truex Jr.
  13. Corey LaJoie
  14. Kaz Grala
  15. Chase Elliott
  16. Ryan Preece
  17. William Byron
  18. Daniel Hemric
  19. Carson Hocevar
  20. Justin Haley
  21. John Hunter Nemechek
  22. Austin Dillon
  23. Denny Hamlin
  24. BJ McLeod
  25. Erik Jones
  26. Todd Gilliland
  27. Alex Bowman
  28. Joey Logano
  29. Josh Berry
  30. Tyler Reddick
  31. Chase Briscoe
  32. Kyle Larson
  33. Brad Keselowski
  34. Christopher Bell
  35. Zane Smith
  36. Noah Gragson
  37. Josh Williams

Stage 1

  1. Michael McDowell
  2. Ryan Blaney
  3. Ross Chastain
  4. Kyle Larson
  5. Kyle Busch
  6. Martin Truex Jr.
  7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  8. Bubba Wallace
  9. William Byron
  10. Todd Gilliland

Stage 2

  1. Austin Cindric
  2. Kyle Larson
  3. Ryan Blaney
  4. Daniel Suarez
  5. Martin Truex Jr.
  6. Todd Gilliland
  7. Brad Keselowski
  8. Harrison Burton
  9. Chase Briscoe
  10. Chase Elliott

—

Playoff Picture

In with a win

William Byron

Daniel Suarez

 

Above the Cutline

Kyle Busch (+30) 

Austin Cindric (+29)

Bubba Wallace (+27)

Ryan Blaney (+22)

Chase Elliott (+18)

Ross Chastain (+15)

Alex Bowman (+13)

Martin Truex Jr. (+13)

Kyle Larson (+11)

Corey LaJoie (+10)

John Hunter Nemechek (+6)

Ty Gibbs (+3)

Chris Buescher (+2)

Christopher Bell (0)

 

Within Reach

Erik Jones (0)

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-3)

Denny Hamlin (-3)

Michael McDowell (-7)

Daniel Hemric (-7)

Chase Briscoe (-10)

Harrison Burton (-11)

Ruan Preece (-12)

Tyler Reddick (-16)

Noah Gragson (-18)

Zane Smith (-18)

Justin Haley (-18)

Carson Hocevar (-21)

Josh Berry (-27)

Todd Gilliland (-28)

Joey Logano (-29)

Austin Dillon (-31)

Brad Keselowski (-31)

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Atlanta Motor Speedway NASCAR Cup Series