(Motorsport-Total.com) – The playoffs for the 2024 NASCAR Cup season opened on Sunday at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, which has been classified as a superspeedway for two years due to its track configuration. Joey Logano (Penske-Ford) secured victory in the first of ten playoff races of the year. (Photos: NASCAR playoff kick-off in Atlanta)
First winner in the playoffs of the 2024 NASCAR season: Joey Logano (Penske-Ford) Zoom
In overtime, a successful push by his Penske teammate Ryan Blaney, who was driving directly behind him, gave Logano the victory and thus his early entry into the “Round of 12” of the playoffs.
Daniel Suarez (Trackhouse-Chevrolet), who was fighting for victory on the outside lane, was outwitted by Penske’s maneuver on the inside lane. The finish itself was under yellow because there was a crash with several cars in the midfield in the final meters. (Result: NASCAR playoff opener in Atlanta)
McDowell on pole – heavy crash by Larson
None of the 16 playoff participants started from pole at the playoff opener, but rather Michael McDowell (Front Row Ford), who had already been the fastest in qualifying for this year’s Atlanta spring race. He managed to do exactly the same this time, setting the best Q2 time on the highly banked 1.54-mile oval on Saturday.
Pole setter Michael McDowell recorded the first lap in the lead of this year’s playoffs. His first pursuer in the early stages of the race was defending champion Ryan Blaney (Penske-Ford), who is also one of the 16 title contenders this year.
The race ran under green for 55 laps. Then came the first crash, and it involved the very person who had entered the title fight as the leader of the playoff seeding list: Kyle Larson. In turn 2, the #5 Hendrick Chevrolet, running in third place, suddenly broke away. Larson crashed into the outer barrier of the track while going into the opposite lane.
Aside from Larson, last weekend’s winner in Darlington was also involved in the crash: Chase Briscoe (Stewart/Haas-Ford). For both of them, the playoff opener was over right then and there.
“I’m OK,” Larson said immediately after the routine examination at the track’s medical center. The 2021 NASCAR champion said the cause of the crash was an “overcorrection” when trying to catch the broken rear end. Briscoe, who was unable to swerve, also escaped unharmed. “The car is gone, but I’m fine,” said the Stewart/Haas driver.
Stage wins for Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric
The first race segment (Stage 1), scheduled for 60 laps, ended under yellow. Ryan Blaney took the first stage win of the playoffs, followed by Penske teammate Austin Cindric and Alex Bowman (Hendrick-Chevrolet).
Stage 2 was scheduled for 100 laps and was completely dominated by Austin Cindric. The pack driving in the second race segment was only interrupted by a brief debris caution. When the Stage 2 flag was shown, Cindric was ahead of Penske teammate Ryan Blaney and Hendrick driver Alex Bowman, who once again took third place.
NASCAR 2024: Atlanta II
The highlights of race 27 of 36 of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series, the playoff opener Quaker State 400 at Altanta Motor Speedway!
In both Stage 1 and Stage 2, eight of the 16 playoff participants finished in the top 10 and thus received bonus points for the rest of the playoffs. The only non-playoff participants who made it into the top 10 in the first two Atlanta segments were Ricky Stenhouse (JTG-Chevrolet) and Ross Chastain (Trackhouse-Chevrolet) in both stages.
Joey Logano wins in overtime
As calm as the racing was in Stage 1 and Stage 2 – apart from the Larson crash – it was once again thrilling in the decisive third race segment (Stage 3). With 15 laps to go, Ty Gibbs (Gibbs-Toyota) was in the lead, for whom these were the first playoffs of his still young Cup career. With just ten laps left on the clock, the youngster lost the lead to Daniel Suarez, and another yellow card was issued. The reason was an advertising banner that had blown onto the track.
At the restart with only five laps left, Ty Gibbs took the lead back from Daniel Suarez, but the Mexican countered. Suarez was in the lead with four laps to go, but then lost the lead to Joey Logano. Two laps to go, Noah Gragson (Stewart/Haas-Ford) crashed out and the yellow flag was issued again. The race went into overtime.
The exciting lineup for the overtime restart: leader Joey Logano at the front on the inside lane with Penske teammate Ryan Blaney behind him. On the outside lane, Daniel Suarez lined up at the front with Trackhouse teammate Ross Chastain behind him.
Logano set the pace at the restart, but Suarez had slightly better momentum. At the start of the last lap, the Trackhouse driver was a hair’s breadth ahead of the Penske driver. But on the last lap, Logano took advantage of the push from his rear-end driver Ryan Blaney on the inside lane and crossed the line as the first winner of the 2024 playoffs. Suarez had lost his rear-end driver Ross Chastain shortly after the overtime restart.
Logano came in first. Suarez, who won the Atlanta spring race in a thrilling three-wide photo finish, finished second this time behind Ryan Blaney and ahead of Christopher Bell (Gibbs-Toyota) and Alex Bowman. In Stage 3, nine of the 16 playoff participants made it into the top 10. The only breakaway was Kyle Busch (Childress-Chevrolet) in P7.
There was a crash involving several cars in the midfield as the car crossed the finish line. Denny Hamlin (Gibbs-Toyota) was involved, among others. As a result, he only finished 24th.
Playoffs: Keselowski, Truex Jr. and Co. in the red
Hamlin’s Gibbs teammate Martin Truex Jr., who is retiring at the end of the season, only started the last playoffs of his career with a 35th place in the race result. In Stage 3, he was involved in a collision on the back straight between Penske driver Ryan Blaney and Chris Buescher (RFK-Ford) through no fault of his own.
For this reason, Martin Truex Jr. is one of the four drivers who are in the negative zone of the playoff table after the first race of the first playoff stage (“Round of 16”).
Photo gallery: The current playoff standings in the 2024 NASCAR Cup
Truex Jr. was already in the minus area of the table before the start of the race, when the playoff seeding list was still valid after the regular season. Apart from him, Brad Keselowski (RFK-Ford) is also in the minus area of the table after the start of the playoffs.
The second of ten playoff races in 2024 will take place next Sunday (September 15) in Watkins Glen. The permanent race track in the US state of New York is part of the playoffs for the first time.
