What drivers said after Bristol Motor Speedway

By Nate RyanAug 21, 2016, 8:46 PM EDT

In a race that concluded nearly 24 hours after it was scheduled to begin, Kevin Harvick emerged Sunday night as the winner at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Here’s some of what drivers said after the 23rd Sprint Cup race of the 2016 season:

Harvick — Finished first: “We should have won a lot of races this year but we just had things not go our way. We made mistakes, or whatever the case may be. But to get back into victory lane here at Bristol feels really good. We’ve had some good cars here over the last few years. And to have Busch Beer on the car; we’ve had crummy luck with these guys on the car and so I’m just really happy for Busch and Jimmy John’s and really proud of these guys on the No. 4 team. … We knew we had the performance that we needed to have in the cars pretty much every week. And it’s been one of those deals where things have just not gone exactly right. But to have the win now and just try to get that momentum before we get into the Chase and get things rolling is really what we needed.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — Finished second: “It wasn’t from a lack of hard work and being lucky a few times. We really wanted to get this Bryan Clauson tribute car in victory lane. It just wasn’t meant to be today. We made our car a lot faster throughout the race and came from two laps down to get back on the lead lap. We missed some wrecks and gave it all we had. I thought we were matching (Harvick) lap for lap, but he got away from us and we had to restart sixth there on that last restart, but it was an honor to drive this car. All of the fans that came out this weekend. This place was pretty packed last night. Thanks to all the fans that were able to stay around. I thought the track was really good. You could run the bottom. You could run the top. We just wanted one more spot … That’s all we can think about is getting ourselves a win. We’ve been OK at Michigan. We had a flat tire. We’ve been OK at Darlington and Richmond even, so we’ve got to keep our confidence in our ability to make sure we’re making all the good changes and not making mistakes, and staying with it throughout the race like we did right there. We really wanted to get that win this time at Bristol. We knew this was probably our best shot. We just struggled all weekend. It was a tough weekend from an emotional side and out here driving this race car and getting it fast, but thanks to all the hard work from my guys we were able to salvage a really good finish.”

Denny Hamlin — Finished third: “We had a great car. We definitely got it a lot better there at the end and proud that we’re able to come back from two laps down and get a good finish out of it, but still a good overall day for our FedEx Express Camry. Just came up a little short … I feel good. We didn’t have a race-winning car today, to be honest with you – our balance was off a little bit – so I think we maximized our day to be honest. I would have loved to race on straight up tires there, but we had to do some strategy there to get our track position back, so it was a very par day for us.”

Austin Dillon — Finished fourth: “Well, it was challenging for our Dow Chevy. We really didn’t have a car capable of winning the race, I don’t think. We just struggled. My arms are worn out; I know that. But I’m proud of the adjustments the guys made. One heck of a pit stop. My guys really helped us out with that and gained us some spots there to have that outside restart. And, it was fun there, you could tell I was a little tighter than (Kevin) Harvick there on the bottom, so I got to him there. Early in the run he jumped to the top and pulled me. It was fun here at Bristol, today. I’m glad that Bristol tried to get that bottom (lane) working. I think we can do a little bit more for it because that top is going to be dominant as it runs. It was a fun race. We had to adjust the car to get it free from the top and then back to tight on the bottom. So, a lot of chasing grip. It was fun racing, man. It reminded me of the dirt days just trying to chase that grip, what we call brown, now it’s black. It was a lot of fun. I’ve got to thank the good Lord for keeping us out of all those wrecks. We dodged some big ones today. It was a solid points day. I’m just really happy.”

Chris Buescher — Finished fifth: “That was a lot of fun. It’s been a long time since we’ve come to the race track and enjoy it like that. We had awesome speed out of our Love’s Ford Fusion. I’m really proud of the team. This thing was good from the start of the weekend. We kept working our way up towards the end and got to the top five, and almost got one there at the end, but I love Bristol. I absolutely love this racetrack. What they did with the surface worked out really well and made for some really good racing. I don’t know exactly where we’re at quite yet, but I know we had to get there. That’s Chase eligibility in one race out of the four we had to do it. Now, we have to hold onto it. I’m really proud of this team. Our Love’s Ford Fusion had great speed this weekend. We’re looking forward to the next handful of races. We’ve got some really good tracks for us coming up. We knew Bristol would be a good one for us. It took us a day later to do it, but we got ourselves a top-five and had a blast out here. That was an awesome run.”

Carl Edwards — Finished sixth: “My guys did a great job. We didn’t quit and dodged some wrecks, but, man, just a really fun race. The first half – just racing up there for the lead with Kyle (Busch) and Kevin (Harvick) – that was the most fun I’ve had in a race car in a long time. That was really cool.”

Jimmie Johnson — Finished seventh: “We were up to third before the red (flag) came. Our car just wasn’t good on a green racetrack. It didn’t matter if it was the start of the weekend, the start of the race after the red flag for the rain and when the jet dryers came out and blew all the rubber off we just couldn’t go. Our car was super-fast about 30, 40 laps into a run. Unfortunately, we lost some track position on that final restart and just kind of sailed home for seventh there at the end. Certainly, overcame a lot this weekend so that does feel good just wished we would have finished a little better.”

AJ Allmendinger — Finished ninth: “It was a hard-fought day. We were just trying to get on either end of being a little bit too tight, a little bit too loose. I thought we had kind of got in the happy medium. We made the car as good as it could be with what we had right there. Just tricky racetrack today. At one point you would get the bottom rolling and think that is pretty good and then it goes away and try to find out how to run the top. We weren’t as good on the top and then I kind of figured something out late, but just a tricky race track, hard fought. A little bit fortunate to miss a couple of those crashes. I wish we would have had about 15 more laps at the end because I thought I had figured something out, but it is what it is, a top 10. We’ve had some days where we feel like we should have gotten more and gotten stolen from us. We will take a day like this.”

Joey Logano — Finished 10th: “It was eventful Bristol. It seems like at this race track there’s always something that happens. Whether it’s on the team side or the driver’s side it seems like that happens a lot at this race track. There was a point during the race at about Lap 400 where we got to the lead with the Shell/Pennzoil Ford and we were fast. The race track was where we thought it would be and everything was kind of working as planned, and the next thing you know the 41 spun and we got some damage from that. We pitted for that and had a lugnut off the left-rear, so we came in to fix that, and then it rained and the track just changed. After it rained everything changed and the car wasn’t as fast. We got back up to 10^th and I thought we were gonna drive to fifth on that last run because we were really fast the run before when the track was rubbered up, but once it cleaned up we just lost a little bit of speed … We overcame a lot. I guess that’s the positive and the bright side of it. I just kind of look at all the fireworks going off in victory lane and think about that a little bit more.”

Jeff Gordon — Finished 11th after rebounding from an early slip: “I went up top too early on that restart. I felt the pressure from Kyle (Busch) and those guys behind me they were a little bit better than me on that short run there. I was trying to make something happen and I moved up and just didn’t work. I got too high and got loose and lost a bunch of positions. We fought back a little bit, but I don’t know after that I don’t know if it was track position or just the way the track went we just never quite had a handle on it. (on the track changes) It was interesting. It made it pretty challenging on the restarts. It helped a little bit with lapped traffic. You could at least go down there and hook the bottom for one lap, but if they truly want to have a bottom groove, call me. I will tell them how to do it.”

Tony Stewart — Finished 30th: “I would have liked to have done it last night, but I’m glad we got this in. I’m appreciative to the fans that stayed last night. I know it’s taxing on a lot of them, but we appreciate the fact that they stayed to watch. (On doing a celebratory burnout with Harvick) That is cool. The funny part is he got out of his car, got the flag and then he goes ‘get in my car and go to Victory Lane with me.’ I went what? He goes ‘yeah, just leave yours here.’ I’m like I just can’t just leave my car there, but that was cool. I’m happy for these guys. This is a hard place to win at. There are so many things that can go wrong. All it takes is one thing. I mean we had a wheel that was loose and that messed our whole day up. That was cool sharing that moment with him though. (On his last race at Bristol) Well, I will see it in the spring. I will be back here. I just won’t wear a helmet when I come back here. It is cool. This place is so much fun. I told myself the last 10 laps we weren’t racing anybody, there wasn’t anybody around us, I said, just enjoy these last 10 and just savor the moment and think about it. So, that is what I did, I really thought about what I was doing those last 10 laps and kind of soaked it all in.”

Brad Keselowski — Finished 33rd after crashing with Kurt Busch: “Something happened (and Busch) got loose. By the time I saw it, I was already making contact with him. It was kind of one of those Bristol things. I hate it because we were making improvements on the car, and we had gotten up to third there and the race was kind of coming to us. We were just trying to run smart, but a bummer of an ending for the Autotrader Ford. We had a lot of short-run speed, and we were hoping the race would play out that way at the end and we would have had a shot at it, if that was the case, but instead we’re here in the garage. We’ll try to get a finish out of it, but a bummer day for us.”

Ryan Blaney – Finished 35th after crash: “I don’t know what happened. I was watching the replay, and somebody got loose. We were trying to make ground on the top and before I knew it (Matt Kenseth) was sitting sideways in front of me, and I hit him pretty hard. It’s unfortunate. We had a really good car early and lost some spots on pit road being in bad spots and kind of lost our car a little bit halfway through, but got it back and thought we were just starting to make ground up and got in that wreck … It stinks. We were fast all weekend and this was one of the best weekends that we’ve had. There were a couple of rough spots and unfortunately it ended rough, but we’ll just have to go on to next week. That’s all.”

Matt Kenseth — Finished 37th after crash: “I didn’t really see what happened except for there was cars wrecking up there, and I slowed down as much as the guy in front of me. I couldn’t slow down any less than that or I would hit him. Chase (Elliott) bust out of nowhere, ran me over and (Ryan Blaney) came through there wide open – I still don’t know if he’s lifted yet or not – and finished us off. As the wreck happened, you’ve got to slow down. Just not much I could do.”

Kurt Busch – Finished 38th after causing a multicar crash while leading: “I think I just missed the bottom groove by a few inches, got loose and the wreck was on. The way that our car was restarting it felt comfortable, it felt good. That inside with the resin and the VHT if you don’t hit it exactly right you lose a lot of time. I tried to make up for it and got loose. I feel really bad for the Monster Energy guys. We had a win in our sights and I just drove the car at 101 percent instead of that 99 … It was neat to run the high groove. It was its normal self. The low groove helped on restarts. I just over pushed the groove by a few inches. When you miss your line on a VHT/rosin grip level you go for a ride.”

Kyle Busch — Finished 39th after crashing because of a parts failure: “We’ve been having parts failures here, so something we’ve got to address and fix. I’m really tired of losing races here with parts falling apart, so they’ll hear about it on Tuesday (in Joe Gibbs Racing’s weekly competition meeting) … It finally did break and it was breaking, but it finally did break and I couldn’t hold onto it there and it spun out and then spun out the wrong way and it’s frustrating. We’ve had really, really fast race cars here. The guys do a great job setting them up, but, man, we’ve got parts failures, you know? You can’t have parts failures in this business. That’s stupid. My Camrys have been fast. We’ve just got to stop making stupid mistakes that take us out of races.”

Justin Allgaier – Finished 40th after running into Kyle Busch in crash: “I was trying to let the leaders go as best I could. We were a couple laps down right there and let them go. (Joey Logano) ducked in front of me getting into (Turn) 1 and I had to jam on the brakes pretty hard. I got really loose and I was just trying to catch it. That is when the spotter was telling me that (Kyle Busch) was spinning and he kept rolling down the hill so at first I committed to go below him because I was already on the bottom and then he was still coming down the hill, so I tried to go out around the outside of him and unfortunately I just didn’t make it. (Logano) was right there and just really a shame. I hate it for these guys. This Pilot Flying J No. 46 team they did a good job all day. We weren’t up there battling for the lead, but we had a good solid day going. I just cost us a decent finish. Thanks to them for letting me drive the car today. Sorry to Kyle. That is the worst possibly scenario when the leader spins out and you hit them. Just really frustrating.”

Long: One lap, 30 seconds of action with so much at stake at Atlanta

By Dustin LongMar 19, 2023, 9:23 PM EDT

HAMPTON, Ga. — As they began the final lap of Sunday’s Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski led Christopher Bell by a car length. Joey Logano ran third, with Corey LaJoie on his rear bumper in fourth, and Tyler Reddick beside LaJoie in fifth.

So much was at stake over the final 1.54 miles and would be determined in the next 30 seconds on a brisk day at a track that looks like an intermediate speedway but races like Daytona and Talladega.

Here’s what mattered for each:

Keselowski sought to end a 66-race winless streak that stretches nearly two years.
Bell looked to score his third win in the last nine Cup races, which would have been more than any other driver in that span.
Logano sought a win in a season that Fords have had few chances to do so.
LaJoie was focused on winning his first Cup race.
Reddick looked to earn his first victory with his new team.

It started with Keselowski, who is in his second year as owner-driver at RFK Racing. The organization fought through struggles last year before teammate Chris Buescher won the Bristol night race.

Keselowski was going for his first Cup victory for his team in what has been a markedly better start to this season compared to last year.

“You need days like this,” Keselowski said afterward. “You just wish they were wins. We were right there, just didn’t come together at the end.”

Bell is proving to be the under-appreciated ace in the Cup series.

He twice needed to win to advance in the next round of the playoffs last year — and did so. Both victories were overshadowed. The focus at the Charlotte Roval was on Chase Briscoe eliminating Kyle Larson from the playoffs instead of Bell’s win. Ross Chastain’s video game move was the talk of Martinsville instead of Bell’s triumph that day.

Nobody had won this year in Cup except Chevrolet drivers. That made this a key race for Ford and Toyota drivers.

“We haven’t had the start to the season we’d want or hope for,” said Paul Wolfe, crew chief for Logano. “The West Coast swing was pretty rough on us. We had speed at times, but not really where we need to be on any of those tracks. So we’ve got our work cut out for us.

“We know the speedways with all the aero changes to all the manufacturers, the speedways are probably the strengths for the Fords right now. I think we saw that in Daytona as well. If you look at qualifying (Saturday), that will probably point to that same sign.

“We have to take advantage of these races right now. If this is our strength, we got to make sure we execute. That’s probably what I’m most proud of, is we were able to come here and get the win. Now we’ve really have to squeeze hard to get more speed out of our cars on the downforce tracks.”

LaJoie finished fifth in this race a year ago and was passed for the lead with two laps to go. He entered Sunday’s race winless in 204 career Cup races. He had three top-20 finishes in the first four races of the year, solid performances for his Spire Motorsports team. He’s gained some attention for those efforts.

“If we have a good car like we saw at Fontana or Las Vegas,” LaJoie said earlier this week of his 14th at California and 20th at Las Vegas, “then I can go get the job done and be up front. So, certainly a crucial beginning part of the season for me with the future of my career. I want to make sure people know what I’m capable of, no matter whether it’s an intermediate or a short track or superspeedway.”

Reddick is in his first season with 23XI Racing and it has been a rough start to the season. He was eliminated by accidents in the first two races of the year. He scored his first top 10 of the year last week at Phoenix and looked for even more Sunday.

It is what all those situations hovering as the white flag waved to begin the final lap.

The key moment came with LaJoie planted on the back of Logano’s rear bumper on the inside lane.

“Joey got such a huge run down the frontstretch,” Keselowski said. “There was nothing I could do to stop it other than wreck all of us.”

Logano said that LaJoie “clobbered me at the start/finish line, gave me such a big run.”

That energy allowed Logano to go from the bottom lane to the top lane — while narrowly slipping between Keselowski and Bell.

“When you get a run like that on the last lap, you can’t lift, you just can’t,” Logano said.

He knew he needed to move up the track to avoid having Keselowski block him on the bottom lane.

“I had to get up there and slip to his outside,” Logano said. “Ultimately, that’s the move that was going to win the race.

“If I got to his inside, you have a chance, maybe a 20% chance of winning the race depending on what kind of push you get down the backstretch. Most likely we were not going to win the race.”

He did and Keselowski finished second.

“We know each other’s moves pretty well, for sure, but it just matters how the cookie crumbles and it kind of came his way at he end and he made a good move,” Keselowski said. “Kudos to him. We’re right there, though, as our team just continues to improve and show what we’re made of, so I’m proud of that.

Bell finished third and was left to wonder what if.

“I had the position (Logano) had and I decided to bail on it and go to the top,” Bell said. “To come so close is disappointing.”

LaJoie finished a career-best fourth.

“Hell, yeah, there’s moral victories,” LaJoie said after Sunday’s finish. “If you get … smashed 35 weekends out of the year, here’s an opportunity where you can win. When you can run fourth, there are so many good things wrapped up in that. … For me, it’s huge. For our team, it’s huge.”

For Reddick, a day that started with John Hunter Nemechek on standby because Reddick wasn’t feeling well, ended with Reddick scoring his second consecutive top five.

“I was trying to create an opportunity to where myself Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin could all break away and take advantage of momentum,” Reddick said. “It didn’t quite work out timing-wise where it needed for that. All in all, an OK day.”

What drivers said at Atlanta Motor Speedway

By Mike HembreeMar 19, 2023, 7:45 PM EDT

HAMPTON, Ga. — A look at what drivers said during and after Sunday’s Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway:

Joey Logano — Winner: “We lost our track position there for a minute, but was able to just stay patient and work on it and this amazing fast race car allowed me to really make some great moves on the racetrack and getting the push there on the last lap to get to the outside of Brad (Keselowski). Just getting to break the plane of his back bumper was gonna be my only chance there, and I was able to get him there and get the push from the 20 (Christopher Bell) on the backstretch. Overall, just a really fast Ford Mustang is what it came down to. It’s nice to win with Autotrader on the car. I don’t think I’ve ever won a race without Shell on the car. It means a lot to get this one in Victory Lane. It’s been a lot of years coming. The intensity ratcheted up, obviously. I’ve got great teammates, and I wanted to stick with them. There were plenty of times I could have moved up, but I didn’t want to leave my teammates down there. I wanted them behind me. I knew how fast their cars were. If I could pick one, that’s the one I want, so I was able to try to keep them with me. I thought with two to go the outside lane got three cars, four cars clear and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m gonna make it here,’ but I got a good push – enough to get to the outside of the 6, and that was the big difference.”

MORE: Atlanta Cup results, driver points

Brad Keselowski — Finished 2nd: “The bottom came with a huge run. I don’t know how. I thought I had it blocked. Joey just kept shaking. His car didn’t stall out. I couldn’t get the push down the back. I thought, ‘Just get a push down the back.’ The 20 car (Bell) just hauled down there. But great run all in all for the RFK King’s Hawaiian Ford Mustang. Glad a Ford won. A heck of a battle. The coolest thing about this race is two veterans showed you can run a race here side by side, bump-drafting, and not wreck the field. It can happen if you race respectfully. I thought everybody did a great job. We were right there. Proud of my team and the effort. Nothing much we could do there at the end. Night and day from where we were a year ago. 100%. Keep running like this, the good finishes and the wins will happen.”

Christopher Bell — Finished 3rd: “Got a good finish out of it, and I’m happy with that. I don’t know, I had the position the 22 (Joey Logano) had, and I decided to bail on it and go to the top. To come so close is disappointing, but very happy with a third-place result. It was a pretty smooth day really. We started in the back, and we were able to get up front and get some stage points at the end of Stage 1, so that was pretty cool. Stage 2, the green flag cycle didn’t really work our way. Ultimately, we were able to keep the DeWalt Camry clean all day and put ourselves in position at the end of the race, so that’s all you can ask for. Speedway racing is a lot about luck and, fortunately, it worked out for us at Daytona and now here.”

Corey LaJoie — Finished 4th: “It’s like this taboo, second sucks. Fourth is great. Fourth is great for our CELSIUS Camaro and our small team. Just a great points day. We started off the year, West Coast swing, really solid. To come back here, a bit of a crapshoot. To get another career best here… I don’t expect to show up and instantly win a race. You have to keep putting yourself in these positions, like Joey (Logano). That is why he wins all the time, because he’s up front all the time. As I get some more confidence, race around these guys, these guys see me up there racing with them, our day is going to come. I hope he (Logano) gives me a shout-out for pushing him — gave him a good shot there at the end. I was probably fourth or fifth in the top lane there. I had an opportunity to get down and as soon as I didn’t take it, I was like – man, that was the race. That was probably with 18 or 20 to go. That’s why these guys make millions of dollars, They’re pretty good and know where to put their car. Honestly, I think as this track gets a little more wear and abrasiveness to it, it’s going to be like old Daytona where you’re bumping and sliding around, and your car has to be fast. I felt like the track lost 10 to 15 percent of grip from last year, so handling was a big thing. You could really drive or push if you wanted to, or you could be sideways. Our Chevy drove great. We were able to pick the right lanes at the right time, just a little short.”

Tyler Reddick — Finished 5th: “We’ll try to just go back and look at it. Our Xfinity Toyota Camry TRD was as fast as the Xfinity 10 G network. We had Toyotas lined up there, and I didn’t know if that was our move there with all three together or Christopher (Bell) was going to do it on his own. We’ll talk about it, for sure. I don’t know, maybe if we all would have went it would have worked out for one of us. I’m not really sure. It didn’t really work for one of us, so it’s definitely something for us to think about so that one of us can win the race there. It’s a bummer that we let someone else get it done. There was definitely some hard work going on. Joey (Logano) was doing Joey things. He was making the bottom work really good. … I was also at the same time trying to create an opportunity where all three – myself, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin — could all break away and take advantage of momentum. It didn’t quite work out timing-wise as it needed to for that. All in all, it was an okay day.”

Denny Hamlin — Finished 6th: “The last pit road incident where cars are coming in and I’m coming out, that’s just part of it. The traffic jam that you get there. But speedways in general like this one, it’s just kind of two-by-two and you can’t really pull out to a third lane. I just restarted I think fourth on the outside row and that’s where I ended up. You have to stay in line and just watch the cars in front of you to see if you can make a hole. It’s just so circumstantial that you want to be able to stay as close as you can to each other to give each other runs. I thought there was one opportunity there where we all were clear and we could have all pulled down in front of the 22 (Joey Logano), and we didn’t. That probably was the key moment for us, but overall it is what it is, and it’s probably the most Toyotas we’ve had in the top 10 all year. Just have to continue to get better. We just need more speed, more handling, more everything to get a little better.”

Erik Jones — Finished 8th: “Just looking at the day, I thought we were just stuck farther back. It was just hard to pass. We didn’t qualify good, so it just took a while for us to get up there, and we never really did, and then we got in a crash there. Happy to get a top 10 for the No. 43 Allegiant Chevy. We needed that. We just needed a good finish. We haven’t had one this year, so it was nice to do that. I hope we keep it rolling. We just kind of squeaked that one out there at the end with some stuff working out on the last two laps for us. But happy with that, proud of that. Glad we can hopefully get some momentum going and keep rolling.”

Ty Gibbs — Finished 9th: “I feel like from where we started to where we finished, we made really good progression. The team, my 54 group, never gave up on me, and we had great stops all day. We had a very fast Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD, just ran out of laps there. Probably could have worked our way up a little bit and been more aggressive, but it just comes with experience, but we’re plate racing and that’s just part of it and just learning and we’ll move on and go to the next race.”

Kyle Busch — Finished 10th: “We had a decent day. Our No. 8 Lenovo Camaro was fast enough. I think there were probably 20 of them that were fast enough. It was just a matter of positioning yourself and getting positioned there toward the end. I got shuffled out to around 16th and then made our way back into the top 10. Tried to make a move there with four to go on the outside and just hit a block or a wall of air and just slowed up. Top-10 finish. We’ll take that and head to COTA.”

Noah Gragson — Finished 12th: “It was a smooth, solid day for the No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Chevy team. I felt pretty competitive running in the top 10 or 15 throughout the race. Really felt like we had a decent shot, we were just a little too far back there at the end to really make anything happen. But solid execution and solid job by everyone on the No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Chevy team.”

AJ Allmendinger — Finished 16th: “I thought we made the best of it. We got a little bit of damage in one of the wrecks, and that probably didn’t help our speed, but we were just lacking speed in general, which made it tough for us to make moves and we kinda got stuck. Pit stops were really good, strategy was really good. We did everything right and the car handled well, just got stuck there in pack racing and we didn’t have a lot of raw speed in the car. We just tried to make the best there with what we had and we got out with a clean race car.”

Josh Berry — Finished 18th: “I thought it was a solid day for the No. 9 NAPA Chevy. I feel like we definitely improved. We got up there in the top 10, and we were pretty solid before that wreck. After that, the car was just a little too damaged to be too aggressive. All-in-all, we finished the race, learned a lot and had some fun.”

Bubba Wallace — Finished 27th: “Long hard-fought day. Proud of our team for never giving up and getting us past the checkered. Onward to Texas.”

Aric Almirola — Finished 30th: “I’m OK. It knocked the wind out of me, mostly because it caught me by surprise, but I’m OK. I blew a tire. I just blew a tire. I have no idea why. We had way less laps on that set of tires than we had earlier, so I don’t know.”

Kyle Larson — Finished 31st: “There was nowhere to go. Nobody had been having tire issues, so I wasn’t even expecting the No. 10 (Aric Almirola) to have a tire issue in front of me. Even if I did, I didn’t have time to react. It’s a bummer. Just frustrating. I was finally up front on this style of race track and still end up with a DNF. I don’t know, just frustrating.”

William Byron — Finished 32nd: “It was superspeedway-type racing. I thought, for the most part, it was pretty single-file all day. That was a little discouraging because the bottom lane wouldn’t really go that much. But as we all started to save fuel on the top, the bottom started to surge there. It looked like the No. 1 (Ross Chastain) and the No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) just got connected there into Turn 1 and got the No. 4 loose. It’s just part of racing. That’s the way it goes — not really in our control. We were up there running in the top five and doing what we needed to do.”

Kevin Harvick — Finished 33rd: “I think he (Ross Chastain) just caught me so quick right there in the middle of the corner, and then he kind of was up on the right rear part of the corner and he came back down and when he came back down it just spun the thing out. I don’t think he actually even hit me, but it started chattering the rear tires, and then I was just along for the ride.”

Harrison Burton — Finished 34th: “I don’t even know what caused our wreck. I was looking back and forth between the windshield and the mirror trying to block people from being aggressive and taking you in the middle of three-wide. I looked back and forth, and by the time I looked back they were wrecking in front of me. It’s just one of those deals. It was such a frustrating deal. I feel like our qualifying effort was not very good, obviously. I about crashed in qualifying, but I felt really good about our car in the race, but I just could not gain track position to maintain it. It’s really, really hard to leapfrog your way forward a lot of spots. It’s just frustrating how that worked out. Once you’re back there, you’re bound to get pushed into all the wrecks for sure.”

Chris Buescher — Finished 35th: “First off, our Violet Defense Ford Mustang was really fast, and I’m proud of everybody for that. I made a mistake on pit road by getting a speeding penalty, and that put us back in the field. We drove back up to third. The speed was there, and we were doing it without unnecessary pushes in the center of the corner. I haven’t seen a replay to know exactly what happened, but I’ve got a pretty good feeling.”

NASCAR Cup Series results: Joey Logano wins at Atlanta

By Mike HembreeMar 19, 2023, 6:37 PM EDT

HAMPTON, Ga. — A last-lap pass lifted Joey Logano to his first win of the NASCAR Cup Series season Sunday as he moved around leader Brad Keselowski for his 32nd career victory.

Logano’s Ford was dominant most of the afternoon, and the victory ended a four-race win streak by Chevrolets.

Following Logano in the top five were Keselowski, Christopher Bell, Corey LaJoie (with his career-best finish) and Tyler Reddick.

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Atlanta Cup driver points

Joey Logano wins NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway

By Mike HembreeMar 19, 2023, 6:25 PM EDT

HAMPTON, Ga. — Joey Logano slipped past leader Brad Keselowski on the final lap and won Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Although Chevrolet drivers won the season’s first four races, Fords and Toyotas were in the mix for the win in the closing laps Sunday.

Keselowski, seeking to end a 66-race winless streak, held the lead at the white flag, but Logano, helped by a push from Christopher Bell, ran past Keselowski on the outside and took the lead for good. Following in the top five were Bell, Corey LaJoie (his best career finish) and Tyler Reddick, who ran well despite fighting an illness Sunday morning.

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Early in his racing career, Logano ran Legends cars on the quarter-mile track along the AMS frontstretch, so finally scoring at the track in Cup racing produced an emotional moment. His father was the first one to his car after the win.

“(This is) so special to win Atlanta for me,” Logano said. “So many memories of me and my dad racing right here on the quarter mile. This is the full circle for us. So many memories gritting over there with the Legends car, racing, having a big time. Dreaming of going straight at the quarter-mile and going on to the big track. That was always the dream to do it. To finally win here means so much to me here personally, but the team.

“This thing was an animal. Very, very fast. Able to lead a ton of laps, race really hard there at the end, get a good push from the 20 (Bell) to clear myself. Enough of a push to get in.”

The win was the 32nd of Logano’s career but his first at Atlanta. He led 140 laps to Keselowski’s 47, and they raced side-by-side over the closing laps.

“I know Brad really well on and off the racetrack, right?,” Logano said. “I know he’s going to do anything to win a race. And rightfully so. I wouldn’t say our racing mentalities are very different. That’s why I feel like we get along well. We also sometimes have clashed on a track every now and then. Not very often.

“We both race really, really hard. So I felt like we were definitely going to duke it out. When I got to his outside, it was either he was going to wreck or we were going to just race and, hopefully, he was going to get the big push on the bottom. That was his only hope there. It just ultimately ended up working out fine.”

Although there were accidents, the race was much calmer than Saturday’s Craftsman Truck and Xfinity Series races at the track. Both of those races were plagued by accidents and numerous caution flags.

Leader Aric Almirola, running on older tires, lost control with 52 laps remaining Sunday when a tire exploded. He was hit by second-place Kyle Larson. Both cars suffered major damage, and Almirola and Larson left the race.

With 71 laps remaining, a multi-car crash began when leader Kevin Harvick lost control as Ross Chastain approached his rear bumper. As Harvick spun out of control, cars scrambled in the middle of the lead drafting pack. Chris Buescher‘s car spun and hit the inside wall. Chastain inherited the lead.

Austin Cindric finished first at the end of Stage 2. Reddick, Logano, Alex Bowman and William Byron followed Cindric to the finish line. Through two stages, Logano had led 135 laps. No other driver had led more than seven.

Logano, the pole winner, was the boss in the first stage, leading all 60 laps to score his first stage win of the season. He was followed by Cindric, Keselowski, Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin.

The race’s first caution flew only 11 laps into the race as Bubba Wallace hit the inside wall. After repairs, he returned to the race two laps down and in last place. He later lost another lap.

Stage 1 winner: Joey Logano

Stage 2 winner: Austin Cindric

Who had a good race: Joey Logano clearly had the dominant car over the first two stages and made a fine move on the last lap to win. … Brad Keselowski ran at or near the front all day and put himself in position to win over the final laps, finishing second. … Corey LaJoie ran well in the final stage and finished fourth, continuing a strong start to the season.

Who had a bad race: Bubba Wallace brought out the race’s first caution on Lap 11, losing control of his car and slamming the inside wall. He lost two laps. … William Byron came into the race with two consecutive wins but was among the drivers sidelined by a multi-car crash with 71 laps left. … Chris Buescher raced with the leaders but parked with heavy damage during the race’s fourth caution. … Aric Almirola’s team gambled with tire strategy, taking the lead in the final stage but eventually failing as Almirola whacked the wall and left the race.

Next: The Cup Series rolls on to Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas for a March 26 race (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox).

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MORE: Atlanta Cup results, driver points

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Atlanta Cup results

Atlanta Cup driver points

Read more about NASCAR

MORE: Atlanta Cup results, Cup driver points

MORE: What drivers said at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Read more about NASCAR