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Atlanta winners and losers

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There were plenty of winners in Atlanta including Kurt Busch who secured his first top-five finish with Chip Ganassi Racing and the fans in the ATL.

WINNERS

Stewart-Haas Racing: Last year’s dominant team placed all four cars in the top 10: Kevin Harvick was fourth, Clint Bowyer fifth, Aric Almirola eighth and Daniel Suarez 10th.

Chris Buescher: He finished ninth. He had only two top 10s last year (both Daytona races). You have to go back 42 races to Kansas in October 2017 for the last time he had a top-10 finish at a track other than Daytona before Sunday.

Intestinal fortitude: A day after he was so sick he lost about 6 pounds in a 10-hour period, Brad Keselowski came back to win Sunday’s race and become the winningest driver Penske driver. It wasn’t the first time he’s overcome adversity to win. He won at Pocono in August 2011 just days after breaking his ankle in a crash during a test at Road Atlanta.

LOSERS

Hendrick Motorsports: No car finished better than 15th, which was the No. 88 of Alex Bowman. Jimmie Johnson finished two laps down. Chase Elliott did run in the top 10 at times and fell back late after a two-tire change to stay on the lead lap. While it’s only one race, this organization has some work to do.

Ryan Preece and BJ McLeod: A week after he was lauded for driving through wrecks unscathed at Daytona, Ryan Preece ran into the back of McLeod’s car on pit road and spun McLeod’s car. Chris Buescher’s fueler, Anthony Pasut, was awake and alert and transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. Preece was headed for a strong finish before the incident.

Pit road speeders: Kyle Larson, Aric Almirola and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were among those busted for speeding and lost track position at the front of the field. They had struggled in traffic and never were a factor after being penalized.