Cup Series Playoff Picture Shifts Wildly After Atlanta

By Scotte Sprinkle | September 8, 2024

The NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings changed dramatically Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (HHP/David Graham photo)

HAMPTON, Ga. – The first race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs was completed Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, bringing with it a wild bunch of points shakeups.

A thrilling Quaker State 400 available at Walmart saw Team Penske’s Joey Logano take his second points-paying win of the year, not only snapping a two-month winless drought, but locking the Middletown, Conn., veteran and two-time Cup Series champion into the next round.

Spring Atlanta winner Daniel Suarez came home in second place, almost sweeping the season in Georgia but coming up just short.

Defending champion and stage one winner Ryan Blaney rounded out the podium, although he had to battle back up to the front after an incident between him, Chris Buescher and Martin Truex Jr. with 50 to go left his Dent Wizard Ford Mustang dented, literally.

The third Penske driver in Austin Cindric also had a great day, winning stage two and finishing the race in 10th despite stalling his car on pit road at the second stage break and falling to 19th at that point.

Other playoff contenders did not have nearly as good fortunes, however.

With five laps left in stage one, Kyle Larson – who was running third at the time – suffered a massive, head-on crash into the outside turn-one wall. An oncoming Chase Briscoe had nowhere to go, crashing into the rear of Larson’s car as it was sliding down the track.

Both drivers were OK, but Larson and Briscoe finished 37th and 38th, respectively. Larson now sits only 15 points above the cut line after entering as the top seed, 35 points to the good. Briscoe, fresh off of his playoff-clinching win in the Southern 500 a week ago, dropped to 21 points below the cut line.

The incident midway through the final stage which involved Buescher, Blaney, and Truex saw the RFK Racing driver get loose underneath Blaney, sliding up into Blaney’s left rear quarter panel and causing him to spin down the track.

Truex then had the No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse land in his lap, damaging the right side of his No. 19 Toyota Camry XSE. While Blaney rebounded to his aforementioned third-place finish, Truex was for the day and ultimately finished 35th.

Blaney sits highest in points now among those not locked into the next round, 45 points above the cut line, but Truex – in his last full-time season – leaves Atlanta 19 points below 12th place.

Playoff contenders weren’t even immune to drama during the overtime finish. On the last lap, Ross Chastain hit the outside wall in turn three after contact with William Byron. Bubba Wallace checked up to miss the No. 1, but got hit from behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr., sending the No. 23 Toyota around.

During the melee, Denny Hamlin – who played it safe and rode at the tail all day – and Harrison Burton were collected in the chaos that ensued. Hamlin was able to limp to the line in 24th, saving crucial points, but Burton was not as fortunate and ended up stuck mere feet from the finish line in 31st.

Despite entering the playoffs as a potential championship favorite, Hamlin now sits only two points to the good. Burton, hot off the heels of his emotional first win at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway in August, is 16 points outside of advancing onward.

The end result was big shifts across the board. Bowman was the biggest mover, jumping from 12th to sixth in the standings, while Larson dropped from first to 10th due to his early exit.

Logano is the only one truly safe, however, with his win automatically putting him into the Round of 12.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads next to Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International for the second race of the Round of 12. The 2.45-mile road course is expected to keep the twists and turns coming as it makes its first appearance in the postseason.

Broadcast coverage of the Go Bowling at the Glen is slated for 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 15, live on USA, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Picture (after Race 1/3 in the Round of 16)