Atlanta 2 Race Review and Analysis
Racing in the peach state once again! The Nascar Cup Series visited Atlanta Motor Speedway for the second time this season. The hometown kid, Chase Elliott takes home the checkered flag! Elliott is the first driver to capture three wins in this 2022 season. This is Elliott’s 15th career win, and first at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
(Chase Elliott with the Checkered Flag)
With two laps to go, Corey LaJoie was having a career afternoon, running inside the top ten for the majority of today’s race. Lajoie led 19 laps, but the feel good story came to a halt, after Chase Elliott threw a massive block on LaJoie, sending him into the wall. LaJoie crossed the line 21st, which looked like a potential race win if it weren’t for Elliott’s block. Corey LaJoie ran a stellar race today, you don’t see this too often from Spire Motorsports. Today, LaJoie’s team was up front, and present throughout today’s race. The next restrictor-plate race is Daytona International Speedway for the regular-season finale, watch out for Corey LaJoie, and the #7 team.
Let’s rewind to stage 1, with Chase Elliott. Elliott had his fingerprints all over today’s race. Elliott dominated, as he swept both stages 1 and 2. Elliott’s #9 machine was up front all afternoon, Elliott held a pretty wheel while pacing this Cup Series field. Elliott was basically untouchable throughout the entire race. The Georgia native joins his father and continues to add to the famous Elliott last name, as both have a victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Bill Elliott won in 1992, followed by his son Chase Elliott today in 2022.
Top performers in today’s race were, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez, Justin Haley, Aric Almirola, Cole Custer, and Harrison Burton. Ross Chastain ran into a bunch of on-track issues today, by setting off two wrecks. Chastain fought hard all day and battled back for a 2nd place finish. Austin Cindric finished 3rd, after running between 23rd-30th all afternoon long, Cindric’s afternoon turned into a positive one, as he racks up a 3rd place finish. Erik Jones finished 4th, as Petty GMS Motorsports ran stellar this afternoon with both of their cars running up front. Ryan Blaney finished 5th for Team Penske, Blaney is still looking for his first win of the 2022 season. Daniel Suarez ran a mistake-free race and finished 6th. Justin Haley came home 7th, for Kaulig Racing. Haley is always a contender when restrictor-plate tracks pop up on the schedule. Aric Almirola finished 8th in today’s race for Stewart-Haas Racing. Almirola is another notable name when it comes to restrictor-plate racing, he delivered his 6th top-10 of the 2022 season. Cole Custer, a surprising name finished 9th. Custer who is having a dreadful season ran strong throughout today's race. This is Custer’s first top-10 of 2022. Rounding out the top-10 is Harrison Burton for Wood Brothers Racing. Burton the rookie, finished 10th as he ran a stellar race. Honorable mentions go out to Martin Truex Jr. in 11th, Kevin Harvick in 12th, and lastly Kyle Larson in 13th place.
(Chase Elliott Post-Race)
Drivers who didn’t have the best of afternoons were Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Austin Dillon was caught up in a wreck early on in today’s race which cut his afternoon short. Dillon for Richard Childress Racing spent the rest of the race in the garage in 35th. Bubba Wallace struggled throughout today’s race. At one point in today’s contest, Wallace couldn’t get past 18th place. Wallace’s #23 team eventually found success later on in today’s race, Wallace came home 14th. Alex Bowman was one of many drivers to get caught up in a wreck, he crosses the line 32nd. Bowman’s #48 team saw success early on in today’s race, Bowman had a tire go down which ended his afternoon early. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. looked strong all day long until engine issues with his #47 machine ended his afternoon early. Stenhouse Jr. comes home 31st.
In my opinion, today’s racing was great. A bittersweet ending occurred when Chase Elliott sent Corey LaJoie up into the wall for eventually was for the race win. The racing was actioned packed, and stellar all day. It is still debatable whether or not Atlanta Motor Speedway deserves two race dates. We will see when the 2023 schedule releases later this summer. Taking all action into consideration I’d rate today’s action a 9.4 out of 10.
Next up on the Nascar schedule is New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Located in Loudon, New Hampshire, this 1-mile short track puts on a great display of racing. We are officially in the second half of the 2022 season. The Xfinity and Cup Series will make the trip up to New Hampshire, as the Camping World Truck Series has an off weekend, they'll be back in action at Pocono Raceway later this month on the 22nd-24th race weekend in Pennsylvania. The Xfinity Series will have practice and qualifying starting at 5:05pm ET on Friday. Followed by the race at 2:30pm ET on Saturday. The Cup Series will have practice at 11:35am on Saturday, followed by qualifying at 12:20pm ET that same day. The Ambetter 301 will be at 3:00pm ET, July 17th only on USA Network.
( All images credited to https://www.foxsports.com/nascar/cup-series.)
For next week's race information please view the link down below:
Comments