An Eventful Weekend: Atlanta Motor Speedway Race Review and Analysis

 



Down in Georgia for race number five on the season.  Joey Logano took home the checkered flag in Atlanta.  In a dominant performance, Logano led 140 laps, after qualifying on the pole Saturday, this is the 32nd win of his career, and the 1st career win at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and of the 2023 season.  The 32-year old joins Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Busch, and William Byron as the only drivers locked into the playoffs.


Team Penske was the organization to beat all weekend, and after qualifying all cars in the top-3, they stayed up front for a large portion of today’s race. 


Logano headlines the weekend in 1st, as Brad Keselowski slots in 2nd for RFK Racing, after leading 47 laps.  Christopher Bell comes home 3rd, for Joe Gibbs Racing, as Corey LaJoie for Spire Motorsports crosses the line 4th in a career-best finish. Tyler Reddick falls in line 5th for 23XI Racing as the #45 strings together two top-5 finishes, with Toyota Teammate, and 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin in 6th for Joe Gibbs Racing.  



Seventh place is awarded to Ryan Blaney of Team Penske, alongside him in 8th is Erik Jones, in his best finish of the 2023 season for the newly rebranded Legacy Motor Club.  Ninth goes to rookie Ty Gibbs for Joe Gibbs Racing, and rounding out the top-10 is Richard Childress Racing’s, Kyle Busch.  



( Joey Logano in Victory Lane)



Honorable mentions go to Austin Cindric in 11th for Team Penske, with rookie Noah Gragson in 12th for Legacy Motor Club.  Ross Chastain is in 13th for Trackhouse Racing, as Alex Bowman finishes 14th for Hendrick Motorsports.  Lastly, Todd Gilliland in 15th for Front Row Motorsports, and A.J. Allmendinger in 16th for Kaulig Racing.




Atlanta Motor Speedway, but referred to some as Atlanta Superspeedway presented a unique product of racing this weekend.  With a wreck-filled Craftsman Truck Series, and Xfinity Series race, cautions were one of the notable headlines of the weekend.


  Tires issues that were a factor from the 2022 spring Atlanta race were a factor this afternoon as Aric Almirola was a victim of this issue.  Overall, the new superspeedway product of racing in Hampton, Georgia brought a unique showcase that no other track can top with a pit road commitment line that starts halfway down the back straightaway, consistent tire issues, and the ultimate controversial game of crew chief strategizing.  Taking all action into consideration, I’d score today’s race an 8.6 out of 10.  



Entering the Circuit of the Americas, Bubba Wallace, Kevin Harvick, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, and Chris Buescher are all looking for rebound weekends, leaving Atlanta behind.  Look for road course ringers, to be upfront all weekend long, at COTA for your ones to watch. In particular, Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske, Front Row Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, and Joe Gibbs Racing.


Now officially for the third time, the Nascar national series will head down to Austin, Texas, and visit the Circuit of the Americas!  The Craftsman Truck Series will have practice and qualifying starting at 4:30pm ET on Friday afternoon, followed by the XPEL 225 at 1:30pm ET on Saturday afternoon on FS1.  


The Xfinity Series will have practice and qualifying starting at 6:30pm ET on Friday evening, with the Pit Boss 250 presented by USA Today at 5:00pm ET on Saturday on FS1.  


The Nascar Cup Series will have a diverse field this upcoming weekend, as 7-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson will make his return to the track for the second time this season, with Legacy Motor Club in the #84.  F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen will join the field on Sunday for Trackhouse Racing’s second edition of Project 91 driving the #91. Jenson Button, also an F1 champion will pilot the #15 for Rick Ware Racing on Sunday.  Practice will be at 2:05pm ET, Friday evening, with qualifying at 11:30am ET on Saturday.  The Echo Automotive Grand Prix gets underway at 3:30pm ET only on FOX.   


( All images credited to https://www.foxsports.com/nascar/cup-series.)


For next week's race information please view the link down below:

Circuit of the Americas Website

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