HAMPTON, Ga. — Whereas final weekend’s season-opening Daytona 500 offered all of the drama anticipated of The Nice American race, the Ambetter Well being 400 in subsequent up for the NASCAR Cup Collection Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Final yr’s three-wide picture end amongst winner Daniel Suarez and runners-up, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch creates large pleasure for each followers and groups returning to the recently-revised 1.5-mile Atlanta high-banks that race like a small superspeedway.
Suarez’s 2024 victory – by lower than the blink-of-the-eye at .003 seconds – truly turned out to be simply one of many amazingly shut finishes of the season topped solely by Kyle Larson’s win at Kansas by .001-second over Chris Buescher final Could. Suarez has now completed first or second within the final three Atlanta races.
“It was a number of enjoyable,” Suarez smiled and recalled of the Atlanta race. “Much more enjoyable for me, proper, as a result of I used to be the one which received the race. Most likely wouldn’t have been that a lot enjoyable if I completed second or third.”
Groups arrive this weekend after a full-contact version of the Daytona 500, received for the second consecutive yr by Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron. Tyler Reddick, final yr’s Common Season Champion, was runner-up and seven-time sequence champion Jimmie Johnson was third in his greatest outing since stepping again from full-time competitors.
Final yr’s Atlanta February race remaining standings learn like a typical superspeedway occasion – these drivers who’re up entrance at Daytona, had been largely within the group up entrance that subsequent week at Atlanta.
For instance, reigning sequence champion, Staff Penske’s Joey Logano, who led 43 laps final week within the 500, has a pair of Atlanta wins (2023-24) as does Daytona winner Byron (2022 and 23). They together with Hendrick’s Chase Elliott (2022) and Penske’s Blaney (2021) are the opposite most up-to-date Atlanta winners – at all times contending for wins at Daytona as nicely.
Austin Cindric, whose 59 laps out entrance had been most within the Daytona 500, was fourth on this spring Atlanta race final yr. 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, who additionally led laps Sunday, was fifth at Atlanta. Former Daytona 500 winners Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell, in addition to Daytona summer time race winner Chris Buescher all had top-10s at Atlanta as nicely.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin (2012), RFK Racing owner-driver Brad Keselowski (2017 and 2019) and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch (2008 and 2013) are the opposite energetic drivers with Atlanta trophies too.
This race final yr, featured a report 48 lead adjustments by 14 drivers – a full-on day of tight racing. And that’s precisely what the sector expects Sunday. The cross for the win at Atlanta has come within the remaining two laps in 4 of the final 5 races there; together with this one a yr in the past.
The work out entrance final week by Austin Cindric, Logano and Staff Penske teammate Blaney was spectacular at Daytona and makes them favorites once more this week. All of them three led at the very least 20 laps on the superspeedway – one thing a workforce has completed solely 4 occasions in sequence historical past. In simply the final two years, the Penske workforce has mixed to steer 898 laps – extra thrice that of another workforce on drafting tracks akin to Daytona, Atlanta and Talladega, Ala.
“It’s wonderful how a lot Atlanta has modified from the repave, after which to the brand new model of the automotive and the way a lot we’ve needed to adapt to the brand new model of racing at Atlanta,” Suarez’s Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain mentioned. “It’s sort of wild to assume how Atlanta is now a drafting a observe however it has created some thrilling finishes. You look again eventually yr’s race with my teammate Daniel’s win and the way shut that end was. It’s cool to see the fan’s excited for the racing at Atlanta and I hope to be the man in Victory Lane this weekend.”
Blaney’s seventh-place end at Daytona mixed with good stage factors, provides him a single-point edge over Byron and three-point lead over his teammate Cindric atop the NASCAR Cup Collection championship standings.
