The NASCAR Cup Series kicked off its 10-race playoff on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano won the Quaker State 400, his second of the season, locking the two-time Cup Series champion into the Round of 12.
Two races remain in the Round of 16, Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
If any of the playoff drivers win at Watkins Glen or Bristol, they’d be locked into the Round of 12.
Here’s how the standings look heading to Watkins Glen Int’l next week:
Locked In
1. Joey Logano
Logano’s season has lacked consistency, as he only has 10 top-10 finishes through the first 27 races. However, he was scored the victory and secured a spot in the next round after leading the final laps at Atlanta.
According to Logano, he and his No. 22 Team Penske team tend to rise above the pressure when the playoffs begin.
“We just do. More times than not, excluding last year really, we’ve been able to level up when we need to level up,” Logano said. “To be able to fire off your first race of the playoffs with a statement win, it’s key.
“We all talked about how wild card this round could be. We knew that the Penske cars would be strong on the superspeedway-style type race tracks. We’ve been all year long. Unfortunately, we’ve been caught up in every possible wreck on these types of tracks.
“It’s nice to finally capitalize on the laps led, being towards the front, having a teammate lined up behind me there.”
Safe
2. Ryan Blaney (+45)
The driver who arguably benefited the most from Atlanta was defending champion Ryan Blaney. The Team Penske driver aided teammate Logano to the victory as he finished third.
Despite being involved in a wreck on lap 205, Blaney and his No. 12 team were able to rebound despite a damaged race car.
Blaney began the playoffs only 13 markers above the cutline. However, he now has a comfortable margin with another wildcard track, Watkins Glen, looming.
“Honestly, I can’t believe we got back up to where we did,” Blaney said. “The 12 boys did a really good job of fixing it. I’m surprised it didn’t have more damage than what it did. From my seat, I got drilled in the left-rear, or the door I guess where it hit me, and then the right-rear got off the fence. I didn’t know how damaged we were, but I was able to carve up through traffic and kind of get through the middle pretty good. I’m really proud of the effort. I had a thought of going three-wide on the frontstretch and I’m like, ‘Man, this is gonna be tight and we’ve already had a really good day going, great points and all that stuff,’ so third is a really good day.”
3. Christopher Bell (+40)
Christopher Bell padded his lead above the cutline with a solid fourth-place finish, his third-straight top-four finish.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver jumped from 27 points to 40 above the cutline.
4. Tyler Reddick (+33)
After securing his first regular season championship at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Tyler Reddick scored a sixth-place finish at Atlanta to earn his ninth top-10 finish in the last 10 races.
Reddick gained 10 points above the cutline and is now 33 markers to the good.
5. William Byron (+33)
Last year’s winningest driver, William Byron, earned a quiet ninth-place finish at Atlanta, his first top-10 in three races.
Byron went from 17 markers above the cutline to 33, a comfortable advantage heading to Watkins Glen, where he’s the defending winner at the 2.45-mile road course.
Safe, For Now
6. Alex Bowman (+27)
With rumors swirling about his future with the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team, Alex Bowman quieted the noise with his first top-five (fifth) since Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, six races ago.
Bowman, who entered the playoffs on the bubble (+0), now comfortably sits 27 points to the good.
7. Austin Cindric (+27)
Perhaps the sleeper of the day in Atlanta was Austin Cindric. After leading a race-high 92 laps, Cindric earned a respectable 10th-place finish, which allowed the 2022 Daytona 500 winner to expand his gap above the cutline.
Cindric, who secured a berth into the playoffs at Illinois’ World Wide Technology Raceway in June, vaulted from 10th on the playoff grid to seventh, with 27 points to spare.
8. Chase Elliott (+24)
Chase Elliott enjoyed a stout points day at his home track as he finished eighth at Atlanta. Elliott tallied 36 points on the day, which allowed the Hendrick Motorsports driver to gain 15 points on the cutline.
He’s now 24 points ahead of the cutoff with Watkins Glen next, a track where he’s won twice (2018-’19).
9. Daniel Suárez (+22)
While Daniel Suárez entered the playoffs as perhaps an underdog, the Trackhouse Racing driver stated his case for a berth in the Round of 12 with a near-victory.
The driver of the No. 99 Chevrolet wasn’t able to repeat his February victory at the high-speed, 1.5-mile track, however, gained valuable points in the process.
Suárez went from one point above the cutline to 22 on the right side, ninth on the playoff grid.
Near The Cutline
10. Kyle Larson (+15)
Kyle Larson, the 2021 Cup Series champion, slapped the outside wall early during Sunday’s race while running third. It took Larson out of the race in 37th.
After entering the playoffs as the points leader (+35), he’s now dropped to 10th on the playoff grid with only 15 points to spare.
Fortunately for Larson, he heads to Watkins Glen with two previous victories and an average finish of 12.2 at the historic road course.
11. Denny Hamlin (+2)
Denny Hamlin attempted to stay out of trouble throughout the 400-mile race after starting at the rear of the field due to a powertrain issue during qualifying.
However, Hamlin was involved in an overtime wreck, which dropped the driver of the No. 11 Toyota to 24th.
Hamlin, who started Sunday’s race 10 points above the cutline, is now two markers ahead.
12. Ty Gibbs (+1)
Despite leading 37 laps and being a factor during the latter stages of the race, Ty Gibbs placed 17th at Atlanta in his first Cup Series playoff appearance.
The JGR driver, who’s still winless in his young Cup Series career, is one point ahead of Brad Keselowski for the final transfer spot to the Round of 12.
Outside Looking In
13. Brad Keselowski (-1)
Brad Keselowski held a three-point cushion entering Atlanta. Following a disappointing 19th-place result, the 2012 Cup Series champion is on the outside looking in by one point.
Keselowski chalked the performance up to having a lackluster day.
“It just wasn’t a super strong day,” Keselowski said following the finish. “We kind of survived and we’ll live to fight another day.”
14. Harrison Burton (-16)
Entering the playoffs as an underdog, Harrison Burton and Wood Brothers Racing are pinned deeper behind the cutline following a late-race crash at Atlanta. Burton finished 31st.
This year’s 400-mile Daytona winner now faces an uphill battle, 16 points below the cutline.
15. Martin Truex Jr. (-19)
A suspension issue following an accident forced Martin Truex Jr. to finish 35th at Atlanta. Truex entered the event tied for 16th and is now 19 points in the red. Truex’s last top-10 finish came seven races ago (eighth, Pocono).
Since then, he’s endured an average finish of 30.5.
Truex is a former winner at Watkins Glen (2017) and boasts an average finish of 10.6.
16. Chase Briscoe (-21)
Last week’s walk-off winner at Darlington Raceway, Chase Briscoe had his wave of momentum quickly derailed.
Briscoe was running 14th when he was involved in Larson’s accident on lap 56.
Now with his back against the wall again, Briscoe sits last on the playoff grid, 21 points away from advancing. He’ll have two more chances to make up ground in Stewart-Haas Racing’s final playoff appearance before ceasing operations at season’s end.