The NASCAR Cup Series visited EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway) on Saturday night in the Quaker State 400 available at Walmart. Joey Logano started the race on the pole, with Josh Berry starting second.
Joey Logano led the opening 48 laps of the race. During the first stage, there were two cautions. One was for rain on lap 37, and the other was on lap 58 when Christopher Bell was hit by Austin Dillon, causing a multiple crash involving Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, AJ Allmendinger, and Bubba Wallace, all of whom sustained damage. Joey Logano led 51 laps, and Austin Cindric led six laps, including the final three laps to win the first stage.
Chase Elliott was the new leader leading the field to start the second stage. During the second stage, there were two cautions. The first happened on lap 70 when John Hunter Nemchek and Denny Hamlin got together. Nemechek hit the wall and Hamlin spun on the backstretch, triggering a 19-car crash. Among those involved were Josh Berry, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, William Byron, and Corey LaJoie.
The other caution happened on lap 110 when Riley Herbst spun out in Turn 4 after contact with Chase Elliott. Late in the second stage, Tyler Reddick battled Elliott for the lead. He held off Elliott to win the second stage.
Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher were on the front row as the green flag waved to start the final stage on lap 171. During the final stage, there were five cautions, including Shane Van Gisbergen spinning down the frontstretch on lap 176.
Late in the race, Brad Keselowski passed Elliott for the lead on lap 202. The two would battle back and forth for the lead. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Alex Bowman also contended for the lead. On the final lap, Elliott passed Keselowski for the lead, and Bowman took second from him. Keselowski got the second position back and Elliott went on the win his first race of the season by 0.168 seconds over Keselowski. The win snapped a 44-race winless streak for Elliott. Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, and Erik Jones wrapped up the top five.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Zane Smith, Ty Dillon, Chris Buescher, and Carson Hocevar completed the top ten. There were 10 cautions for 68 laps, and 46 lead changes among 13 drivers. Joey Logano led the most laps in the race (51). Elliott led 41 laps and Brad Keselowski led 46 laps.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the streets of Chicago, Illinois, next Sunday at 2 pm on TNT.
