The first race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs has seen a major upset for the usual championship favorites this season as the sport gets on its way to decide a champion this year.
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The 2024 Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway saw two championship favorites in the form of Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin falter concerning their rivals, some of whom were touted as wildcard entries into the postseason.
While Larson’s day at the superspeedway-style 1.5-mile-long track ended prematurely with a crash for the #5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver, Hamlin’s confusing strategic choices left the Virginia native with neither a successful points bid nor a chance at winning the event outright.
HUGE WRECK FOR KYLE LARSON AND CHASE BRISCOE!
Both #NASCARPlayoffs contenders are out before the end of Stage 1. pic.twitter.com/UJsGpF097O
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 8, 2024
Former Cup Series driver turned analyst and broadcaster Kyle Petty elaborated on what he expected out of the two drivers last Sunday, and what ended up happening for the two with respect to their playoff standings.
“We saw the #5 car, Kyle Larson seemingly running all by himself, that thing steps out, he’s in the wall. He loses 20 points. And then we have Denny Hamlin. I don’t know what happened to Denny. I don’t know what he’s trying to do. Their strategy did not work yesterday and they lose eight points,” said Petty.
With both drivers virtually expected to qualify into the hunt for the championship this year with their Final 4 appearances, both Larson and Hamlin sit at +15 and +2 points above the cutoff line heading into the remaining two races of the Round of 16.
“These guys have worked themselves into a hole. And for me these were three of the guys I had possibly going to the Final 4, definitely the Final 8,” concluded Petty, also including how Martin Truex Jr.’s DNF during the event also put him into the same boat as Hamlin and Larson.
Considering their starting positions in terms of points before the event in Atlanta, both drivers cannot afford to make any further mistakes headed into Watkins Glen and Bristol over the next two weeks, especially after being jumped by drivers such as Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez, who are not expected to challenge for the title with the same gusto as their peers.
Great start to the playoffs!@allyracing | @TeamChevy | @TeamHendrick pic.twitter.com/csRcQmHEx3
— Alex Bowman (@Alex_Bowman) September 9, 2024
Meanwhile, Team Penske’s Joey Logano once again made the most of his opportunities and the #22 crew turned up into victory lane at just the right time as the postseason started last Sunday.
The two time Cup Series champion has guaranteed his spot in the next round of the playoffs by winning the 400-mile-long event at Atlanta. Now Logano and his crew need not fret over their qualification into the next round and can work towards improving their chances at the upcoming Round of 12 events.
