Not every driver and fan was pleased with how the Atlanta Motor Speedway was reconfigured to produce superspeedway-style racing in 2021. In just a few years, however, it has become one of the favorite tracks on the calendar. As the 1.54-mile quad-oval ages, it continues to settle into its intended character and the latest Cup Series race has gone as far as pushing it to be compared with old Daytona.
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Team Penske driver Joey Logano won Sunday’s Quaker State 400 in Atlanta. It was the first race of the Cup Series playoffs and served its stature splendidly. Every driver was pleased with the way the track behaved and expressed the same in their post-race interviews. Veteran reporters Jordan Bianchi and Jeff Gluck were amongst those who were left visibly impressed with it.
Discussing the track on The Teardown, Gluck noted, “What we heard from most of the guys was that this track has worn out considerably since the repave … There were also echoes of old Daytona, a couple of drivers said. The old Daytona before it was repaved was a handling superspeedway. You had to have a good handling car, there was tire wear and that was a key thing.”
He continued to talk about how Logano had said that the Atlanta track is more like the old Daytona than the current Daytona is. These are certainly high praises that reflect how well of a track the Atlanta Motor Speedway has become. As it continues to age further, it will turn out to be a superspeedway with starker differences from modern-day Daytona and Talladega.
Team Penske dominates the first race of the 2024 Cup Series playoffs
Sunday’s race ended with Team Penske drivers winning both the stages and the race itself. The victory for Logano couldn’t have been possible without some solid support from defending Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney. The No. 12 driver was able to push Logano towards the race end despite his car suffering damage in a crash during Lap 205.
With 10 laps left in the race, Blaney was nudging Logano’s Mustang when Harrison Burton and Noah Gragson collided in Lap 259 to send the race into overtime. Logano picked the inside lane on the restart and Blaney got in position to push him further.
He executed the job perfectly and helped his teammate cross the checkered flag ahead of Daniel Suarez, who was being shoved forward by Ross Chastain. Blaney finished his race in third place while the third Team Penske driver Austin Cindric came out in tenth place.
