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Weekend Primer: Quaker State 400

For the first time in 16 years, Atlanta Motor Speedway is a part of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

After a weekend that saw Tyler Reddick claim the regular-season championship and Chase Briscoe pull off an 11th-hour upset to claim Southern 500 glory, the Cup field will return to the action-packed, superspeedway-style Atlanta that saw 48 lead changes and a three-wide photo finish between Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch for the win back in February.

Weekend Primer has everything you need to know heading into this weekend’s Cup and Xfinity Series races in the Peach State, with entry lists, TV schedules, up-to-date points standings and individual driver statistics in past Atlanta races.

Round of 16 Standings (3 Races Until Elimination)

RankDriverPointsCut line
1Kyle Larson2040+35
2Christopher Bell2031+26
3Tyler Reddick2028+23
4William Byron2022+17
5Ryan Blaney2018+13
6Denny Hamlin2015+10
7Chase Elliott2014+9
8Brad Keselowski2008+3
9Joey Logano2007+2
Austin Cindric2007+2
11Daniel Suarez2006+1
12Harrison Burton20050
Chase Briscoe20050
Alex Bowman20050
15Ty Gibbs2004-1
Martin Truex Jr.2004-1

Best of the Rest

RankDriverPointsDifference
17Chris Buescher690
18Bubba Wallace669-21
19Ross Chastain663-27
20Kyle Busch587-103

Quick Track Facts: Atlanta

Built: 1960

Last Repaved/Reconfigured: 2022

Length: 1.54 miles

Banking: 28 degrees (turns), 5 degrees (straightaways)

Pit road speed limit: 45 mph

See also
Through the Gears: Atlanta Best Bets

Atlanta (2022-Present) By the Numbers

Defending Summer Winner: William Byron

Defending Spring Winner: Daniel Suarez

Most Wins: William Byron (2)

Most Top Fives: Daniel Suarez (3)

Most Top 10s: Daniel Suarez & Ryan Blaney (4)

Most Poles: Joey Logano & Michael McDowell (1)

Most Laps Led: Joey Logano (190)

Most Laps Led, Non-Winner: Ross Chastain (79)

Best Average Finish: Ryan Blaney, Five Starts (8.0)

Atlanta Winners (2022-) in the field: William Byron (2), Chase Elliott (1), Joey Logano (1), Daniel Suarez (1)

Driver Statistics at Atlanta (2022-)

Driver (Starts)Laps LedBest FinishAvg. Finish
Kyle Larson (5)2213th 28.4
Christopher Bell (5)223rd20.4
Tyler Reddick (5)185th23.8
William Byron (5)1711st (x2)16.2
Ryan Blaney (5)732nd 8.0
Denny Hamlin (5)326th19.4
Chase Elliott (4)1251st8.8
Brad Keselowski (5)682nd14.2
Joey Logano (5)1901st16.2
Austin Cindric (5)543rd12.4
Daniel Suarez (5)221st8.4
Harrison Burton (5)910th21.6
Chase Briscoe (5)515th21.6
Alex Bowman (5)010th21.8
Ty Gibbs (3)09th17.7
Martin Truex Jr. (5)468th15.8

Xfinity Series

Defending Race Winner: John Hunter Nemechek (not entered)

Atlanta Spring Winner: Austin Hill

Most Atlanta (2022-) Wins: Austin Hill (3)

Regular Season Standings (3 Races to Go):

  • Justin Allgaier
  • Cole Custer (-28)
  • Chandler Smith (-82)
  • Austin Hill (-98)

Playoff Cut Line (3 Races to Go):

  • Sheldon Creed (+109)
  • Parker Kligerman (+44)
  • Sammy Smith (+10)
  • Ryan Sieg (-10)
  • Brandon Jones (-132)

Notable News: With NBC Sports nearing the end of its Xfinity Series tenure, Sheldon Creed will run an Atlanta car sponsored by CW Sports, the new home for Xfinity coverage starting on Sept. 20 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

See also
Bringing the Heat: Justin Allgaier Poised for a Big Playoff Run

Entry Lists

Cup: 38 entries, 40 spots

Notables: Cody Ware (RWR No. 15), Shane van Gisbergen (Kaulig No. 16), JJ Yeley (NY Racing No. 44*), BJ McLeod (Live Fast No. 78*)

* unchartered

Xfinity: 37 entries, 38 spots

Cup Drivers: None

Other Notables: Lawless Alan (AM No. 15), Taylor Gray (JGR No. 19), Ryan Truex (JGR No. 20), Corey Heim (SHR No. 26)

Where to Watch

Saturday, Sept. 7

11 a.m. ET — Xfinity Qualifying (USA Network)

12:30 p.m. ET — Cup Qualifying (USA Network)

3 p.m. ET — Xfinity Series Focused Health 250 (163 laps, 251.02 miles) (USA Network)

Sunday, Sept. 8

3 p.m. ET — Cup Series Quaker State 400 (260 laps, 400.4 miles) (USA Network)

Looking Ahead to Next Season

  • On Sept. 3, it was announced that Brandon Jones will return to Joe Gibbs Racing full-time for the 2025 Xfinity season. Jones won five races in a five-year JGR tenure between 2018 and 2022, which was headlined by a three-win 2020 season. Jones missed the playoffs last year with JR Motorsports, and he is currently 132 points below the cut with three races before the start of the 2024 postseason.

Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly columns include “Stat Sheet” and “4 Burning Questions.” He also writes commentary, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.

Can find on Twitter @stephen_stumpf.

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