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Joey Logano picked up his second points-race victory of the 2024 NASCAR season at the most opportune time — the first race in the NASCAR playoffs.
Logano beat out Daniel Suarez at the finish line in the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta for his first win since winning the Ally 400 in Nashville in June. It capped what was a dominant day for Team Penske. All three — Logano, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric — finished in the top 10.
Here are our winners and losers from the NASCAR Atlanta race.
Winners
Alex Bowman
Bowman was forced to answer questions regarding rumors of Hendrick Motorsports splitting with the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet this week. So what did he do? He went out and finished fifth, first among his Hendrick Motorsports teammates.
PLAYOFFS! NASCAR playoff picture: Cup Series points standings after Atlanta
Team Penske
All the talk this year has centered around Hendrick Motorsports vs. Joe Gibbs Racing, and with good reason. Those two race organizations have been the best in NASCAR throughout the 2024 season. But this was Penske’s day. Logano held off Daniel Suarez. Teammate Ryan Blaney, the defending Cup champion, was third. But the surprise was Cindric. Cindric spent much of the day in the lead, or pushing the leader and finished 10th. More important now, he’s 27 points ahead of the playoff cutline with two races remaining until the playoffs are trimmed to the Round of 12.
Daniel Suarez
Atlanta has been kind to Suarez during the 2024 NASCAR Cup season. Suarez won the spring race in the closest NASCAR Cup finish ever. On Sunday, he was in position to win again, but finished second to Logano. Suarez is also 22 points ahead of the playoff cutline.
Losers
Chase Briscoe
Briscoe is one of the last drivers in the playoffs that could afford an early crash to end his day. He was collected in the early wreck involving Kyle Larson. That leaves Briscoe 20 points behind for the last spot in the Round of 12. He finished 38th on Sunday.
Denny Hamlin
Hamlin was content to ride around the track at the back of the pack due to the aggressive drivers on the track on Sunday. Well, that led to a 24th-place finish. He’s also 11th in the playoff standings, two points above the cut line for the Round of 12.
Truex’s farewell tour took a hit in the playoffs in Atlanta. Truex’s car sustained damage when he was part of the fallout after Chris Buescher spun out on lap 204. He finished 35th, but is now 18 points behind the last spot for the Round of 12 with two races remaining.
Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on the X platform @Kreager.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Atlanta race winners, losers after first playoff race
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