Joey Logano wins NASCAR playoff opener at Atlanta to advance to 2nd round
Share this post:
HAMPTON, Ga. — One of the first things Joey Logano said after winning NASCAR’s playoff opener was that the postseason is his time of the year.
And, in 10 initial playoff appearances, he typically slid his way through the rounds, winning two Cup titles and never finishing lower than eighth in the standings.
Then came last year when Logano, as the reigning Cup champion, was eliminated from the 16-driver field in the first round for the first time in his career. He dreaded going to the track for the remainder of the season even as Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney went on to win the championship.
Here's what happened coming to the checkered at Atlanta: https://t.co/8c4HFUCfna pic.twitter.com/swBQezSyb9
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) September 8, 2024
There will be no stumble this year, not after an overtime victory Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway gave Logano an automatic berth into the second round of the playoffs.
“That’s how we start the playoffs, boys!” Logano shouted. “When it is playoff time, it is our time.”
Logano won the 11th race of the season to end in overtime, a tie for the record set in the 2017 season. He’s trying to become the only active three-time Cup champion in the series. Kyle Busch, who did not make the playoffs, is the only other driver with two Cup titles.
“We’ve been able to level up when we need to level up, and be able to fire off the first race of the playoffs and with a statement is key, right?” Logano said.
Ryan Blaney initially was listed in second for a 1-2 sweep for Team Penske and Ford. Blaney lined up behind Logano and gave him the pushes he needed to deny Daniel Suarez the victory.
But after a review, Suarez was moved to second, and Blaney dropped to third. Team owner Roger Penske was not at the race because the Detroit resident was scheduled to attend the Lions’ NFL home opener later Sunday.
Suarez, who won the closest three-wide finish in NASCAR history here in February, had his own help from Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain. The two-lap overtime sprint to the finish began with Logano and Suarez lined up side-by-side on the front row, each with their teammate behind them for the push to the front.
Blaney got Logano out first, but Chastain remained locked onto the bumper of Suarez’s Chevrolet and the two dueled it out until Blaney used a final push to get his Penske teammate the win.
Suarez, who gained two spots in the standings to ninth with his runner-up finish, was disappointed to come up short.
“No, definitely not satisfied. I am happy with it, but not satisfied,” he said. “I felt like we were going to have a great shot at it. Ross was doing an amazing job of pushing, and I don’t know if he got a flat tire or something, but once I lost him, I knew it was going to be tough. But, that is part of racing, right?”
Christopher Bell in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing finished fourth, and Alex Bowman in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports was fifth. Regular-season champion Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing was sixth and followed by Busch of Richard Childress Racing, Chase Elliott of Hendrick, William Byron of Hendrick and Austin Cindric of Penske. Only two Toyotas — Bell and Reddick — finished inside the top 10.