FLM – After two spectacular finishes to end the NASCAR Cup Series\u2019 regular season, the real fun is set to start at Atlanta Motor Speedway with Sunday\u2019s Quaker State 400 in Hampton, Ga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But first, a larger look at the first three races that will eliminate four drivers and advance a dozen into the Round of 12 that begins Sept. 29 at Kansas Speedway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NASCAR will kick it off in Atlanta, which was the site of the closest three-wide finish in the sport\u2019s history on Feb. 25, arguably the most exciting side-by-side-by-side race to the checkers that fans have seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel Suarez claimed victory that day, edging reigning Cup champion Ryan Blaney by 0.003 seconds and non-playoff driver Kyle Busch (0.007 seconds) in 2024\u2019s first real thriller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suarez, the driver of the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, set a high bar that day, joining William Byron as the only winners just two races into the campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That dazzling triumph vaulted Suarez, of Mexico, into the postseason championship hunt, but it didn\u2019t foreshadow any future success. He posted just one more top-five finish \u2014 at Texas in April \u2014 and was remembered more down the stretch for an awful fire that forced his Camaro out of the race at Daytona two weeks ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second race on the three-stop circuit is at Watkins Glen, where the track will make its first appearance in the playoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having a road course right away is intriguing, though there are some concerns about the tire that NASCAR will take there \u2014 the same issues that arose in Bristol\u2019s spring race that Denny Hamlin captured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The famed Bristol night race also just happens to be the cutoff race after the snaking Watkins Glen layout in upstate New York, so watch for that tire degradation again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell, a three-time winner thus far in 2024, said the three races are a crapshoot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith the expected tire degradation with the tire change that we\u2019ve had, it could be a Bristol-style race where people are wearing tires out really early and struggling to make laps and having to pit all of the time. So, that could be another wild-card race,\u201d said Bell, who was victorious at Phoenix, Charlotte\u2019s 600-miler and New Hampshire in the first 26 events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd, then Bristol, I think everybody is expecting it to be more of the same as what we had in the spring,\u201d added the No. 20 Toyota driver, who has nine top-five finishes. \u201cSo, the first round could be very different than what we\u2019ve seen in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Added Team 23XI driver Tyler Reddick, the regular-season champ in his No. 45: \u201cIt is probably the most chaotic \u2014 that first round. \u2026 The nice thing is there are 16 of us in this first round, so even if you have a bad day, you have a good buffer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ford leads the way with a series-best six entries among the 16 title-seeking competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll go to Atlanta and try to steal another one,\u201d said No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driver Chase Briscoe, who broke a 93-race winless streak and joined Harrison Burton as surprise winners of the past two stunning races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It would also be shocking if the super-fast, narrow Atlanta loop was anything other than exciting on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013Field Level Media<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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