Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Autosport
Autosport
Jim Utter

NASCAR Cup Atlanta: Logano takes first win of 2023 after last-lap pass on Keselowski

Keselowski was in control of Sunday’s race as the laps wound down but Logano – who led for 140 of the 260-lap contest, taking the Stage 1 win in the process – had worked his way back into contention.

Following the break between Stages 2 and 3, all the lead-lap cars pitted, with Aric Almirola first off pit road thanks to a fuel-only stop.

Chris Buescher had to restart from the rear of the field for speeding on pit road. Reddick was forced to pit again as the team didn’t get all the fuel in on his first stop.

On the restart on lap 169, Almirola was followed by Logano, Stage 2 winner Austin Cindric, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Alex Bowman.

Stenhouse got a shove off Turn 2 and grabbed the lead on the restart for the first time in the race.

Hamlin, using the bottom lane and a push from LaJoie, got around Stenhouse to take the lead on lap 176 as Stenhouse dropped to second.

Shortly after Kevin Harvick took the lead on Lap 189, Ross Chastain got Harvick loose from behind on Lap 190 and Harvick’s #4 Ford went for a spin in front of the field.

Among the car involved in the incident were Busch, Buescher, Harrison Burton, Josh Berry and William Byron.

All of the lead-lap cars hit pit road, with Almirola first off as teams made multiple strategy choices. Hamlin and Ty Dillon made contact on pit road while Chastain ended up driving in grass.

Race winner Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Mustang (Photo by: Lesley Ann Miller / Motorsport Images)

On the restart on lap 200, Almirola was followed by Kyle Larson, Keselowski, Chastain and Reddick.

As Almirola led the field around Turn 4 on lap 209, it appeared he had a tyre go down and spun and collected Larson, which brought out the fifth caution of the race. Daniel Suarez also got some damage in that incident.

A handful of cars elected to pit but Keselowski remained on the track and in the lead when the race returned to green on ;lap 217. He was followed by Reddick, Bowman, Bell and Hamlin.

With his two team-mates close behind him, Logano was able to get around Keselowski on lap 227 and return to the lead.

Thanks to a push from Reddick, Keselowski moved ahead of Logano to regain the lead on lap 231.

With 15 laps to go, Keselowski maintained a small lead over Logano and Blaney. Reddick ran fourth and Bell fifth.
With five to go, Keselowski and Logano were racing side-by-side for the lead.

On the final lap, Keselowski led the outside line while Logano led the inside.

As the field headed toward Turn 3, Logano went to the outside of Keselowski, and thanks to a big push from Christopher Bell, was able to clear Keselowski for the lead.

Logano then held off Keselowski by 0.193 seconds to earn his first win of the season and first at Atlanta.

Bell ended up third, Corey LaJoie finished a career-best fourth and Tyler Reddick – who raced with flu-like symptoms – ended up fifth.

Completing the top 10 were Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones, Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch, with Cindric missing out in 11th.

NASCAR Cup Atlanta race result

Cla Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Gap Points
1 United States Joey Logano Ford 260 2:53'04.845    
2 United States Brad Keselowski Ford 260 2:53'05.038 0.193  
3 United States Christopher Bell Toyota 260 2:53'05.039 0.194  
4 United States Corey Lajoie Chevrolet 260 2:53'05.142 0.297  
5 United States Tyler Reddick Toyota 260 2:53'05.144 0.299  
6 United States Denny Hamlin Toyota 260 2:53'05.235 0.390  
7 United States Ryan Blaney Ford 260 2:53'05.244 0.399  
8 United States Erik Jones Chevrolet 260 2:53'05.334 0.489  
9 Ty Gibbs Toyota 260 2:53'05.402 0.557  
10 United States Kyle Busch Chevrolet 260 2:53'05.420 0.575  
11 United States Austin Cindric Ford 260 2:53'05.428 0.583  
12 United States Noah Gragson Chevrolet 260 2:53'05.545 0.700  
13 United States Ross Chastain Chevrolet 260 2:53'05.571 0.726  
14 United States Alex Bowman Chevrolet 260 2:53'05.580 0.735  
15 United States Todd Gilliland Ford 260 2:53'05.649 0.804  
16 United States A.J. Allmendinger Chevrolet 260 2:53'05.677 0.832  
17 United States Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chevrolet 260 2:53'05.738 0.893  
18 Josh Berry Chevrolet 260 2:53'05.770 0.925  
19 United States Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 260 2:53'05.820 0.975  
20 United States Austin Dillon Chevrolet 260 2:53'05.914 1.069  
21 United States Michael McDowell Ford 260 2:53'06.003 1.158  
22 United States Justin Haley Chevrolet 260 2:53'06.196 1.351  
23 United States Ty Dillon Chevrolet 260 2:53'06.333 1.488  
24 United States Chase Briscoe Ford 259 2:53'16.702 1 Lap  
25 United States Cody Ware Ford 258 2:53'17.159 2 Laps  
26 United States J.J. Yeley Ford 258 2:53'23.267 2 Laps  
27 United States Bubba Wallace Toyota 255 2:53'20.769 5 Laps  
28 United States Ryan Preece Ford 244 2:53'27.583 16 Laps  
29 Mexico Daniel Suarez Chevrolet 213 2:26'32.990 47 Laps  
30 United States Aric Almirola Ford 208 2:18'27.865 52 Laps  
31 United States Kyle Larson Chevrolet 208 2:18'28.009 52 Laps  
32 United States William Byron Chevrolet 192 2:05'26.665 68 Laps  
33 United States Kevin Harvick Ford 190 1:59'36.000 70 Laps  
34 United States Harrison Burton Ford 190 2:06'36.564 70 Laps  
35 United States Chris Buescher Ford 189 1:57'48.521 71 Laps  
36 United States B.J. McLeod Chevrolet 189 1:57'50.625 71 Laps  
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.