This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
Sunday's Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway was a showdown between brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch. The pair combined to dominate the race, leaving little opportunity for the rest of the field to have their say in the outcome. Kyle won the first stage, but Kurt won the second and took the race victory, too. It was Busch's first win of the season and comes as his momentum had taken a turn for the better in recent weeks. Kyle's runner-up result was his fourth top-three finish in a row, too. His win in Saturday's Xfinity Series race meant the brothers swept the Atlanta race weekend, too.
Kurt Busch's win Sunday dramatically changed the playoff picture. He is now the 12th-different winner this season and secured entry into the championship playoffs. The result leaves just four places for drivers to get into the championship battle on points alone with heavy-hitters like Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick still winless with five regular-season races remaining. Up this week is a visit to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Harvick has won two of the last three races.
UPGRADE
Kurt Busch – Busch's recent upward swing in momentum carried him right through to the second stage win Sunday in Atlanta. From there, all he had to do was hold off his younger brother in the final miles to complete his turnaround and grab his first victory of the season, securing his spot in the 16 championship contenders. The former champion had three
Sunday's Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway was a showdown between brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch. The pair combined to dominate the race, leaving little opportunity for the rest of the field to have their say in the outcome. Kyle won the first stage, but Kurt won the second and took the race victory, too. It was Busch's first win of the season and comes as his momentum had taken a turn for the better in recent weeks. Kyle's runner-up result was his fourth top-three finish in a row, too. His win in Saturday's Xfinity Series race meant the brothers swept the Atlanta race weekend, too.
Kurt Busch's win Sunday dramatically changed the playoff picture. He is now the 12th-different winner this season and secured entry into the championship playoffs. The result leaves just four places for drivers to get into the championship battle on points alone with heavy-hitters like Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick still winless with five regular-season races remaining. Up this week is a visit to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Harvick has won two of the last three races.
UPGRADE
Kurt Busch – Busch's recent upward swing in momentum carried him right through to the second stage win Sunday in Atlanta. From there, all he had to do was hold off his younger brother in the final miles to complete his turnaround and grab his first victory of the season, securing his spot in the 16 championship contenders. The former champion had three prior victories at the track, and delivered on his wish to send Chip Ganassi Racing out of the series with a win. Busch also has three New Hampshire victories and hasn't finished outside of the top 10 at the track since 2016, which could make him a favorite again this week.
Kyle Busch – Busch started the weekend in Atlanta by winning his fifth race in as many Xfinity Series starts in a race he said may have been his last in the series. He then continued that momentum by jetting out to the front and winning the opening stage in the Cup race Sunday. He appeared to have the pace to challenge his older brother in the final segment but could not keep the grip underneath him to complete a pass. The brothers combined to lead all but 25 laps of the 260 run Sunday, but for the first time this season, it was Kyle's older brother who came out on top in another 1-2 finish for the pair of former series champions. Kyle has three career wins at New Hampshire, but he crashed out of last year's race and finished 38th.
Martin Truex Jr. – Truex did not lead any laps Sunday at Atlanta, but he did claim a third-place finish. That was his second top-10 in as many races and his best result since Sonoma last month. He now has a three-race run of finishes 11th or better and has reversed a slump that started following his win at Darlington. Truex may not be dominating races like fantasy players are used to expecting, but his finishes are getting better, and he is finding more consistency as the regular season winds down. The key to winning a championship in the current format is peaking in the playoffs, and Truex appears to be improving as they approach. This week's trip to New Hampshire could be a good gauge of his progress. He has finished seventh or better there the last six visits.
Matt DiBenedetto – After getting out of the car Sunday, Matt DiBenedetto said his team was clicking better than ever before in the last few races. His ninth-place finish was evidence of that, and his finish of 10th the week before only reinforces that opinion. The timing might be perfect for DiBenedetto since he knows that he will not return to the No. 21 car next season. Yet again, he is racing for his future in the series. Sunday's top-10 was his fifth of the season and puts him 18th in the standings, 42 points behind Chris Buescher in the top non-playoff spot. It wouldn't be inconceivable for DiBenedetto to snag a win before the season ends either. He finished fifth and sixth in the last two New Hampshire races and should be in line for another top-10 this weekend.
DOWNGRADE
Tyler Reddick – The playoff picture got quite a bit different for Reddick Sunday in Atlanta. Prior to Sunday's race he was 15th in the standings with a sizeable cushion back to Kurt Busch in the final playoff position. However, Busch's win leaves just four playoff spots available for drivers without a 2021 win, which pushed Reddick to that final transfer spot. He maintains a significant gap of 96 points to Chris Buescher in 17th, but will be forced to sweat the remaining five regular-season races. Without claiming a win for himself, Reddick must hope that there are no first-time 2021 winners lower than him in the points. He has five races to survive or score a win of his own. He finished 10th at Dover last season.
Kyle Larson – Is Kyle Larson's period of domination over? He was widely expected to dominate Sunday's Atlanta race, but struggled staying inside the top 10 throughout the day and ended 18th having not led any laps. That result makes it two consecutive races where he has now failed to finish in the top 15, ending a nine-race run of finishes of ninth or better including four wins if you consider the All Star Race. Larson will need to get over this mini slump quickly in order to be in the best position possible for the playoff elimination rounds. New Hampshire will be an opportunity for him to show fantasy players whether or not that is possible. He crashed out there in 2019 but does have five top-10s from 10 career tries.
Chris Buescher – While Kurt Busch's win on Sunday put Tyler Reddick on the bubble, it was a much bigger impact to Buescher. While Busch had been ahead on points prior to Sunday's race, the gap was still within reach. With Busch's win, Buescher is now staring down a nearly 100-point deficit to Reddick in the playoff battle. That is a massive gap with just five regular-season races remaining and puts Buescher in a must-win situation to have a chance to fight for the 2021 championship. His best opportunity to grab that victory may have passed in Atlanta, too. Roush Fenway Racing has been at their best on rough surfaces this season, and no surface is more worn than Atlanta's. Chances of making the 2021 playoff field look very dim for Buescher.
Daniel Suarez – Suarez was squeezed between Cody Ware and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. deep in the field in Sunday's race. The contact forced Suarez out of control and he and Stenhouse made contact with the inside wall. The damage to Suarez was not race ending, but it left him running by himself for the rest of the afternoon. He ended the race 17 laps down to the leaders and in the 36th position, finishing ahead of only Stenhouse. That was the second race in a row that Suarez finished 36th, which ends a streak of three straight top-15 finishes that saw him moving up the championship standings. It was bad luck for Suarez who has shown throughout the season that Trackhouse Racing has the legs to compete and should be an organization to pay attention to in 2022.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - Contact between Daniel Suarez and Cody Ware sent Suarez the No. 99 car sliding into Stenhouse's car. The contact sent the No. 47 hard into the inside barrier. While Ware and Suarez were able to continue, Stenhouse was sent immediately to the garage and out of the race with significant front-end damage. His 37th-place result was his second finish worse than 35th in the last five races. Stenhouse has been a nice play for fantasy managers much of the season by consistently scoring top-15 and top-20 finishes, but more finishes of 30th or worse are appearing on his resume as the season has progressed. Similarly, he has two New Hampshire finishes of 30th or worse in his last three visits but was 14th there last year.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Ross Chastain – Despite finishing 21st, Chastain had one of the biggest impacts on the outcome of Sunday's race. While the Busch brothers battled one another throughout the afternoon it was Chastain's turn to impact the outcome in the favor of his teammate as Kurt was chasing down Kyle in the final fuel run. Kurt requested the bottom line, so Chastain obliged and ran high into the turn, effectively blocking Kyle and giving Kurt the opportunity to pounce. For his part, Kurt have Chastain plenty of kind words after successfully completing the win. Some may criticize Chastain for getting in the way of the battle for the lead, but what are teammates for? He and Busch's efforts are helping Ganassi exit the series as a team owner with a successful final season.
