This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
Daniel Suarez edged out Ryan Blaney and Kyle Bush in a three-way photo finish to decide Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series contest at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Trackhouse Racing driver took the high line off of the final corner and captured the checkered flag by a mere 0.003 seconds to claim his first win of 2024 in the second race of the season. Sunday's finish wasn't the only excitement, though. The race featured 10 cautions for 65 laps and a red flag. Nearly every car was involved in contact at some point in the 40-mile odyssey, which gave many opportunities for teams and drivers to mount recoveries and work their way back to top finishing positions. Suarez himself was involved in one of those melees, but it wasn't enough to hold him back from joining William Byron on the 2024 winner's list with a spot in the playoffs waiting at the end of the season.
The rapid-fire 2024 schedule motors on this week in a trip out west to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Byron and teammate Kyle Larson took the victories there last season, and Hendrick Motorsports will aim to keep that streak alive having won three of the last four races at the track. After two superspeedways to start the season, Sunday's race will feature the first traditional 1.5-mile oval, which could shake up the early order as teams come to grips with a completely different type of racing than we've seen so far. The new Ford and Toyota body
Daniel Suarez edged out Ryan Blaney and Kyle Bush in a three-way photo finish to decide Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series contest at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Trackhouse Racing driver took the high line off of the final corner and captured the checkered flag by a mere 0.003 seconds to claim his first win of 2024 in the second race of the season. Sunday's finish wasn't the only excitement, though. The race featured 10 cautions for 65 laps and a red flag. Nearly every car was involved in contact at some point in the 40-mile odyssey, which gave many opportunities for teams and drivers to mount recoveries and work their way back to top finishing positions. Suarez himself was involved in one of those melees, but it wasn't enough to hold him back from joining William Byron on the 2024 winner's list with a spot in the playoffs waiting at the end of the season.
The rapid-fire 2024 schedule motors on this week in a trip out west to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Byron and teammate Kyle Larson took the victories there last season, and Hendrick Motorsports will aim to keep that streak alive having won three of the last four races at the track. After two superspeedways to start the season, Sunday's race will feature the first traditional 1.5-mile oval, which could shake up the early order as teams come to grips with a completely different type of racing than we've seen so far. The new Ford and Toyota body styles will tested in a different way, and progress from work through the winter will start to become more evident.
UPGRADE
Daniel Suarez - A photo finish and just a few thousandths of a second were what it took for Suarez to grab victory Sunday in Atlanta. Despite being caught up in the first crash of the race, the Trackhouse Racing team worked diligently on repairs. Suarez then kept it clean throughout the rest of the race's carnage. In the end, he put himself at the front of the pack and got the momentum he needed off of the outside line on the final turn to pip Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch at the finish line by barely inches. His win, plus stage points from the second segment, put him into the playoff positions and now his focus can shift to preparing to be at his best when the series visits Atlanta again during the playoffs. He and the team have a long time to prepare, too. Suarez has two top-10 Las Vegas finishes from 13 career starts. One of those top finishes came last spring when he finished 10th despite starting 24th.
Michael McDowell - McDowell started on the front row for the second straight race last week at Atlanta and survived the race's early trouble to score his third career stage victory. However, he lost control and crashed into William Byron when entering pit road late in the second stage, causing damage and requiring repair. The race's many cautions gave the No. 34 team time to fight back, though. By the finish, through grit and determination, McDowell was back inside the top 10 and in touch with the lead. When all was said and done, his eighth-place finish was impressive given the adversity he had to overcome. Leaving Atlanta, McDowell sits 20th in the standings, just seven points from the playoff positions. McDowell has yet to finish in the top 10 in 20 career starts there, and he tied his best finish at the track of 17th last fall.
Austin Cindric - Cindric raced his way to the second stage victory Sunday at Atlanta, just a week after he was within a lap of scoring a second career Daytona 500 win. He has taken advantage of the two superspeedway races to start the season and enters the coming week's race at Las Vegas tied for second in points. While the start of the schedule has been a good one for him, his consistency across all styles of track needs to improve from last season if he is to make the playoff field in 2024. The Team Penske driver has consistently been a go-to selection on superspeedways and road courses but typical 1.5-mile ovals like Las Vegas haven't been as fruitful for him. He has one top-10 and an average finish of 19.3 from four Las Vegas starts, and that top-10 came last season when he finished sixth. He has three top-10 starts there, and he also led eight laps in the fall race in 2022.
Chris Buescher - Trouble seemed to strike Buescher at every opportunity Sunday at Atlanta, but a mix of good luck avoiding significant damage and having the chance to recover netted him a top-10 finish anyway. The three-time winner last season was involved in two incidents before the end of the second stage Sunday, which should have stunted his chances of a quick turnaround from a disappointing Daytona 500. However, Buescher and team kept digging and used their obvious superspeedway speed to climb back up the running order to claim a ninth-place finish. His first two results of the season place him 15th in the standings and among the playoff positions. Buescher has just one top-10 Las Vegas finish, but did finish 11th in the fall race last season. Despite Buescher's prowess on superspeedways, he might be relieved to be heading to a more traditional circuit this week after the hectic nature of the last two races.
Bubba Wallace - Only one driver has two top-10 finishes from the first two races of the season, and that driver is Bubba Wallace. In fact, Wallace finished fifth in both races to start the season and holds down fifth in the playoff standings as well. Despite being caught in the early carnage Sunday at Atlanta, Wallace recovered quickly to score stage points in the opening segment. He led three laps on his way to the fifth-place finish, continuing his admirable start to 2024. Fantasy players shouldn't expect him to slow down with the superspeedways in the mirror, either. Wallace finished fourth at Las Vegas last spring and was 13th there in the fall. He led 29 laps in the fall race the season before that, and he should be poised to continue his fast start to the season. It is still early, but Wallace is looking every bit as competitive as he did last year when he finished 10th in the championship.
DOWNGRADE
Christopher Bell - Bell went from the high of a third-place Daytona finish to early contact in Atlanta just one week later. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver started 22nd last week and was caught up in the first crash of the day, just as the cars crossed the line to finish the first lap of the race. He spent time on pit road fixing the damage, but was left to make laps and pick off other cars that would drop out for the rest of the afternoon. The No. 20 dropped out of the running before the end, tallying 148 of 260 laps completed in 34th position. The combination of results early in the season sent him tumbling down the championship standings to 17th and outside of the playoff positions. It is still early, but he and the team will not be able to endure that inconsistency throughout the season. Bell scored two top-fives at Las Vegas last season, including finishing second from pole position last fall when he led 61 laps.
Joey Logano - One week after qualifying on pole and having a car fast enough to win the Daytona 500, Logano endured his second crash in as many races at Atlanta. First, Logano qualified on the front row, but a rules infraction for modifying his gloves forced him to start from the rear with a drive through penalty. The race's early crash meant that drive-through wasn't a big deal, and probably helped Logano stay out of trouble, but a tight condition on the final lap of the second stage left him in the wall with Chris Buescher anyway. Logano was towed to his pit with significant damage and no chance of recovering. The former champion has shown speed early this season, but he needs to finish races. He is a three-time victor at Las Vegas and has led 536 laps through 21 career starts. His best finish at the track last season was 12th in the fall race, though.
Brad Keselowski - Atlanta should have been an opportunity for Keselowski to recover from crashing out of the Daytona 500 the week prior. Unfortunately, his day ended with another 33rd-place finish. That pair of results to get 2024 underway leaves him languishing in 36th position in the championship standings. The former series champion did score stage points in the second segment, but the day's crashes took their toll, leaving him with a hole to dig out of as the calendar rolls along. Keselowski is a three-time Las Vegas winner, though. His last victory at the track came in 2018, but he finished fourth there last fall. He also led laps in six of his last seven starts at the track, which should give him some confidence of making up some of his early points deficit this week. Fantasy players should note RFK Racing's competitive pace, and with some better luck, Keselowski should be in store for top finishes.
Denny Hamlin - Hamlin was a magnet for trouble at Atlanta. It seemed as though the No. 11 was involved in nearly every incident. Early on, he was able to recover and find his way back into the top 10, but as the incidents compounded, his ability to recover lost steam. Hamlin finished the afternoon 23rd, missed scoring any stage points, and was officially included in three of the race's cautions. It was another missed opportunity for Hamlin as he finished outside of the top 15 for the second week in a row. Like others, Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing team have some ground to make up early in the championship. The entire picture could change this week, though. Hamlin is a former Las Vegas winner (2021) who led 33 laps in the two races at the track last season. His average Las Vegas finish is 12.7 after 24 career starts, and he only finished lower than 11th there once in the last seven races.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Harrison Burton - Despite being caught in the first accident of Sunday's race, Burton ended the afternoon with a quick turnaround from his 39th-place finish in the Daytona 500. Sunday's finish was his best result since finishing eighth at Pocono last year. Burton has had a rough go of it since joining the series, but glimpses of potential have been there. In order to continue progressing, he'll need more results like at Atlanta. Last season, he scored two top-10 finishes and ended the year 31st in points, which was lower than his 27th-place standing in his rookie year. Burton needs improvement and Sunday's grit and determination to fight back in Atlanta is a good step in that direction. He still has a long season to go, but starting to score regular top-20s and top-15s will help him climb the order. He currently sits 23rd in the standings and has two top-20 finishes from four Las Vegas starts.
