This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
Joey Logano seized the moment to win Sunday afternoon at Atlanta to claim the first of 12 spots available in the next round of championship eliminations. The Team Penske teammates were dominant Sunday, leading a combined 134 laps, winning both stages, the race, and all finishing inside the top 10. The trio teamed well together throughout the day, pushing one another to the lead at various points and keeping all in contention through to the checkered flag. In the end, a late restart put Logano and Blaney nose to tail with Blaney pushing the No. 22 to the lead and a gap he managed to the line. It was Logano's second victory of the season, giving him a valuable boost at what could be the perfect moment.
With Logano having secured advancement, the coming week's trip to Watkins Glen International will help decide who will stand alongside him. Two races remain in the first three-race round that will trim the field of 16 championship contenders down to 12. William Byron won last year's race at the road course and 15 playoff hopefuls will be vying to do the same. For those who do not, a short-track battle at Bristol Motor Speedway awaits to deliver the final verdict.
UPGRADE
Joey Logano - Logano started seventh and raced inside the top 10 throughout the afternoon Sunday at Atlanta. He was one of the fastest cars throughout the race and worked himself into position to battle for the win in the closing miles before an overtime restart gave him the final break he needed to stamp his name among the final 12 championship contenders. After lining up with teammate Ryan Blaney directly behind on the race's final restart, Logano got the push he needed to take control of the race for the final lap and claim the win, automatically advancing to the next round of the championship playoffs. With two races remaining to decide the other 11 playoff contenders, Logano and team can simply focus on preparing for Kansas, Talladega, and Charlotte. However, Logano won at Watkins Glen in 2015 and finished third and 10th in the last two races. Another top finish would be the best preparation.
Ryan Blaney - A third-place finish Sunday, coupled with a first- and second-place finish in the two stages, give Blaney a confident start to the playoffs despite being involved in a crash that threatened to end his day completely. Luckily, the No. 12 machine suffered only minor damage that the team was able to repair, keeping Blaney in the thick of the fight. Blaney also did his part by racing at the front of the field all afternoon, moving into position to push Logano into the lead for the win on the final restart, too. With the day's points haul, Blaney exits Atlanta at the top of the standings with a road course and a short track left to navigate in the round as he attempts to advance. Blaney finished ninth at Watkins Glen last season and has a best finish of fifth from seven starts at the track, and another top-10 this week would put him one step into the next round of the playoffs.
Austin Cindric - Top-two finishes in both stages were a great start to Cindric's playoff effort. His skill in the draft carried him through Sunday afternoon's drama, earning a 10th-place finish to add to his tally from the day, too. The effort moved Cindric up to seventh in the playoff standings with a 27-point margin to the cut zone. Superspeedways and road courses are configurations that Cindric outperforms on, which means the coming week's trip to Watkins Glen could put Cindric in position to advance if he can capitalize on it. He won there in Xfinity Series competition in 2019 and has an average finish of 14.5 from two Cup Series starts at the track. He has yet to lead a lap at the track in the Cup Series, but stage points an another top-10 finish might be enough to ease the pressure he might otherwise face the following week at Bristol.
Daniel Suarez - Lightning nearly struck twice for Daniel Suarez at Atlanta. After his thrilling win at the track in February out him into the playoffs, he nearly completed the sweep to advance into the final 12. However, it is extremely difficult to win multiple races in NASCAR and perhaps even harder to win twice at the same track in the same season. Still, Suarez got his playoff run off on ideal footing with a runner-up finish and some stage points, too. The day's tally leaves him ninth in the playoff standings with a 21-point margin back to the 12th and final transfer position. Suarez will feel confident about his chances to improve his position this week at Watkins Glen, too. He is a prior road course winner who has three top-five finishes from six visits to the Glen. His best finish at the track was third in 2017, and if he plays his cards right, Suarez could have a real chance of being one of the final 12 playoff contenders when all is said and done.
Alex Bowman - Bowman's strategy at Atlanta was to be aggressive and capture as many points as possible, and that is exactly what he did. He finished third in both stages and translated that speed into a fifth-place finish in the race, too. The points proved extremely valuable with other playoff contenders having trouble, too. Bowman now enters the next two races of the elimination round sixth in standings and tied with Cindric, 27 points clear of the danger zone. Sunday's points might have been necessary with Watkins Glen next on the schedule, too. Bowman has never scored a top-10 there in his seven starts and has an average finish of 21.4. He finished 23rd there last season and has three 14th-place finishes. Bristol is likely to be a better venue for the No. 48, but Bowman may have limited the damage he might expect at Watkins Glen due to his effort at Atlanta.
DOWNGRADE
Kyle Larson - Superspeedway racing has been a thorn in Larson's side for some time, and Sunday's start to the playoffs at Atlanta didn't change that trend. Despite starting the race near the front, Larson was involved in the day's first accident and exited the race after just 55 laps after suddenly losing control and crashing. His lack of points due to the DNF sent him tumbling down the playoff standings and he now sits 10th with two races remaining in the first round. A positive is that Larson has had better finishes at road courses than superspeedways. At Watkins Glen, he is a two-time victor with four top-10 finishes from his last five series races at the track. He finished 26th there last season after starting fifth and needs to avoid any further slip ups this week. Getting stage points and a top race finish this week would help him avoid additional pressure to get a result at Bristol.
Chase Briscoe - Briscoe went quickly from the high of winning at Daytona to the low of crashing out at Atlanta. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver was minding his own business in the pack early Sunday when Kyle Larson crashed ahead of him. Briscoe was unable to avoid Larson's stricken car and clouted the No. 5 heavily. The damage immediately ended Briscoe's day and he was classified as the lowest finisher Sunday, which was no help to his position in the playoff standings. Leaving Atlanta, Briscoe is now 16th of the 16 playoff contenders with two races to make up a 21-point gap to the top 12. Briscoe has one top-10 finish from three Watkins Glen visits, but his average finish at the track is 23.0. He is going to need something more than that to rekindle his hopes, though. The coming week will be pivotal in his quest to advance to the final 12 championship contenders.
Martin Truex Jr. - The start to the playoffs did not give Truex the reset he hoped for. The former series champion limped into the knockout races on three consecutive finishes outside of the top 20. An early speeding penalty put him behind Sunday, too. Despite clawing his way forward after the infraction, Truex was forced out of the race completely with suspension trouble after he collided with Ryan Blaney as the pair tried to avoid a spinning Chris Buescher. His final full-time season has not been what he hoped for, but there may still be time for he and the team to turn that around. Truex used to be the one to beat at road courses. He won once at Watkins Glen in a string of four straight top-three finishes at the track between 2017 and 2021. He finished sixth in last year's race despite starting 19th and needs a top finish this coming week.
Harrison Burton - What was already going to be a difficult task to advance into the top 12 in the playoffs got tougher for Burton with two late race crashes that forced him into a 31st-place finish. The most disappointing part of Sunday's outcome was that Atlanta was probably Burton's best chance at gaining enough ground to give himself a shot at advancement. Those hopes didn't come to fruition despite Burton's best efforts. As a result, Burton now sits 14th in the championship standings needing to overcome a 16-point deficit to Ty Gibbs in the 12th and last transfer spot. The likelihood of Burton overcoming that gap this coming week at Watkins Glen is not great either. The driver auditioning for future employment has two series starts at the New York road course with a best finish of 28th and an average finish of 30.5. Burton will be hoping to not lose further ground this week.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Denny Hamlin - Hamlin attempted to play it conservatively Sunday at Atlanta. He dropped from the battle at the front and sacrificed stage points for the confidence of making it to the race's finish. As the checkered flag approached, Hamlin worked his way forward but a crash coming to the line collected him. The net effect was that Hamlin sacrificed valuable stage points and then lost out on the race finish due to a late crash anyway. He was scored as the 24th-place finished and falls to 11th in the playoff standings just two points clear of safety. There is little margin for error in each three-race elimination round and Hamlin might have used his only "get out of jail free" card this round. The No. 11 needs to play the next two races carefully. Hamlin won at Watkins Glen 2016 and finished second last season. That plus stage points this coming week will help his cause.
