NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Ambetter Health 400 from Atlanta Motor Speedway
Coming off the Daytona 500, NASCAR will be back on a similar drafting track in Atlanta. Marking the fifth time on the redesigned surface, Atlanta has held up well as a fan favorite track. With Atlanta being a quasi-superspeedway, can a driver who performed in Daytona back up or even surpass their effort this week? Here are some ones to keep an eye on in Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400.
William Byron
It’s been 15 years since a driver won the opening two races of a NASCAR season. William Byron will be the latest to try this feat, eyeing a repeat of his Daytona 500 win. Last week aside, Byron’s No. 24 is already an Atlanta favorite. The Hendrick driver has won two of the four races on the new Georgia pavement. This includes the most recent Peach State showing in July. Still wrapping up the pinnacle week of his racing career, Byron hopes to join an elite list on Sunday.
“It’s still pretty surreal and it’s starting to set in now just experiencing all the different things that come with being a Daytona 500 winner,” Byron said. “It really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You don’t know if you’re ever going to have a chance to win that race again. It’s made for a short week this week to get ready for the next race but I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
“We need to continue the course we’ve been on. Last year was really valuable, getting to Phoenix and having a chance to race for a championship. This year, the hunger and drive are really high. We have a lot more to accomplish. This is a good start and we have a lot to be proud of but we want more. We always want more and that starts this weekend in Atlanta.”
Their first Daytona 500 win in a decade was a years-long quest for Hendrick Motorsports. All four of their cars showed winning pace at Talladega last fall, and they took a 1-2 result last week. Combined with Byron’s recent Atlanta acumen, the stars could be aligning for another team 24 banner day.
Joey Logano
12 months ago in Atlanta, Joey Logano was one position away from a perfect weekend. The Penske No. 22 Ford started on pole, led 140 laps, won a Stage, and eventually took the checkers. If not for losing the lead late in Stage 2, Logano would have capped off his first Atlanta win with max points.
While Logano has not won since this day, he was a man on a mission last Sunday. The Daytona 500 saw the 22 start from the pole, lead a race-high 45 laps, and be in contention until the late crash. Logano doesn’t directly compare Daytona and Atlanta, but he does see similarities to a past version of the superspeedway.
“I call it (Atlanta) kind of a confused racetrack,” Logano said. “It doesn’t know if it wants to be a superspeedway or a mile-and-a-half. It seems like you’re wide-open all the way around it most of the time. If you’re leading, for sure, but there are other times where you’re hanging on and you’re in the back and you’re lifting and all that stuff. Honestly, it’s similar to what Daytona was like before they repaved it years and years and years ago, where it had some bumps and some character and the tires would fall off to where you had to kind of hang on and handling came into play. The same thing can happen there.”
If Daytona was any indicator, then the Joey Logano that saw a first Playoff round exit is a thing of the past. Expect Logano to be up front again and likely in control for much of the afternoon Sunday. The 22 was potentially on its way to a dominant Daytona 500 win, Atlanta may partly subside this disappointment.
Corey Lajoie
On the new age Atlanta surface, few have been more consistent than perennial underdog Corey Lajoie. The Spire No. 7 Chevrolet has a pair of top-fives in four races, and was wrecked from second on the last lap of another one. Coming off a strong fourth-place run in Daytona, Lajoie told me his entire team has pep in their step heading to a track they love in ATL.
“Since the Atlanta reconfiguration our Spire Motorsports team has had a good handle on it,” Lajoie said. “As the surface has aged over the last several years it will look less like a Talladega and more like a really compacted pack at Charlotte. Handling will be a premium and with no practice we’re hoping we can nail down a good package in our Celsius Camaro. We’ve been in contention here multiple times and we’re going this weekend to try and do the same thing.”
For the first time in several years, an upset winner did not taste Daytona 500 glory. Lajoie will try and bust many preseason Playoff grids in Atlanta, entering this weekend primed as ever for greatness. Major offseason investment and growth have Spire poised to enter a new space in the garage as contenders. Gearing up for a weekend the entire No. 7 team has circled, Lajoie faces down arguably his best shot yet at NASCAR victory lane.
Brad Keselowski
Across both Atlanta races a year ago, no driver was closer to victory lane but had worse luck than Brad Keselowski. The No. 6 Ford was a close runner-up to Logano in the spring, after being passed on the last lap. In July, Keselowski was leading with rain on the way, but his fuel tank ran dry. Having to pit just shy of the race’s premature finish sent the 6 back to sixth.
Keselowski smelled the front of the field late in Monday’s Daytona 500, only to be taken out in the huge crash. The superspeedway master will aim to grab the checkers that got away from him last season, and erase a nearly 100-race losing drought.
Chase Elliott
The racing pride of north Georgia has a better-than-average chance at taking another Atlanta win. Counting his victory here in July 2022, Chase Elliott has two top-10s in three starts on the new track. The Napa No. 9 colors also face a lengthy losing skid, dating back to Talladega in October 2022, a span of 69 starts for Elliott. The second-generation star loves showing out in front of his hometown fans, and relishes in being able to perform for them twice a year.
“I wasn’t a huge fan of that when we just had one event there,” Elliott said. “But I think having two (Atlanta races), it has a really nice balance to it. I think it’ll be a nice mix because the weather, with what it’s going to be in February versus what it’s going to be when we come back in the playoffs is going to be totally different. And I think you’ll be surprised at how different the race might look between those two. So, I think the big thing is just having two events and I feel like that is a positive. There’s been a lot of work and a lot of effort put in at the track for not just the competitors but for the spectators too. Personally, I’m a little biased, but I think they deserve two races and I’m looking forward to going there twice.”
Elliott is always a popular winner, but a victory this week would only add to the Atlanta legacy his family holds. Bill Elliott took five checkered flags in Georgia, meaning Chase has quite a ways to go to catch his record. Coming off a Hendrick 1-2 in Daytona, another HMS car could feasibly find victory lane.
Christopher Bell
Now in his fifth Cup Series season, Christopher Bell has seemingly figured out superspeedway racing. Daytona was very fruitful to the No. 20 Toyota, taking a Duel win and third in The Great American Race. New Atlanta hasn’t been too shabby either for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, being third in this race last year. Bell also took the checkers in second but was disqualified from this event two years ago. Seemingly with his most drafting confidence yet, Bell cannot be counted out in Atlanta.
“Two superspeedway races back-to-back is really tough and hard on the drivers and hard on equipment,” Bell said. “But I like Atlanta, and I’m looking forward to the challenge. Daytona was good to us to get the season started strong with the Duel win and a great finish in the 500. Hopefully we can follow that up with a good run this weekend in Atlanta.”
Bell told me that his recent superspeedway success has been largely circumstantial and more luck than anything. However, Bell’s team did maximize points on drafting tracks in 2023, and they look to keep this trend alive in Atlanta.
As much of an unknown as Daytona was, Atlanta is an equally-large question mark. 400 miles of hybrid superspeedway pack racing will leave one driver happy and many displeased on Sunday. The green flag will fly in Georgia Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images
