Notes After NASCAR’s First Cup Playoff Race at Atlanta

Team Penske dominated Sunday at Atlanta, but there was a lot going on in the rest of the field. Here are some highlights.

Kyle Busch Only Non-Playoff Driver In Top 10

In the five races since NASCAR returned from its two-week Olympic break, Kyle Busch’s team hasn’t resembled the organization that fielded his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in the season’s first half.

In the season’s first 22 races, Busch recorded only six top-10 finishes. However, in the last five events, Busch has had only one finish outside the top 10 and three in the top five. In Sunday’s Quaker State 400, Busch was the only non-playoff driver to finish in the top 10.

“The guys made some good adjustments and got it to where it was driving really good,” said Busch, who finished seventh after leading twice for 24 laps. “Definitely, the second half of the race and the final Stage, I felt really positive about it. But then we had to go into fuel-save mode, so we weren’t really able to kind of stretch our legs. Just played the way the cards were dealt. Certainly, felt like we had a shot to win. Felt as good, or better, than the No. 99 (Daniel Suarez), so I was just hopeful that we could keep that track position. Just lost a little bit too much on that second-to-last restart.”

Dismal Weekend for Hamlin or Was It?

Denny Hamlin’s first playoff race at Atlanta Motor Speedway is a weekend most competitors would prefer to forget.

First, he had a terrible qualifying run on Saturday due to a plug wire issue. That gave him the 38^th starting position.

Then during Sunday’s Quaker State 400 not only did he fail to lead a lap, but he also never ran in the top 20. On the final lap, he became involved in an 11-car crash in turn four with the checkered flag in sight and a 24^th-place finish. That left Hamlin 11^th in the standings, just two points above the cutline.

However, Hamlin said the weekend didn’t concern him.

“I did what I wanted to do and that was lay in the back most of the race, and try to see what attrition came about,” Hamlin said.

“You were kind of dealing with a log jam of a couple of lanes that are kind of blocking things, and you couldn’t go much of anywhere, so I just tried to avoid the wrecks. I was trying to get 20 points out of the day. That was my goal, just get 20 however we could. Obviously, starting in the back didn’t help with that. We did the best we could, and then got in a wreck that probably cost us eight to 10 spots or so. Twenty points seemed really possible but came up a little short of that today.”

Penalties Plague Playoff Drivers

Six playoff drivers received penalties during Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, that often left them with poor position in the field.

Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs all had to go to the rear at the start of the race for making unapproved adjustments. Truex received five more penalties during the event: Speeding on pit road twice; pitting before pit road was open on two occasions; and a commitment line violation.

Christopher Bell received three penalties: Pitting before pit road was open on two occasions and pitting out of the assigned pit box.

Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney were each cited for pitting before pit road was open.