Joey Logano wins NASCAR playoff opener at Atlanta to advance to 2nd round

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — Joey Logano raced his way into the second round of NASCAR's playoffs by winning the opener in overtime Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Logano, the only two-time Cup Series champion in the 16-driver playoff field, earned an automatic berth into the next round of races. It was the 11th race of the season to end in overtime — a tie for the record set in the 2017 season.

“That’s how we start the playoffs, boys!” Logano shouted. “When it is playoff time, it is our time.”

Logano is trying to become the only active three-time Cup champion. Kyle Busch, who did not make the playoffs, is the only other driver with two Cup titles.

Ryan Blaney finished second in a 1-2 sweep for Team Penske and Ford. Blaney lined up behind Logano and gave him the pushes he needed to deny Daniel Suarez the victory.

Suarez, who won the closest three-wide finish in NASCAR history here in February, had his own help from Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain. The two-lap overtime sprint to the finish began with Logano and Suarez lined up side-by-side on the front row, each with their teammate behind them for the push to the front.

Blaney got Logano out first, but Chastain remained locked onto the bumper of Suarez's Chevrolet and the two dueled it out until Blaney used a final push to get his Penske teammate the win.

Christopher Bell in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing finished fourth, and Alex Bowman in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports was fifth. Regular-season champion Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing was sixth and followed by Busch of Richard Childress Racing, Chase Elliott of Hendrick, William Byron of Hendrick and Austin Cindric of Penske. Only two Toyotas — Bell and Reddick — finished inside the top 10.

Larson running third in the closing laps of the first stage when his car inexplicably shot into the outside wall.

“I don't know if I blew a tire or what,” Larson radioed.

As the No. 5 Chevrolet shot back down the track, Larson was hit in the rear by fellow playoff driver Chase Briscoe. That contact caused damage to Briscoe's Ford.

The incident ended the race for both drivers.

Larson was the points leader at the start of Sunday before his crash, which he called one of the hardest hits of his career and it came without any warning.

“No, not at all. Never. Not once," Larson said. “It just caught me way off guard. I was never once loose, even in that corner. And then, it just started stepping out. I corrected it and overcorrected it, I guess. I feel fine. Thankfully, everything held up great in the car.”

Briscoe, who won last week's regular-season finale to make the playoff field, was ranked 13th out of 16 at the start of the race.

“That’s NASCAR — you can be on top one week and you can be at the very bottom of the mountain the next week," said Briscoe, who added he was fortunate not to be injured. "It was a big hit. One of the biggest hits I’ve had in a long time. My private area hurt pretty bad at first, just when I hit it was a big hit, but, other than that, I’m totally good.

"My head, everything feels fine. I’m glad my ankles didn’t get messed up. The brake pedal and everything went through the floorboard, so I’m thankful that I’m alright, for sure.”

The road course in Watkins Glen, New York, makes its debut in the 10-race playoff schedule next Sunday. Hendrick Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott, Larson and William Byron have combined to win the last five races at the track dating to 2018 when Watkins Glen was part of the regular-season schedule.

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