The NASCAR Cup Series begins the 2024 payoffs with Sunday's Quaker State 400 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
16 drivers are racing for the playoffs, while the rest of the field is racing for a trophy. The Round of 16 includes Sunday's race as well as races at Watkins Glen and Bristol. Those three tracks could not be more opposites.
Michael McDowell is on the pole for Sunday's race, a normality in 2024 at drafting tracks.
Follow along with our live race updates, with green flag set for after 2 p.m. CT at Atlanta.
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Joey Logano gets ahead of Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney at the white flag, then holds them off as Harrison Burton, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace and other crash in turns 3 and 4.
Logano is in the Round of 12. Nine of the top 10 drivers were playoff drivers, with Kyle Busch in 7th.
Burton will finish well down the order as will Hamlin, who did not have a good day or race car.
As Joey Logano and Daniel Suarez battle for the lead, Noah Gragson spins and hits the inside wall hard.
Here comes the restart, with Joey Logano and Daniel Suarez leading the two lines.
Ty Gibbs, pushed by Kyle Busch, gets clear of Daniel Suarez for a moment, but Busch and Suarez get alongside for a 3-wide battle for the lead.
A Walmart sign falls on the track, which produces a caution with 10 laps to go. Daniel Suarez leads Ty Gibbs.
Ty Gibbs goes to the lead on the top lane with Daniel Suarez behind him. Kyle Busch leads the bottom lane. William Byron, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano are among the other playoff drivers in the top 10.
Martin Truex Jr. is back down pit road and will lose more laps as his team works on the damaged race car. Kyle Busch leads on the bottom lane with William Byron leading the top.
Playoff drivers Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. have damage as Chris Buescher gets loose off of turn 2 and slaps the wall. Caution is out with Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs and Bubba Wallace battling for the lead. The latter two make their final stop.
Truex may have gotten the worst of that. He's two laps down now. Blaney continues on in the lead lap.
Austin Cindric dominates Stage 2 and takes the playoff point with little issue.
The top 10:
- Austin Cindric
- Ryan Blaney
- Alex Bowman
- Daniel Suarez
- William Byron
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Ross Chastain
- Chase Elliott
- Ty Gibbs
- Christopher Bell
Don't look now, but Atlanta's spring winner Daniel Suarez has made his way inside the top 5. He's now running fourth. Austin Cindric is currently leading the race.
Austin Cindric leads the Quaker State 400 with Alex Bowman in second and Ryan Blaney in third. The second race caution has been given due to debris on the front stretch.
Austin Cindric leads the Quaker State 400 in Atlanta in Stage 2, leading Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaneym who won Stage 1. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and William Byron are third and fourth.
Ryan Blaney won Stage 1 at Atlanta under caution after Kyle Larson's wreck. Teammate Austin Cindric is second.
NASCAR Cup series favorite Kyle Larson hit the wall after what appeared to be a tire blown. Larson was by himself when his car veered into the wall. Larson was then hit by Chase Briscoe, who also is in the playoffs, when he came down to the inside of the track.
Kyle Larson is battling Ryan Blaney for the lead in Atlanta. Austin Cindric has been the difference so far. He's pushing Blaney to the lead. But Larson's teammate Alex Bowman is catching the trio and may soon be able to push Larson.
Defending NASCAR Cup champion Ryan Blaney has passed Michael McDowell and brought Kyle Larson with him. Austin Cindric has also moved pass McDowell and is now pushing Blaney.
Michael McDowell continues to dominate in qualifying at tracks like Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta. He has his fifth pole of the season after winning Saturday's session.
The top 10:
- Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Penske Racing Ford
- Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
- Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Austin Cindric, No. 2 Penske Racing Ford
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Joey Logano, No. 22 Penske Racing Ford
- Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Ford
- William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Find the full starting lineup here.
The Quaker State 400 at Atlanta will be aired on the radio by the Performance Racing Network. PRN has affiliates all across the country, and their feed can also be streamed on NASCAR.com as well as the NASCAR app. The race can also be heard on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
- Green Flag Time: Approx. 2 p.m. CT on Sunday, September 8
- TV coverage: USA Network ( Watch FREE on Fubo )
- Radio: Performance Racing Network (102.5 FM in Nashville)
- Streaming: FUBO (free trial available); NBC Sports app (subscription required); NASCAR.com and SiriusXM for audio (subscription required).
The Quaker State 400 will be broadcast nationally on USA Network. Streaming options for the race include the NBC Sports app and FUBO , which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.
- 2024 spring: Daniel Suarez
- 2023 summer: William Byron
- 2023 spring: Joey Logano
- 2022 summer: Chase Elliott
- 2022 spring: William Byron
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta: Live updates, highlights, live leaderboard of Quaker State 400
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