2024 Quaker State 400 Explained

The 2024 Quaker State 400 available at Walmart was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 8, 2024, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Contested over 266 laps -- extended from 260 laps due to an overtime finish on the 1.54-mile-long (2.48 km) asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway (with superspeedway rules). It was the 27th race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, the first race of the 2024 NASCAR playoffs, and the first race of the Round of 16. Joey Logano won the race. Daniel Suárez finished 2nd, and Ryan Blaney finished 3rd. Christopher Bell and Alex Bowman rounded out the top five, and Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Austin Cindric rounded out the top ten.

Report

Background

Atlanta Motor Speedway is a track in Hampton, Georgia, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It is a 1.54miles quad-oval track with a seating capacity of 111,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5miles standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two 1.5miles ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval. The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (P) denotes playoff driver.
• (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1			Chevrolet
2	Austin Cindric (P)
3			Chevrolet
4	Josh Berry (R)		Ford
5	Kyle Larson (P)		Chevrolet
6	Brad Keselowski (P)		Ford
7			Chevrolet
8			Chevrolet
9	Chase Elliott (P)		Chevrolet
10			Ford
11	Denny Hamlin (P)		Toyota
12	Ryan Blaney (P)		Ford
14	Chase Briscoe (P)		Ford
15			Ford
16	Shane van Gisbergen (i)		Chevrolet
17			Ford
19	Martin Truex Jr. (P)		Toyota
20	Christopher Bell (P)		Toyota
21	Harrison Burton (P)		Ford
22	Joey Logano (P)		Ford
23			Toyota
24	William Byron (P)		Chevrolet
31			Chevrolet
34			Ford
38			Ford
41			Ford
42			Toyota
43			Toyota
44	J. J. Yeley (i)		Chevrolet
45	Tyler Reddick (P)		Toyota
47			Chevrolet
48	Alex Bowman (P)		Chevrolet
51			Ford
54	Ty Gibbs (P)		Toyota
71	Zane Smith (R)		Chevrolet
77	Carson Hocevar (R)		Chevrolet
78	B. J. McLeod (i)		Chevrolet
99	Daniel Suárez (P)		Chevrolet
Official entry list

Qualifying

Michael McDowell scored the pole for the race with a time of 30.927 and a speed of 179.261mph.^[9]

Qualifying results

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	34			Ford	30.972	30.927
2	12	Ryan Blaney (P)		Ford	30.954	31.000
3	38			Ford	31.071	31.012
4	4	Josh Berry (R)		Ford	31.160	31.068
5	2	Austin Cindric (P)		Ford	31.131	31.073
6	5	Kyle Larson (P)		Chevrolet	31.069	31.083
7	22	Joey Logano (P)		Ford	31.017	31.083
8	3			Chevrolet	31.167	31.120
9	24	William Byron (P)		Chevrolet	31.130	31.130
10	14	Chase Briscoe (P)		Ford	31.156	31.131
11	48	Alex Bowman (P)		Chevrolet	31.200	—
12	21	Harrison Burton (P)		Ford	31.208	—
13	10			Ford	31.209	—
14	31			Chevrolet	31.225	—
15	8			Chevrolet	31.237	—
16	9	Chase Elliott (P)		Chevrolet	31.257	—
17	17			Ford	31.264	—
18	1			Chevrolet	31.272	—
19	6	Brad Keselowski (P)		Ford	31.288	—
20	54	Ty Gibbs (P)		Toyota	31.303	—
21	41			Ford	31.305	—
22	19	Martin Truex Jr. (P)		Toyota	31.337	—
23	45	Tyler Reddick (P)		Toyota	31.339	—
24	23			Toyota	31.355	—
25	7			Chevrolet	31.388	—
26	20	Christopher Bell (P)		Toyota	31.440	—
27	47			Chevrolet	31.441	—
28	16	Shane van Gisbergen (i)		Chevrolet	31.457	—
29	51			Ford	31.479	—
30	99	Daniel Suárez (P)		Chevrolet	31.488	—
31	15			Ford	31.548	—
32	77	Carson Hocevar (R)		Chevrolet	31.557	—
33	43			Toyota	31.565	—
34	71	Zane Smith (R)		Chevrolet	31.598	—
35	42			Toyota	31.663	—
36	78	B. J. McLeod (i)		Chevrolet	32.251	—
37	44	J. J. Yeley (i)		Chevrolet	32.625	—
38	11	Denny Hamlin (P)		Toyota	33.066	—
Official qualifying results

Race

Race results

Stage results

Stage OneLaps: 60

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	12	Ryan Blaney (P)	Team Penske	Ford	10
2	2	Austin Cindric (P)	Team Penske	Ford	9
3	48	Alex Bowman (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	8
4	22	Joey Logano (P)	Team Penske	Ford	7
5	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	6
6	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	5
7	9	Chase Elliott (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	4
8	24	William Byron (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	3
9	19	Martin Truex Jr. (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	2
10	54	Ty Gibbs (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	1
Official stage one results

Stage TwoLaps: 100

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	2	Austin Cindric (P)	Team Penske	Ford	10
2	12	Ryan Blaney (P)	Team Penske	Ford	9
3	48	Alex Bowman (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	8
4	99	Daniel Suárez (P)	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	7
5	24	William Byron (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	6
6	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	5
7	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	4
8	9	Chase Elliott (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	3
9	54	Ty Gibbs (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	2
10	20	Christopher Bell (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	1
Official stage two results

Final Stage results

Stage ThreeLaps: 100

Pos	Grid		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Points
1	7	22	Joey Logano (P)	Team Penske	Ford	266	47
2	30	99	Daniel Suárez (P)	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	266	42
3	2	12	Ryan Blaney (P)	Team Penske	Ford	266	53
4	26	20	Christopher Bell (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	266	34
5	11	48	Alex Bowman (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	266	48
6	23	45	Tyler Reddick (P)	23XI Racing	Toyota	266	31
7	15	8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	266	30
8	16	9	Chase Elliott (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	266	36
9	9	24	William Byron (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	266	37
10	5	2	Austin Cindric (P)	Team Penske	Ford	266	46
11	14	31	Daniel Hemric	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	266	26
12	29	51	Justin Haley	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	266	25
13	18	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	266	33
14	27	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	266	34
15	25	7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	266	22
16	32	77	Carson Hocevar (R)	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	266	21
17	20	54	Ty Gibbs (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	266	23
18	21	41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	266	19
19	19	6	Brad Keselowski (P)	RFK Racing	Ford	266	18
20	8	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	266	17
21	34	71	Zane Smith (R)	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	266	16
22	1	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	266	15
23	37	44	J. J. Yeley (i)	NY Racing Team	Chevrolet	266	0
24	38	11	Denny Hamlin (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	266	13
25	36	78	B. J. McLeod (i)	Live Fast Motorsports	Chevrolet	266	0
26	33	43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	266	11
27	3	38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	266	10
28	4	4	Josh Berry (R)	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	266	9
29	24	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota	266	8
30	31	15	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	266	7
31	12	21	Harrison Burton (P)	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	266	6
32	28	16	Shane van Gisbergen (i)	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	264	0
33	35	42	John Hunter Nemechek	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	262	4
34	13	10	Noah Gragson	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	258	3
35	22	19	Martin Truex Jr. (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	254	4
36	17	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford	205	1
37	6	5	Kyle Larson (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	55	1
38	10	14	Chase Briscoe (P)	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	55	1
Official race results

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 24 among 14 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 8
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 3 hours, 6 minutes, and 11 seconds
• Average speed: 134.45mph

Media

Television

USA covered the race on the television side. Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane. Similar to the Summer Daytona race and the Summer Talladega race, NBC showed every green flag lap ad-free.^[10]

Radio

The race was broadcast on radio by the Performance Racing Network and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race from the booth when the field raced down the front stretch. Doug Turnbull called the race from atop a billboard outside of turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2. Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. On pit road, PRN was manned by Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, and Wendy Venturini.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
4	1	Ryan Blaney	2,071
	2	Christopher Bell	2,066 (–5)
	3	Tyler Reddick	2,059 (–12)
	4	William Byron	2,059 (–12)
4	5	Joey Logano	2,054 (–17)
6	6	Alex Bowman	2,053 (–18)
3	7	Austin Cindric	2,053 (–18)
1	8	Chase Elliott	2,050 (–21)
2	9	Daniel Suárez	2,047 (–24)
9	10	Kyle Larson	2,041 (–30)
5	11	Denny Hamlin	2,028 (–43)
3	12	Ty Gibbs	2,026 (–45)
5	13	Brad Keselowski	2,026 (–45)
	14	Harrison Burton	2,011 (–60)
1	15	Martin Truex Jr.	2,008 (–63)
3	16	Chase Briscoe	2,006 (–65)
Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings

	Pos	Manufacturer	Points
	1	Chevrolet	979
	2	Toyota	962 (–17)
	3	Ford	948 (–31)

• Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2024 schedule . Jayski.com. . June 24, 2024.
2. Web site: Atlanta Motor Speedway. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. May 30, 2022. January 3, 2013. February 19, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160219053741/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/atlanta-motor-speedway.html. dead.
3. News: NASCAR Cup Series 2024 schedule announcement: New additions, race dates, plus the complete calendar. Taranto, Steven . October 3, 2023 . June 24, 2024 . CBS Broadcasting Inc.
4. News: NASCAR reveals 2024 Cup schedule as Atlanta, Watkins Glen move to playoffs . October 4, 2023 . June 24, 2024 . National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC.
5. Web site: Entry List. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. September 3, 2024. September 3, 2024.
6. Web site: Qualifying Results. NASCAR.com. NASCAR. September 7, 2024. September 7, 2024.
7. Web site: Quaker State 400 Results. NASCAR.com. NASCAR. September 8, 2024. September 8, 2024.
8. Web site: Points standings. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. September 8, 2024. September 8, 2024.
9. Web site: DeGroot. Nick. Hamlin starts last in playoff opener after issue; McDowell on pole. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. September 8, 2024. Atlanta, Georgia. September 8, 2024.
10. Web site: NBC Sports to show every green flag lap of Cup races at Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta . Dustin . Long . August 21, 2024 . September 8, 2024 .