NASCAR’s playoffs begin Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway with the Quaker State 400 opening the Round of 16
Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup champion, tops the playoff standings heading into Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Moved from July, the second Atlanta race of the season is now a playoff race. The Round of 16 playoffs run for the next three weeks before four drivers will be pared from championship contention. Five of the last six different champions are in the running for the title in 2024, including Larson (2021), defending champion Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano (2018 and 2022), Chase Elliott (2020) and Martin Truex Jr. (2017).
How to Watch Quaker State 400 in NASCAR Cup Series Today:
Race Date: Sept. 8, 2024
Race Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: USA Network
Live stream the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 on Fubo: Start your free trial today!
Michael McDowell ran a qualifying lap of 179.267 mph on Saturday to claim the pole for the race and will start inside of Blaney on the front row. Todd Gilliland and Josh Berry are on Row 2, while Austin Cindric and Larson start on Row 3. The top five qualifiers drive Fords, with Larson’s Chevrolet breaking up the run. Logano — also in a Ford — starts on Row 4 with Austin Dillon, while William Byron and Chase Briscoe round out the top 10 qualifiers.
Byron won last year’s Quaker State 400, a 260-lap run around the 1.54-mile quad oval that opened in 1960 and was redesigned in 1997 and 2022. The first stage of the race is 60 laps, followed by a pair of 100-lap stages. Byron was ahead of Daniel Suárez when the 2023 event finished under a caution flag after 185 laps due to rain.
The rest of the playoff field includes Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Byron, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Cindric, Suárez, Alex Bowman, Briscoe, Harrison Burton and Ty Gibbs.
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