The 19th race of NASCAR’s Cup Series, The Quaker State 400 took place at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Georgia on July 9, 2023. Here at DIRECTV Insider, we have the race results and highlights from the competition, as well as all the information you need to get you up to speed on the season standings.
WHO WON THE QUAKER STATE 400 PRESENTED BY WALMART?
His fourth victory of 2023 and eighth total, William Byron took the win at the Atlanta Motor Speedway Sunday night. No. 24 was leading with 75 laps left, before the race was called early due to heavy rain.
Byron is officially the most decorated driver in the 2023 Cup Series, as the Quaker State 400 win marked his fourth of the season, and his second at Atlanta in the last two years.
The impressive win came after he got the lead on Lap 167 and continued in the front until a three-driver accident on Turn 3 caused the seventh caution of the evening. With the rain moving in, race officials decided to call it there.
QUAKER STATE 400 RACE HIGHLIGHTS
The 1.54-mile track at the Atlanta Motor Speedway was home to this week’s Cup Series night race. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first race to be shortened due to weather; the Grant Park 220 in Chicago was also cut short.
After qualifiers on Saturday afternoon, it was Aric Almirola who took the pole for Sunday’s race. This was especially exciting as two of Almirola’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammates also started in the front, Chase Briscoe and Kevin Harvick.
The top six starting positions were as follows:
- Aric Almirola, No. 10
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- Chase Briscoe, No. 14
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- Harrison Burton, No. 21
- Kevin Harvick, No. 4
Some of the top highlights from the evening include:
- Daniel Suárez finished second, with AJ Allmendinger behind him in third.
- Michael McDowell and Kyle Busch rounded out the top 5 finishers.
- Byron was called to the pit road on Lap 125 after a pileup caused damage to six competing cars; this allowed him to restart the race when more than half the cars on the pit road, easily taking the lead.
- Team owner Richard Childress officially began the race by driving the No. 29 Chevrolet Kevin Harvick won in after the fatal accident of Dale Earnhardt’s death in 2001.
UPDATED STANDINGS
Lucky are the top drivers of the season who have yet to win a Cup Series race, as Byron’s win prevented another Playoff position going to a race winner. This is promising for the three runners up, as the points they got from this race will boost their chances of scoring their way into the Playoffs.
As of now, the top 10 projected Playoff ranks are as follows:
- William Bryon, No. 24
- Kyle Busch, No. 8
- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19
- Ross Chastain, No. 1
- Kyle Larson, No. 5
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11
- Christopher Bell, No. 20
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45
WHAT TO EXPECT FOR THE QUAKER STATE 400
The upcoming race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway is actually the second time racers will be competing on the course in the 2023 season. But as we speed closer to Playoffs in September, the stakes are high for drivers trying to secure a spot in the competitive round of 16.
Another aspect that makes this race different is the time it’s taking place. In fact, this will be the first night race on the track since 2014. The race will take place from 7-10 pm ET on Sunday, July 9.
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY TRACK
This week’s race will be 260 laps around the 1.5-mile-long speedway, with superspeedway rules. The track was reconfigured and repaved before the 2022 race to enhance the course. NASCAR wrote about the project:
“The reprofile will increase the current 24-degree banking in Atlanta’s turns to 28 degrees—higher than any other intermediate track on the current NASCAR circuit. Straightaway banking will remain five degrees. In addition to the new high banks, the racing surface will become narrower with an overall decrease in width from 55 feet to 40 feet. New widths will be 52 feet on the front stretch, 42 feet on the back stretch and 40 feet in the turns.”
As one of the fastest tracks on the NASCAR circuit, these new changes will be something for drivers to keep in mind during the Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart. Drivers will have to be careful to adjust their strategies not only to the course, but also to the lighting changes.
But after the first-ever NASCAR street race in Chicago the past weekend, these drivers are ready for whatever twists and turns that come their way.
WHO IS PARTICIPATING IN THE NIGHT RACE?
We won’t know which order the racers will take the track until the qualifiers, which take place Saturday, July 9th, but we do have the entry list for you.
Here are the drivers hoping to win the pole, along with their current ranking for the 2023 Cup Series:
|
Position
|
Driver
|
Driver #
|
| 1 |
Martin Truex Jr.
|
No. 19
|
|
2
|
William Byron
|
No. 24
|
|
3
|
Ross Chastain
|
No. 1
|
|
4
|
Christopher Bell
|
No. 20
|
|
5
|
Kyle Busch
|
No. 8
|
|
6
|
Denny Hamlin
|
No. 11
|
|
7
|
Kevin Harvick
|
No. 4
|
|
8
|
Kyle Larson
|
No. 5
|
|
9
|
Ryan Blaney
|
No. 12
|
|
10
|
Joey Logano
|
No. 22
|
|
11
|
Chris Buescher
|
No. 17
|
|
12
|
Tyler Reddick
|
No. 45
|
|
13
|
Brad Keselowski
|
No. 6
|
|
14
|
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
|
No. 47
|
|
15
|
Bubba Wallace
|
No. 23
|
|
16
|
Ty Gibbs
|
No. 54
|
|
17
|
Daniel Suàrez
|
No. 99
|
|
18
|
Michael McDowell
|
No. 34
|
|
19
|
AJ Allmendinger
|
No. 16
|
|
20
|
Alex Bowman
|
No. 48
|
|
21
|
Justin Haley
|
No. 31
|
|
22
|
Austin Cindric
|
No. 2
|
|
23
|
Corey LaJoie
|
No. 7
|
|
24
|
Chase Elliot
|
No. 9
|
|
25
|
Ryan Preece
|
No. 41
|
|
26
|
Todd Gilliland
|
No. 38
|
|
27
|
Aric Almirola
|
No. 10
|
|
28
|
Austin Dillon
|
No. 3
|
|
29
|
Harrison Burton
|
No. 21
|
|
30
|
Erik Jones
|
No. 43
|
|
31
|
Chase Briscoe
|
No. 14
|
|
32
|
Noah Gragson
|
No. 42
|
|
33
|
Ty Dillon
|
No. 77
|
|
36
|
Shane van Gisbergen
|
No. 91
|
|
37
|
Jenson Button
|
No. 15
|
|
40
|
Andy Lally
|
No. 51
|
PAST WINNERS
Looking back to last season, the winner of the Quaker State 400 was No. 9 Chase Elliot. Atlanta Motor Speedway is his home track, giving him an advantage at least in support and familiarity. But it was his ability to hold other racers back – namely No. 7 Corey LaJoie – while staying in the lead for 97 of 260 laps that pushed him over the finish line to victory.
After hitting the wall trying to pass by Elliot, LaJoie got overtaken and the race finished with Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric in second and third place, respectively.
With Elliot currently ranking 24th, it will be interesting to see if the hometown advantage can put him somewhere near the top finishers next week. Chastain, on the other hand, may be able to take his second-place finish and trade it in for first, as his stellar season has him third in the 2023 standings.
WATCH QUAKER STATE 400 WITH DIRECTV
The Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart is taking place on Sunday, July 9 at 7 p.m. ET. You can watch it live at home, and it’s easy with your DIRECTV subscription. Just tune in to NBC and USA Network and enjoy.
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