The NASCAR Cup Series caps off a triple header weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway with the Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500.
Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin sits on the pole and will bring the field to green.
After failing the pre-race inspection process twice 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott will have to start from the back of the field. This is the second week in a row that the number nine Hendrick Motorsports car has had to start the race from the back of the field for inspection issues.
Timmy Hill’s number 66 car failed the inspection process three times and will not only start the race from the back of the field; but will also have to serve a pass through penalty on race start and will lose his car chief Sebastian LaForge for the race.
Quin Houff will have to start the race from the back of the field after the team made some unapproved adjustments.
NASCAR has called for a competition caution on lap 25.
The starting lineup for the Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500:
Denny Hamlin
Martin Truex Jr
Joey Logano
Brad Keselowski
Chase Elliott – moved to the back of the field
Kyle Larson
Kevin Harvick
Christopher Bell
William Byron
Ryan Blaney
Kurt Busch
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Austin Dillon
Alex Bowman
Bubba Wallace
Aric Almirola
Chris Buescher
Michael McDowell
Kyle Busch
Matt DiBenedetto
Ross Chastain
Erik Jones
Ryan Preece
Chase Briscoe
Daniel Suarez
Justin Haley
Cole Custer
Ryan Newman
Tyler Reddick
Corey LaJoie
BJ McLeod
Anthony Alfredo
Cody Ware
James Davison
Quin Houff – moved to the back of the field
Joey Gase
Josh Bilicki
Timmy Hill
Austin Cindric
FOX’s own Erin Andrews is the grand marshal and gave the command to start the engines for the race.
Atlanta Motor Speedway has the oldest racing surface in NASCAR; in fact, six of the drivers in the race were not even born the last time the track was resurfaced. The track is very abrasive on tires – like a cheese grater.
Stages one and two of the race are 105 laps each with stage three lasting 115 laps for a total of 325 laps around the mile and a half track.
The teams each have 13 sets of tires for today’s race.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of the race and gets out in front for the lead. Drivers quickly get three wide through the field.
Denny Hamlin leads lap one.
Lap two, the top fice are Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Larson.
Lap three, after starting from the back of the field, Chase Elliott is already up to 31st place.
Lap four, Denny Hamlin has a tenth of a second lead on Kevin Harvick; Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, and William Byron round out the tip five.
Josh Bilicki is off the track.
Lap six, Chase Elliott is up to 26th place with Denny Hamlin leading the race.
After having to serve a pass through penalty on race start, Timmy Hill is a lap down.
Lap seven, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the race with Kevin Harvick in second; Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, and William Byron round out the top five.
Lap nine, Chase Elliott is now up to 22nd place.
Lap 10, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a half second lead on Kyle Larson; Kevin Harvick, William Byron, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
Tyler Reddick makes an unscheduled trip down pit road after hitting the wall.
Lap 17, Chase Elliott is in the top 20 at 17th.
Sixteen laps into the race, the drivers are running laps one second slower than at race start.
Lap 18, Kenny Hamlin has pulled out to a second lead on Kyle Larson; Kevin Harvick, William Byron, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five with Kyle Busch in sixth after starting the race in 19th place.
Lap 20, there are 35 cars on the lead lap. Josh Bilicki has returned to the track 13 laps down.
Lap 22, Denny Hamlin has led every lap so far; Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, William Byron and Ryan Blaney round out the top five. Chase Elliott is in 16th place.
At the end of lap 25 NASCAR puts out the yellow flag for the competition caution.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson winning the race off of pit road and Denny Hamlin coming out second.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Corey LaJoie will have to restart the race after being caught speeding on pit road.
Kevin Harvick had to make a second trip down pit road with a flat tire.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 30 and goes nose to nose with Denny Hamlin in a battle for the lead. Denny Hamlin wins the battle but in a three wide battle, Kyle Larson gets out in front for the lead.
Lap 32, the top five are Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Kurth Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano. Chase Elliott is now in 13th place.
After making a second trip down pit road, Kevin Harvick restarts the race in 32nd place, the last car on the lead lap.
Lap 36, Kyle Larson has a half second lead on Ryan Blaney; Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, and Kyle Busch round out the top five with Chase Elliott in eleventh.
Lap 40, Kyle Larson has a near one second lead on Ryan Blaney; Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Lap 44, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a lead of over two seconds on Denny Hamlin; Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch, and Kyle Busch round out the top five. Chase Elliott remains just outside the top 10 in eleventh.
Lap 50, Kyle Larson continues to run over two seconds faster than Denny Hamlin to keep the lead; Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, and Kurt Busch round out the top five. Chase Elliott has entered the top 10. There are 32 cars on the lead lap.
Denny Hamlin is reporting a tight condition.
Kyle Busch passes Ryan Blaney for third.
Lap 53, Kyle Larson has a lead of over two and a half seconds on Denny Hamlin. He is slowly closing the gap to Kevin Harvick who is in 32nd, the last car on the lead lap.
With 50 laps remaining in stage one, Kyle Larson continues to increase his lead over Denny Hamlin. He is now three seconds out in front.
The top five are Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, and Kurt Busch.
Lap 62, Kyle Larson has increased his lead to over three and a half seconds on Denny Hamlin; Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, and Kurt Busch round out the top five. Chase Elliott is now in seventh place.
Denny Hamlin brings his car down pit road to begin the cycle of green flag pit stops. The drivers cannot complete the stage on a single fuel load.
Most of the drivers follow Hamlin on pit road. Kurt Busch is the new leader with Chase Elliott in second.
Lap 65, Kurt Busch makes his pit stop and gives the lead over the William Byron.
Lap 67, Corey LaJoie is the new leader.
Once green flag pit stops cycle through, Kyle Larson retakes the lead with Denny Hamlin in second place a second and a half back.
Lap 70, Kyle Larson continues to lead the race by nearly two seconds; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, and Alex Bowman round out the top five with 30 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 78, Kyle Larson continues to lead the race by over five seconds; Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Kurt Busch round out the top five. Kyle Larson has finally caught and passed Kevin Harvick to put him a lap down.
There are 24 cars on the lead lap. Timmy Hill is on pit road. All 39 starters are still in the race.
Lap 82, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a lead of nearly six seconds on Kyle Busch; Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Kurt Busch round out the top five. Timmy Hill returns to the track six laps down.
Lap 85, Kyle Larson is running away from the fieild, he now has a lead of over six seconds on Kyle Busch.
Lap 88, Ryan Blaneyh gets around Denny Hamlin for third.
With 15 laps remaining in stage one, Kyle Larson has a six second lead on Kyle Larson; Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, and Kurt Busch round out the top five.
Kurt Busch passes Denny Hamlin for fourth.
With 21 cars on the lead lap, Kyle Larson has a six second lead on Kyle Busch; Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
After starting the race from the back of the field, Chase Elliott has moved up to eighth place and has not been able to advance any further.
Six to go in stage one, there are 20 cars on the lead lap . Kyle Larson is driving it like he stole it with a seven second lead on Kyle Busch.
With a lead of over seven seconds, Kyle Larson wins stage one for his second stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Kyle Larson
Kyle Busch
Ryan Blaney
Kurt Busch
Denny Hamlin
Alex Bowman
Martin Truex Jr
Chase Elliott
Chris Buescher
William Byron
Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson winning the race off of pit road with Kyle Busch in second.
Ross Chastain was charged with an uncontrolled tire and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two from the inside lane with Kyle Busch alongside on the outside lane on lap 113. Kyle Larson gets out in front for the lead but going into turn one Kurt Busch brings out the caution flag when he gets into the wall after some contact on the track. Busch has significant damage to his car. Busch and Hamlin make a pit stop for repairs.
Kurt Busch’s team cannot meet the “crash clock” rules and becomes the first driver out of the race.
William Byron brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 119 with Kyle Larson alongside. Kyle Larson gets out in front to retake the lead as drivers get three wide.
Ryan Blaney battle Kyle Larson for the lead but Larson takes the spot.
Lap 120, the top five are Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Matt DiBenedetto, Alex Bowman, and Chase Elliott.
Lap 125, Kyle Larson has just a quarter of a second lead on Ryan Blaney; Alex Bowman, Matt DiBenedetto, and William Byron round out the top five. Brad Keselowski has made contact on the track and has some damage to the hood of his car. Still on the track, he is the last car on the lead lap in 20th place.
Lap 128, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a second and a half lead on Ryan Blaney; Alex Bowman, Matt DiBenedetto and William Byron round out the top five.
Lap 137, Kyle Larson continues to lead the race by over four seconds on Ryan Blaney; there are 20 cars on the lead lap.
After barely avoiding being lapped at the end of stage one, Daniel Suarez has entered the top 10 in ninth place on lap 141.
Brad Keselowski is now one lap down in 20th place. He is reporting a very tight condition in his car.
Lap 144, Kyle Larson has a lead of nearly five seconds on Ryan Blaney; Alex Bowman, Matt DiBenedetto, and William Byron round out the top five.
Drivers will begin another cycle of green flag pit stops in the next few laps.
Lap 153, Kyle Larson has a lead of nearly six seconds on Ryan Blaney; Alex Bowman, Matt DiBenedetto, and William Byron round out the top five. There are 19 cars on the lead lap with one car out of the race.
Lap 159, drivers come down pit road for their green flag pit stops.
Lap 160, leader Kyle Larson brings his car down pit road for service and gives the lead over to Daniel Suarez.
Lap 162 Daniel Suarez makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead back to Kyle Larson.
With 48 laps remaining in stage two, Kyle Larson has a lead of over five seconds on Alex Bowman; Ryan Blaney, Matt DiBenedetto, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Lap 169, Kyle Larson continues to dominate the race with a near six second lead on Alex Bowman; Ryan Blaney, Matt DiBenedetto, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Brad Keselowski finally makes his green flag pit stop for service and repairs.
Lap 177, Kyle Larson is leaving the field in his tire tracks with a lead of nearly eight seconds on Alex Bowman with 17 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 181, Kyle Larson has officially run away with the race with a 8.44 second lead on Alex Bowman; Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, and Matt DiBenedetto round out the top five. Larson has led 149 of 184 laps so far.
Lap 187, Kyle Larson has a nine second lead and has just put Cole Custer a lap down for 15 cars on the lead lap.
Just 19 laps remain in stage two and Kyle Larson has run away with the race over nine seconds in front of Alex Bowman.
Fifteen to go in stage two, Kyle Larson has dominated the race and now has a lead of over eleven seconds on Ryan Blaney; Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, and William Byron round out the top five.
Ten to go in stage two, Kyle Larson has a near eleven second lead over Ryan Blaney; Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, and William Byron round out the top five.
There are some reports that Joey Logano may be having some tire issues.
There are only 14 cars on the lead lap. Chase Elliott is the last car on the lead lap.
Four to go in stage two, Ryan Blaney has cut the lead on Kyle Larson to under 10 seconds.
Things are cooling off a bit in Atlanta and the track temperatures have dropped 10 degrees since the start of the race.
Kyle Larson wins stage two for the stage sweep for the fourth time in his racing career.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Kyle Larson
Ryan Blaney
Alex Bowman
Kyle Busch
William Byron
Matt DiBenedetto
Austin Dillon
Chris Buescher
Denny Hamlin
Daniel Suarez
Fifteenth place driver Joey Logano is the “lucky dog”.
Lap 214, drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson winning the race off of pit road by only a few inches in front of Ryan Blaney.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 218 and gets out in front for the lead after a push from Ryan Blaney.
The drivers are getting three wide through the field.
Lap 219, the top five are Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, and William Byron.
Kyle Larson has swept the stage wins four times but he has never won all three segments for the race win.
Chase Elliott brings out the caution flag with a smoking car and a possible blown engine.
Chase Elliott is on pit road with the hood up.
Bubba Wallace is the “lucky dog”.
Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires with Ryan Blaney winning the race off of pit road with Kyle Larson coming out second.
Kyle Busch was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
Chase Elliott becomes the second driver out of the race.
Several drivers stayed out on the track to make 20 cars on the lead lap.
With 101 laps remaining in the race, Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart from the inside lane and getrs out in front for the lead as drivers get three wide across the track.
Lap 225, the top five are Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Matt DiBenedetto, and Alex Bowman.
Kyle Busch is the last car on the lead lap in 20th place after a speeding penalty.
Lap 326, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson battle for second with Larson finally taking the spot with Ryan Blaney leading the race.
Nibety-four laps to go, Ryan Blaney has a third of a second lead on Kyle Larson; Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, and Austin Dillon round out the top five.
Josh Bilicki is off the track.
Ninety to go, Ryan Blaney holds on to a narrow lead of a third of a second on Kyle Larson.
With 89 laps remaining in the race, Kyle Larson gets around Ryan Blaney to take the lead. Blaney had some debris on his grille.
With 83 laps remaining in the race, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Ryan Blaney.
Eighty to go, Kyle Larson has a two second lead on Ryan Blaney; Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, and Austin Dillon round out the top five. After starting at the back of the field with a speeding penalty, Kyle Busch has moved up to eleventh.
Josh Bilicki is back on the track 34 laps down.
Seventy five laps to go, Kyle Larson is once again pulling away form the field and has a near three second lead on Ryan Blaney with 20 cars on the lead lap.
The drivers still must make one more pit stop before the end of the race.
Lap 258, Kyle Larson is nearly two and a half seconds in front of Ryan Blaney; Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, and Austin Dillon round out the top five. Kyle Busch is just outside the top 10 in eleventh.
Sixty to go; Kyle Larson’s lead is down to just one second over Ryan Blaney.
Drivers begin to make green flag pit stops.
Daniel Suarez was caught speeding on pit road.
Lap 268, leader Kyle Larson makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over to Aric Almirola.
Aric Almirola makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead back to Kyle Larson.
Anthony Alfredo had issues making his pit stop and nearly hit crew members form Aric Almirola’s team.
With 53 laps remaining in the race, Kyle Larson has a two second lead on Ryan Blaney; Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, and Austin Dillon round out the top five. Kyle Busch is back in jthe top 10 in seventh place.
Fifty to go, Kyle Larson has a lead of nearly two and a half seconds on Ryan Blaney.
After green flag pit stops, several of the teams showed some serious wear on the tires with some showing the cords.
Lap 280, Kyle Larson continues to dominate the race with a three second lead on Ryan Blaney; Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, and Austin Dillon round out the top five.
Forty to go, Kyle Larson continues to slowly increase his lead which is now over three seconds on Ryan Blaney. There are 17 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 290, Kyle Larson has led 242 laps so far with 17 cars on the lead lap. Ryan Blaney has closed the gap on Kyle Larson to under three seconds.
Lap 295, Kyle Larson’s lead is down to two and a half seconds in traffic.
Ryan Newman is having battery issues in his car. He has reported that he has already switched to his second battery.
Kyle Larson passes Cole Custer to pu him one lap down; leaving 16 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 300, Kyle Larson has a lead of over two seconds on Ryan Blaney; Alex Bowman, Denny, and Kyle Busch round out the top five with 16 cars on the lead lap. Chase Elliott and Kurt Busch are the only drivers out of the race.
Twenty to go, there are 15 cars on the lead lap with Kyle Larson over two seconds in front of Ryan Blaney; third place driver Alex Bowman is over eight seconds back with Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch rounding out the top five.
Lap 308, Kyle Larson’s lead is down to under a second on Ryan Blaney; Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Lap 312, Kyle Larson’s lead is less than a second on Ryan Blaney with Blaney’s team mate Joey Logano battling to stay on the lead lap.
Ten to go, Ryan Blaney has closed the gap on leader Kyle Larson to under half a second.
Kyle Larson has led 267 of the 316 laps so far.
With eight laps remaining in the race Ryan Blaney has passed Kyle Larson for the lead…and puts his team mate Joey Logano one lap down in 15th place.
Seven to go, Ryan Blaney has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Kyle Larson.
Corey LaJoie bounces off the wall but the track stays green as LaJoie gets down pit road.
Five to go, Ryan Blaney has a lead of over a second on Kyle Larson.
Ryan Blaney takes the white flag.
Ryan Blaney wins the race by two seconds to become the sixth different winner in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series. Kyle Larson comes in second place after dominating the race.
The unofficial results of the Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500:
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Larson
Alex Bowman
Deny Hamlin
Kyle Busch
Austin Dillon
Chris Buescher
William Byron
Martin Truex Jr
Kevin Harvick
Matt DiBenedetto
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ryan Newman
Ross Chastain
Joey Logano
Bubba Wallace
Daneil Suarez
Cole Custer
Michael McDowell
Aric Almirola
Christopher Bell
Austin Cindric
Chase Briscoe
Erik Jones
Ryan Preece
Tyler Reddick
Anthony Alfredo
Brad Keselowski
Corey LaJoie
Justin Haley
Cody Ware
James Davison
Quin Houff
BJ McLeod
Joey Gase
Timmy Hill
Josh Bilicki
Chase Elliott
Kurt Busch