It’s round one of the playoffs for the Cup Series and while there are 16 drivers in the playoffs; there are 38 cars on the track fighting for the win in the Quaker State 400.

The drivers get no chance to practice the cars before making their qualifying runs.

The race begins with two rounds of qualifying and JJ Yeley with a time of 32.625 seconds.

Just the third car out, Cody Ware broke the 32 second mark with a time of 31.548 seconds.

Michael McDowell is the first driver to break the 31 second mark with a time of 30.972 seconds.

This is career start number 100 for Harrison Burton.

Denny Hamlin was nearly two seconds off the pace in his qualifying run and will start the race from the back of the field.

Ryan Blaney, Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Todd Gilliland, William Byron, Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry and Austin Dillon will move on to round two of qualifying.

First on the track in round two is Austin Dillon who posted a time of 31.120 seconds.

With a time of 30. 927 seconds, Michael McDowell puts his number 34 car on the pole with Ryan Blaney starting alongside in a Ford dominated top 10.

The starting lineup for the Quaker 400:
Michael McDowell
Ryan Blaney
Todd Gilliland
Josh Berry
Austin Cindric
Kyle Larson
Joey Logano
Austin Dillon
William Byron
Chase Briscoe
Alex Bowman
Harrison Burton
Noah Gragson
Daniel Hemric
Kyle Busch
Chase Elliott
Chris Buescher
Ross Chastain
Brad Keselowski
Ty Gibbs
Ryan Preece
Martin Truex Jr
Tyler Reddick
Bubba Wallace
Corey LaJoie
Christopher Bell
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Shane van Gisbergen
Justin Haley
Daniel Suarez
Cody Ware
Carson Hocevar
Erik Jones
Zane Smith
John Hunter Nemechek
BJ McLeod
JJ Yeley
Denny Hamlin

Playoff drivers Martin Truex Jr and Ty Gibbs will have to start the race from the back of the field after the crews made an unapproved adjustment to the cars.

Six time Atlanta winner and NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Labonte is the grand marshal for today’s race and gives a rousing command to get the engines started.

Stage one is 60 laps, stages two and three are 100 laps each for a total of 260 laps around the mile and a half track.

Michael McDowell brings the field down for the green flag start of the race on the inside lane with reigning champion Ryan Blaney alongside.  McDowell gets a push from teammate Todd Gilliland and gets out in front for the lead.

With no practice before qualifying, this is the first time the drivers have been on the track together.

Lap two, the top five are Michael McDowell, Ryan Blaney, Josh Berry, Kyle Larson, and Austin Dillon.

Lap five, Denny Hamlin has yet to move up; but teammates Martin Truex Jr and Ty Gibbs have moved up inside the top 30.

Lap six, Michael McDowell has a tenth of a second lead on Ryan Blaney; Kyle Larson, Josh Bkerry, and Austin Dillon round out the top five.

Lap seven, Martin Truex Jr has moved up to 24th.

Lap 10, Michael McDowell continues to lead the race with Ryan Blaney a tenth of a second behind; Kyle Larson, Josh Berry, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

Lap 13, Denny Hamlin has finally begun to move up and is now in 36th place.

A 60 lap stage, the drivers can run the entire stage on a single load of fuel.  The drivers can run around 80 laps on a single load of fuel.

Lap 17, Michael McDowell holds on to the lead with Ryan Blaney in second; Kyle Larson, Josh Berry, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

Lap 24, Michael McDowell holds on to the lead with Ryan Blaney in second; Jogh Berry and Kyle Larson battle back and forth for third with Joey Logano in fifth.  Martin Truex Jr and Ty Gibbs have entered the top 20 with Denny Hamlin in 35th.

Lap 28, Austin Cindric passes Joey Logano for fifth.

Lap 30, Ryan Blaney passes Michael McDowell for the lead; Kyle Larson passes McDowell for second.  Michael McDowell is now in fifth place after Austin Cindric and Alex Bowman pass him.

Lap 32, the top five are Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, and Alex Bowman.  Martin Truex Jr has moved up 21 spots since the start of the race.

Lap 38, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Austin Cindric and Kyle Larson in a battle for second; William Byron and Joey Logano round out the top five.  Michael McDowell has fallen out of the top five.

Denny Hamlin reports a 43, Kyle Larson battle Ryan Blaney for the lead.  Ross Chastain has moved up 14 spots since the start of the race and is now in the top five.

Lap 45, the top five are Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, and Ross Chastain.

Lap 48, Chase Elliott battles with Alex Bowman for fifth.

Several of the drivers are reporting handling issues with just 10 laps remaining in stage one.

Lap 53, seven to go in stage one, Ryan Blaney leads the race with teammate Austin Cindric in second; Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Lap 56, big crash for Kyle Larson brings out the caution flag.  Larson reported that he doesn’t know if he blew a tire or not.  Larson is out of the car.  He made a sudden move up the track and hits the wall.  Flames comes out the rear of the car and under the hood.  Chase Briscoe hit Larson hard in the rear.  Both driver are out of their cars and out of the race.

Martin Truex Jr and Ty Gibbs have entered the top 10.

Stage one ends under caution with Ryan Blaney winning the stage.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Ryan Blaney
Austin Cindric
Alex Bowman
Joey Logano
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ross Chastain
Chase Elliott
William Byron
Martin Truex Jr
Ty Gibbs

Out of the care center, Kyle Larson said that he is fine but not really sure what happened.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Alex Bowman winning the race off of pit road with Austin Cindric and Ricky Stenhouse Jr behind Bowman.

Martin Truex Jr and Cody Ware were caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.

Out of the care center, Chase Briscoe said that he is fine but is now in a must win situation.

There was a fire in Christopher Bell’s pit box after he left.  The crew did not get the fuel cell filled and Bell had to make a second trip down pit road.

Alex Bowman brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Austin Cindric alongside.  Cindric gets out in front for the lead lead after a push from Ryan Blaney.

Lap 69, the top five are Alex Bowman and Austin Cindric in a battle for the lead with Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ryan Blaney, and William Byron.

Lap 73, Austin Cindric leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second; Alex Bowman , Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Joey Logano rounding out the top five.

Lap 77, Austin Cindric holds on to a tenth of a second lead on Ryan Blaney; Alex Bowman, Williamm Byron and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

The drivers are getting three wide in a battle for position.

All of the cars on the track are on the lead lap.

Lap 82, Austin Cindric leads the race with Alex Bowman and Ryan Blaney in a battle for second; William Byron and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

Lap 88, Austin Cindric continues to lead the race with Alex Bowman and Ryan Blaney keeping up their battle for second; William Byron and Ross Chastain battle for fourth.

Lap 94, Austin Cindric leads the race with the remainder of the field two by two. 

Drivers are starting to get three wide and mvong through the field.

Lap 100, Austin Cindric holds a tenth of a second lead on Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman; William Byron and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

For the second time in the race, Martin Truex Jr has advanced over 20 spots and is in the top 10.

Denny Hamlin is still mired back in the field in 33rd.

Lap 109, Austin Cindric holds on to the lead but the drivers will have to make a pit stop at some point in the stage.

Ross Chastain and Ricky Stenhouse Jr are the only drivers in the top 10 not in the playoffs.

Lap111, the top five are Austin Cindric, Alex bowman, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, and Ross Chastain.

The caution flag comes out on lap 115 for debris on the track.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Austin Cindric winning the race off of pit road after taking fuel only.  A few of the drivers took two tires, but most of them took only fuel.

Bubba Wallace was caught speeding on pit road and Christopher Bell was caught pitting outside of his pit box. 

Tyler Reddick and Carson Hocevar make contact on pit road.  Reddick had to make a second trip down pit road.

Austin Cindric brings the field down for the green flag restart with 41 laps remaining in stage two.  Cindric gets out in front of Alex Bowman for the lead.

The top five are Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, William Byron, and Danield Suarez.

Drivers are getting three wide through the field.

Lap 125, Austin Cindric has a tenth of a second lead on Alex bowman; Ryan Blaney, William Byron, and Danield Suarez round out the top five. 

Erik Jones has been doing a lot of rim riding in three wide battles to advance over 20 spots during the race.

Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe are the only driver out of the race with all of the cars on the track on the lead lap.

Lap 135, Alex Bowman continues to lead the race with Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman continuing to battle back and forth for second; Joey Logano and William Byron round out the top five.

Barreling his way through the field in three wide battles, Erik Jones has advanced 25 spots to be a part of the top 10.

Lap 141, Denny Hamlin is finally in the top 30.

The red and white striped line is out of bounds and a driver cannot go below that line to advance his position.  Daniel Suarez goes below the line and NASCAR is reviewing the incident.

Lap 144, Austin Cindric has led 72 laps – the most ever in his career.

Race control has reported that there is no penalty on Daniel Suarez because he was forced down by Joey Logano.

Lap 148, Erik Jones entered the top five.

Lap 152, Austin Cindric holds on to the lead with Alex Bowman and Ryan Blaney continuing their battle for second; William Byron and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.

In 28th place, Denny Hamlin reports that he is still loose.

The three wide battle increase as the end of stage two draws near.

Lap 156, Erik Jones is falling back in the pack after working his way to the top five.

Four laps remain in stage two, Austin Cindric leads the way.  After having to make two trips down pit road, Tyler Reddick has worked his way in the top 15.

On the last lap of stage two, Joey Logano and Todd Gilliland make contact but the track stays green.

Justin Haley was penalized for blocking and forcing Tyler Reddick below the “no go” line.

Austin Cindric wins stage two.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Austin Cindric
Ryan Blaney
Alex Bowman
Daniel Suarez
William Byron
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ross Chastain
Chase Elliott
Ty Gibbs
Christopher Bell

Drivers come down pit road for service with Ross Chastain winning the race off of pit road.

Martin Truex Jr reports that his car is slow and driving bad.

Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Michael McDowell alongside on lap 168.  Chastain gets out in front for the lead.

Michael McDowell comes up on the outside to passe Ross Chastain for the lead but Chastain retakes the lead.

Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr make contact but the track stays green.

Lap 170, the top five are Ross Chastain, William Byron, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Alex Bowman.

Lap 175, John Hunter Nemechek brings out the fourth caution flag of the race when he gets loose and hits the wall.

Just outside of the fuel window, several drivers come down pit road to pack the fuel cell in hopes of making it to the end of the race.

Daniel Suarez, Joey Logano, and Tyler Reddick get jammed up on pit road.  Austin Cindric and Chase Elliott make contact on pit road.  Corey LaJoie and Ricky Stenhouse Jr also make contact on pit road. 

After staying out on the track, Ty Gibbs brings the field down for the green flag restart with Bubba Wallace alongside with 80 laps remaining in the race.  With a push from Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace gets out in front but Ty Gibbs moves up to battle for the lead.

With 77 to go, Bubba Wallace leads the race with Ty Gibbs in second; Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.

Ty Gibbs takes the lead after some help form Ross Chastain.

Daniel Suarez is mired back in the pack after having to make a second trip down pit road as a result of the pit road contact.

Lap 189, Ty Gibbs leads the race with Bubba Wallace in second; Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

John Hunter Nemechek is the only driver not on the lead lap, four laps down.

Just 64 laps remain in the race with Ty Gibbs leading the race and Bubba Wallace in second.  Both drivers have yet to make their stage three pit stops.

Sixty to go, Bubba Wallace passes Ty Gibbs for the lead.

Todd Gilliland slaps the wall but keeps going and the track stays green.

Lap 203, the top five are Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, Ross Chastain, and Willaim Byron.

Lap 205, the caution flag comes out for a crash involving Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr, and Chris Buescher.  Buescher gets loose and hits Blaney and gets into Truex.

Ryan Blaney appears to have the appropriate sponsor this week with Dent Wizard!

Ty Gibbs and Bubba Wallace come down pit road for service and bring a few more drivers with them.  Ryan Blaney said that the car has some cosmetic damage but runs fine.

Daniel Hemric was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.

Martin Truex Jr makes another trip down pit road telling his crew “we’re screwed”.

Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag restart with 49 laps remaining in the race with William Byron alongside.  Busch gets a push from Ross Chastain to take the lead but Chastain comes up on the inside to battle for the lead.  The three Hendrick cars are nose to tail on the outside lane.

With 47 laps to go, Kyle Busch leads the race; William Byron and Ross Chastain battle for second with Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman rounding out the top five.

Back in the field, the drivers are three wide.

With 42 laps to go, Kyle Busch holds on to the lead with Ross Chastain and William Byron side by side in a battle for second on his bumper.

Drivers back in the field are getting very aggressive as the laps wind down.

With 39 laps to go, Kyle Busch tries to hold off William Byron for the lead.

With 37 laps to go, Martin Truex Jr makes another trip down pit road.

Currently nine points below the cut line, Denny Hamlin is back in 33rd place.  Even after crashing out of the race early, Kyle Larson is above the cut line.

Thirty-three to go, Kyle Busch leads the race with the field three wide behind him.

Lap 233, William Byron catches and passes Kyle busch for the lead with Ty Gibbs alongside who gets out in front for the lead.  Kyle Busch is pushed back to fifth.

Twenty-five to go, Ty Gibbs leads the race with Kyle Busch in second; Daniel Suarez, Joey Logano, and William Byron round out the top five.

Several of the drivers are battling fellow drivers and trying to save fuel at the same time.  Joey Logano’s crew reports that he needs to save fuel for about 10 more laps.  Leader Ty Gibbs is good on fuel.

With 16 laps to go, there are 32 cars on the lead lap and three cars out of the race.  Ty Gibbs leads the race.

Fifteen to go, the top five are Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch, Daniel Suarez, William Byron, and Joey Logano.

Thirteen to go, Daniel Suarez moves up alongside Ty Gibbs to battle for the lead.

The caution flag comes out with eleven laps to go for debris on the track.  A Walmart sign blew out on the track.

Daniel Suarez got out in front of Ty Gibbs before the caution flag came out.

Some of the drivers come down pit road for service.

With just five laps remaining in the race, Daniel Suarez brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ty Gibbs alongside.  Suarez gets out in front for the lead but Ty Gibbs jumps out on the inside to take the lead.

Ty Gibbs and Daniel Suarez battle for the lead when Kyle Busch comes up to make it a three way battle.

Joey Logano moves up on the out side to make it a three way battle between Ty Gibbs, Joey Logano, and Daniel Suarez

Two to go and the battle is now Daniel Suarez and Joey Logano.

The caution flag comes out for a crash from Noah Gragson after contact from Harrison Burton.

The race goes into overtime!

Several of the drivers have already run 83 laps on their current fuel load and are in severe conservation mode including leader Joey Logano.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the overtime shootout to end the race with Daniel Suarez on the outside.  Logano gets a  push from Ryan blaney and Caniel Suarez gets a push form Ross Chastain.

Joey Logano takes the white flag.

The caution flag comes out for a crash as Joey Logano crosses the finish line first for the win.

Denny Hamlin, Harrison Burton, Bubba Wallace, Cody Ware, Alex Bowman, Todd Gilliland, BJ McLeod, Josh Berry were all involved.  Ross Chastain got into the wall causing the field to get stacked up.

Joey Logano is the first driver to secure a spot in the next round of the playoffs.

The unofficial results of the Quaker State 400:
Joey Logano
Ryan Blaney
Daniel Suarez
Christopher Bell
Alex Bowman
Tyler Reddick
Kyle Busch
Chase Elliott
William Byron
Austin Cindric
Daniel Hemric
Justin Haley
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ross Chastain
Corey LaJoie
Carson Hocevar
Ryan Preece
Ty Gibbs
Brad Keselowski
Austin Dillon
JJ Yeley
Michael McDowell
Zane Smith
Denny Hamlin
BJ McLeod
Erik Jones
Todd Gilliland
Josh Berry
Bubba Wallace
Cody Ware
Harrison Burton
Shane van Gisbergen
John Hunter Nemechek
Noah Gragson
Martin Truex Jr
Chris Buescher
Kyle Larson
Chase Briscoe