Thirty-eight cars in the Cup Series have come to EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia – outside of Atlanta – for the Quaker State 400. With 40 starting spots, all drivers will make the race.
The weather is causing some possible issues for the drivers with windy and cloudy conditions.
With no practice, the drivers will take to the track for a qualifying run to set the field. After the first round of qualifying, the top 10 drivers will make a second round of qualifying to set the pole.
The first driver on the track is BJ McLeod who posted a time of 31.743 seconds around the 1.5 mile track.
Ryan Preece had a little fun with his RFK Racing teammate Chris Buescher this past week by posting on billboards directing his fans to the track.
Chad Finchum will not make a qualifying run.
Kyle Larson is the first driver to break the 31 second mark with a time of 30.966 seconds.
With a time of 30.888 seconds, Ross Chastain set a new track record.
The drivers moving on to round two of qualifying:
Ryan Blaney
Joey Logano
Austin Cindric
Ross Chastain
Alex Bowman
Chase Elliott
Kyle Larson
Daniel Suarez
Brad Keselowski
Austin Dillon
With a new track record time of 30.815 seconds, Ryan Blaney put his number 12 car on the pole with teammate Joey Logano starting alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Quaker State 400:
Ryan Blaney
Joey Logano
Kyle Larson
Austin Dillon
Daniel Suarez
Alex Bowman
Chase Elliott
Austin Cindric
Ross Chastain
Brad Keselowski
Erik Jones
Shane van Gisbergen
Chris Buescher
Carson Hocevar
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ty Dillon
Josh Berry
Michael McDowell
Ryan Preece
Chase Briscoe
Todd Gilliland
Bubba Wallace
Ty Gibbs
John Hunter Nemechek
Connor Zilisch
William Byron
AJ Allmendinger
Denny Hamlin
Riley Herbst
Austin Hill
Tyler Reddick
Christopher Bell
Cole Custer
Zane Smith
Cody Ware
Noah Gragson
BJ McLeod
Chad Finchum
Stage one is 60 laps with stages two and three lasting 100 laps for a total of 260 laps around the 1.5 mile track. The drivers can run 65 to 75 laps on a single load of fuel; they will have to make a pit stop during stages two and three.
Hall of Fame Atlanta Braves player Chipper Jones got help from the fans to give the command to start engines.
Reports are there is some possible bad weather on the way.
Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag start of the race from the outside lane with teammate Joey Logano alongside. Getting a push from behind Blaney and Logano go side by side as the drivers get three wide in the field. Ryan Blaney takes the lead.
Lap two, Brad Keselowski gets into the wall but the track stays green as he falls back in the field.
Lap three, the top five are Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, and Austin Cindric.
Brad Keselowski reports that he got loose and “brushed” the wall.
Turn three is causing some aero issues for the drivers with handling issues.
Lap nine, Ryan Blaney has just a tenth of a second lead on Joey Logano; Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.
Lap eleven, the three Team Penske tire have pulled out to a lead of over a second on the remainder of the field.
Lap 14, Kyle Larson has closed the gap on the Team Penske cars to half a second.
Lap 17, Team Penske still leads the way with Ryan Blaney out in front with Joey Logano and Austin Cindric behind; Kyle Larson and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.
Lap 21, Team Penske – Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Austin Cindric lead the pack with Kyle Larson on their bumper; Carson Hocevar rounds out the top five.
Daniel Suarez reports that his camera rear view mirror is vibrating.
Lap 225, Kyle Larson is on Austin Cindric’s bumper as Carson Hocevar passes Larson for fourth.
Lap 26, Carson Hocevar battle with Austin Cindric for third.
Lap 28, Tyler Reddick has moved up 23 spots since race start and is in the top 10; Austin Hill has moved up 20 spots.
Lap 31, Ryan Blaney has begun lapping slower traffic; there are 34 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 33, the top five are Ryan Blaney, Joe Logano, Austin Cindric, Carson Hocevar, and Austin Dillon.
Lap 36, Tyler Reddick passes Austin Dillon and Carson Hocevar for fourth.
Lap 39, Tyler Reddick battles Austin Cindric for third.
Mired back in traffic, points leader Denny Hamlin is reporting a tight condition.
Lap 44, Tyler Reddick and Kyle Larson battle with Austin Cindric for third.
Lap 45, Kyle Larson Passes Austin Cindric for third. Carson Hocevar and Tyler Reddick join the battle in the top five.
Kyle Larson Passes Joey Logano for second.
Lap 48, Kyle Larson battles with Ryan Blaney for the lead.
Tyler Reddick passes Joey Logano for third.
Lap 50, the top five are Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, and Austin Cindric.
Lap 54, Tyler Reddick comes up on the outside lane to battle with Ryan Blaney for the lead.
Just four laps remain in stage one, Tyler Reddick is less than two tenths of a second behind leader Ryan Blaney.
Three to go in stage one, Tyler Reddick is side by side with Ryan Blaney.
Ryan Blaney wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Ryan Blaney
Tyler Reddick
Kyle Larson
Joey Logano
Austin Cindric
Carson Hocevar
Austin Dillon
Chase Briscoe
Chase Elliott
Bubba Wallace
Drivers come down pit road for service with Tyler Reddick winning the race off of pit road.
Riley Herbst was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the longest line.
Ryan Preece is the “lucky dog”.
BJ McLeod was caught speeding on pit road.
Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Kyle Larson alongside on lap 70. Getting a push from Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick edges out for the lead but the inside lane is moving up fast.
Drivers are getting there wide on the track.
Lap 71, Tyler Reddick battle with Carson Hocevar for the lead.
The top five are Tyler Reddick, Carson Hocevar, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Chase Briscoe.
Wit the threat of bad weather, the drivers are getting aggressive quickly.
Ryan Blaney passes Tyler Reddick for the lead with Kyle Larson in tow.
Lap 74, Kyle Larson moves up on the outside to battle with Ryan Blaney for the lead.
Lap 75, half of the top 10 are Toyotas.
Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson continue their battle for the lead with Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick right behind.
Bubba Wallace has been with his spotter Freddie for 17 years!
Lap 78, Kyle Larson Passes Ryan Blaney for the lead.
Carson Hocevar gets into the wall but the track stays green and he moves up to third.
Ryan Blaney gets back out in front.
Lap 80, Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson battle for second.
Lap 82, Shane van Gisbergen has made it into the top 10.
The top five are Ryan Blaney, Carson Hoevar, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, and Christopher Bell.
Lap 84, Carson Hocevar has passed Ryan Blaney for the lead after slapping the wall.
Tyler Reddick battle with Kyle Larson for third.
Lap 88, Tyler Reddick battle with Carson Hocevar for the lead; Bubba Wallace moves up to make it a three way battle. Hocevar holds on to the lead.
Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney battle for second.
Tyler Reddick hits the wall and drops to fifth.
Lap 91, the top five are Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick.
Riley Herbst gets into the wall; the track stays green.
Lap 93, Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar battle for the lead.
Ryan Blaney takes the lead with Carson Hocevar in second.
Bubba Wallace passes Carson Hocevar for second.
Lap 97, Carson Hocevar and Bubba Wallace battle for second; Christopher Bell and Joey Logano round out the top five.
Lapa 100, Ryan Blaney holds on to the lead with Bubba Wallace in second; Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap 104, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Bubba Wallace in second; Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Like Daytona and Talladega the yellow line is the “no-go” line.
The caution flag comes out on lap 108 for weather in the area – lightning. The area must be clear for 30 minutes before the race can restart. However, if it is determined that the storm and lightning is moving away from the area, the 30 minute limit can be lifted.
NASCAR is bringing the cars down pit road where the drivers will exit the cars and the crews will cover the cars. At 8:27pm edt the red flag is displayed.
The rain has begun.
During the rain delay, Ty Dillon spoke on his car and Kaulig Racing saying that he an fellow driver AJ Allmendinger work well together; as does Kaulig Racing. He also noted that the team has had issues with the power steering for the past few weeks. Adding that he has no power steering in the car tonight. He has some serious calluses from handling the car with no power steering.
At around 9:15pm the rains are still falling but NASCAR had deployed the track drying equipment.
NASCAR is calling the drivers to their cars at 11:15pm.
Engines refire at 11:37pm.
The red flag has been withdrawn and the yellow flag is out. The drivers are moving once again after over three hours!
NASCAR has announced that they will be running the full distance of the race.
The drivers will be running some extra pace laps while the track dryers work on pit road. Caution laps are counting. Drying the pit stalls themselves is the responsibility of the crews for each car.
Lap 119, pit road is open and busy with drivers. After taking fuel only, Ryan Blaney wins the race off of pit road. Five drivers stayed out on the track.
Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart with Bubba Wallace alongside on lap 124. Teammates are pushing teammates with Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano edging out for the lead.
Carson Hocevar is on the inside lane and looking to get up to the front.
BJ McLeod is in the garage and out of the race with a mechanical issue.
Lap 126, the top five are Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Carson Hocevar, Joey Logano and Michael McDowell.
Bubba Wallace passes Ryan Blaney for the lead. Drivers are three wide in a battle for second.
Ryan Blaney moves up on the inside lane to battle with Bubba Wallace for the lead.
Lap 130, Ryan Blaney retakes the elad with Joey Logano in second; Carson Hocevar, bubba Wallace and Michael McDowell round out the top five.
Lap 131, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano have pulled out to a half second lead on the field, but Bubba Walalce and Carson Hocevar have oved up to under half a second lead.
Lap 134, Denny Hamlin has entered the top 10.
Lap 136, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Joey Logano in second; Carson Hocevar and Bubba Wallace battle for third with Daniel Suarez in fifith.
Carson Hocevar takes third.
Lap 140, The top five are Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, and Daniel Suarez.
Austin Cindric has some debris on his grille. Moving up behind Daniel Suarez, Cindric gets the debris off of the grille.
Lap 144, drivers are getting three wide on the track.
Shane van Gisbergen has entered the top 10.
Lap 147, Bubba Wallace battle with Joey Logano for second.
Carson Hocevar moves up and takes second.
The top five are Ryan Blaney, Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, and Daniel Suarez.
Lap 149, Ryan Blaney has led 123 laps so far.
Lap 150, Carson Hocevar battles with Ryan Blaney for the lead.
Lap 150, Bubba Wallace battle with Ryan Blaney for the lead.
Joey Logano makes it a three way battle for second with Bubba Wallace and Carson Hocevar.
With eight laps remaining in stage two teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano are now first and second.
Five laps remain in stage two, Daniel Suarez moves up on the outside to battle with Joey Logano for second.
Carson Hocevar is off the pace. Reports are that he has a flat tire with two laps to go in stage two.
Final lap of stage two, Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick battle for second.
Bubba Wallace spins out and slides across the grass to comes to a stop off the track.
Ryan Blaney wins stage two for the stage sweep.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Ryan Blaney
Tyler Reddick
Joey Logano
Austin Cindric
Daniel Suarez
Ty Gibbs
Christopher Bell
Erik Jones
Denny Hamlin
Shane van Gisbergen
Drivers come down pit road for service with Ty Gibbs winning the race off of pit road; edging out Austin Cindric.
Noah Gragson was caught speeding on pit road and Cody Ware was charged with a safety violation.
Ty Gibbs brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Austin Cindric alongside on lap 168. Ty Gibbs and Austin Cindric battle for the lead.
Lap 173. Ty Gibbs gets out in front but Chris Buescher moves up to battle for the lead.
The top five are Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher, Christoher Bell, Denny Hamlin, and Austin Cindric.
Christopher Bell passes Chris Buescher for second, Kenny Hamlin takes third.
Daniel Suarez battles with Austin Cindric for fifth.
Denny Hamlin passes Christopher Bell for second.
Lap 181, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin battle for second. Christopher Bell comes up on the outside lane to battle with Ty Gibbs for the lead.
Lap 184, the top five are Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Erik Jones ,and Tyler Reddick.
As the laps count down, the aggressive driving amps up.
Lap 189, Tyler Reddick is up to third and battle with Christopher Bell for second.
The caution flag comes out on lap 194 fir the first on track incident when AJ Allmendinger spins out and makes a run through the grass. He has a flat tire.
Zane Smith is the “lucky dog”.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Christopher Bell winning the race off of pit road after taking just two tires. Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick also took only two tires.
AJ Allmendinger was charged with pitting too soon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr was charged with driving through too many pit boxes; they will restart the race from the back of the longest line.
With 60 laps remaining in the race, Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag restart with Kyle Larson alongside. Kyle Larson gets out in front for the lead but Ryan Blaney moves up on the outside to battle for the lead and gets out in front.
With 58 to go, Christopher Bell takes the lead. drivers are getting three and four wide on the track.
With 57 laps to go, Ryan Blaney blows past Christopher Bell to retake the lead.
The top five are Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Christopehr Bell, Erik Jones, and Chase Briscoe.
Drivers get four wide back in the field.
With 53 to go, Chse Elliot takes the lead from the inside lane to rousing cheers for the “hometown boy”.
Kyle Larson comes up on the outside to battle with teammate Chase Elliott. Ryan Blaney comes up on the inside to make it a three wide battle. Ryan Blaney retakes the lead with Bubba Wallace in second; Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Steve Letarte refers to the racing as leap frog at 200mph.
Fifty to go, Ryan Blaney has retaken the lead.
Ryan Blaney leads but Chase Elliott comes up on the inside to take the lead, Bubba Wallace battles with Ryan Blaeny for second.
Denny Hamlin battle with Bubba Wallace for third.
Tyler Reddick passes Denny Hamlin for fourth.
With 45 laps remaining in the race, Tyler Reddick battles with Chase Elliot for the lead.
Ryan Blaney comes up on the inside for a three way battle to retake the lead.
Bubba Wallace battle with Chase Elliojt for second. Kyle Larson comes up on the inside to passe Bubba Wallace and battle with Chase Elliot for second.
With 41 laps to go, Chase Elliott moves up to second with Bubba Wallace on his bumper as they look to take the lead.
Bubba Wallace passes Chase Elliott for second, but Elliott comes up on the inside to battle for the spot.
Drivers are in three wide battles back in the field.
At one time a lap down, Ross Chastain has moved up inside the top 10.
After his tire issue, Carson Hocevar has entered the top 10.
Just 34 laps to go, Ryan Blaney has the lead; Bubba Wallace moves up to battle for the position.
Bubba takes the lead with teammate Tyler Reddick battling with Ryan Blaney for second.
Ryan Blaney gets into the wall.
Thirty to go, the caution flag comes out for AJ Allmendinger has a blown tire and gets into the wall.
Tyler Reddick was moving up to battle with Bubba Wallace for the lead when the caution flag came out.
Todd Gilliland is the “lucky dog”.
Several drivers come down pit road but the leaders stay out. Of the drivers who came down pit road, Shane van Gisbergen won the race off.
Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ryan Blaney alongside 237. Getting a push from Carson Hocevar, Ryan Blaney takes the lead.
Ryan Blaney reports a big vibration in his car.
The top five are Ryan Blaney, Carson Hocevar, bubba Wallace, Eerik Jones, and Christopher Bell.
Drivers are three and four wide in a battle for position.
AJ Allmendinger is out of the race.
Kyle Larson gets caught in a stack up involving Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs and makes a big run through the grass to bring out the sixth caution flag of the race.
Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 14 laps remaining in the race with Carson Hocevar alongside. After going side by side Carson Hocevar gets out in front after a push from bubba Wallace.
The top five are Carson Hocevar, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, and Erik Jones.
Ten to go, Carson Hocevar leads the race.
Ryan Blaney takes the lead after a push with Carson Hocevar in second.
Nine to go, Bubba Wallace and Carson Hocevar battle for second.
Christopher Bell takes second.
Eight to go, the top five are Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar, and Tyler Reddick.
Seven to go, Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar, and Ryan Blaney battle for the lead.
Caution flag comes out for a big reck involving Chase Briscoe, Riley Herbst, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, and Austin Hill.
The race goes into overtime.
Carson Hocevar brings the field down for the overtime shootout for the win with Ryan Blaney alongside. Ryan Blaney gets the lead after a push from Bubba Wallace. Tyler Reddick pushed Carson Hocevar for the lead with a three way battle for second.
Ryan Blaney, Carson Hocevar, and Bubba Wallace battle for the lead while cars are wrecking behind them.
Ryan Baleny edges out to win the race after a push from Christopher Bell to give Ford win number 750.
The unofficial results of the Quaker State 400:
Ryan Blaney
Bubba Wallace
Christopher Bell
Carson Hocevar
Ty Gibbs
Erik Jones
Shane van Gisbergen
Austin Dillon
Tyler Reddick
Joey Logano
Chris Buescher
Ross Chastain
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
Austin Cindric
Michael McDowell
William Byron
Cole Custer
John Hunter Nemechek
Todd Gilliland
Ty Dillon
Daniel Suarez
Alex Bowman
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ryan Preece
Josh Berry
Brad Keselowski
Noah Gragson
Connor Zilisch
Zane Smith
Austin Hill
Cody Ware
Chad Finchum
Kyle Larson
Riley Herbst
Chase Briscoe
AJ Allmendinger
BJ McLeod
NASCAR has charged Bubba Wallace with going below the double line and has dropped him in the finishing order. He has been placed as the last car on the lead lap in 29th.
Wallace said that he was pushed below the line.