Joey Logano imperial in Atlanta

Joey Logano delivered a very high-class performance to win this Atlanta round, undecided until the last lap. The 2022 Champion is more than ever a declared candidate for his own succession!

Built in 1960 and renovated in 2021, the Atlanta track is very special. Its development of 1,54 miles (2,48km) classifies it as an intermediate track, but with its 28° banked turns and its very short straights it presents the characteristics of a Superspeedway. Racing in Atlanta is always at full speed, in the draft and most often with the steering wheel turned.

Brad Keselowski continues his good start to the season © NASCAR

The highlight of this 5th round of the season was of course the very heavy penalty inflicted on Hendrick Motorsports for front hood louvers deemed non-compliant last weekend in Phoenix. 100 penalty points in the regular season and 10 points in the Playoffs inflicted on Byron, Larson and Bowman clearly showed the intransigence of NASCAR on these contentious interpretations of the regulations. A 400 dollar fine, the largest financial sanction in the history of NASCAR and the suspension for 000 races of the crew chiefs of the 4 cars in the team completed this very heavy sporting sentence. By coincidence or consequence, the Chevrolet Hendricks deserted this weekend the outposts that they had outrageously occupied since the start of the season...

Author of pole position Joey Logano started the event in the best possible way by winning the first segment after having completed the entire 60 laps in the lead.

At the start of the second segment, Logano had the elegance to let Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney have the pleasure of leading a few laps before regaining his first place with authority. Blaney was the big loser of the green flag pit stop sequence, receiving a drive through for speeding, meaning he was one lap behind on this circuit where pit stops are particularly penalizing. Austin Cindric made the right move in the second section of the race, passing Logano on the line to win.

The start of the last segment proved to be much more competitive, with first place swapping depending on the dominant race lines. Logano was a victim, slipping out of the top 15 after a few laps. However, it didn't take long for him to get back to the front, helped by his spotter. Harvick took the lead but Ross Chastain once again confused speed and haste by destabilizing him in a corner propelling him into the wall and leading to his retirement as well as that of the winner of the two previous races William Byron. On the restart, Aric Almirola made a mistake with a puncture, eliminating Kyle Larson. When it doesn't work, it doesn't work for Hendrick.

TROUBLE AT THE FRONT! @KevinHarvick around and many others are collected! pic.twitter.com/dB30QFgegG

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 19, 2023

Brad Keselowski took control in the last 40 laps, navigating from one line to another to block any attempt to overtake. Only one man was able to deprive him of victory, the strong man at the start of the race Joey Logano who slipped past the driver RFK before passing him on the last lap thanks to a solid push certainly not entirely voluntary from Christopher Bell.

Next week, COTA Austin will put on its gala attire to host the Cup Series. Jimmie Johnson, Kimi Räikkönen, Jenson Button and Jordan Taylor will come and rub shoulders with the leaders of the discipline for a road race which promises to be historic.

Ranking NASCAR of the Ambetter Health 400 in Atlanta

ALSO READ > Joey Logano and Penske at the top