Joey Logano wins NASCAR playoff opener at Atlanta to advance to 2nd round

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — One of the first things Joey Logano said after winning NASCAR's playoff opener was that the postseason is his time of the year.

And, in 10 initial playoff appearances, he typically slid his way through the rounds, winning two Cup titles and never finishing lower than eighth in the standings.

Then came last year when Logano, as the reigning Cup champion, was eliminated from the 16-driver field in the very first round for the first time in his career. He dreaded going to the track for the remainder of the season even as Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney went on to win the championship.

There will be no stumble this year, not after an overtime victory Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway gave Logano an automatic berth into the second round of the playoffs.

“That’s how we start the playoffs, boys!” Logano shouted. “When it is playoff time, it is our time.”

Logano won the 11th race of the season to end in overtime — a tie for the record set in the 2017 season. He's trying to become the only active three-time Cup champion in the series. Kyle Busch, who did not make the playoffs, is the only other driver with two Cup titles.

“We've been able to level up when we need to level up and be able to fire off the first race of the playoffs and with a statement is key, right?” Logano said.

Ryan Blaney was initially listed in second for a 1-2 sweep for Team Penske and Ford. Blaney lined up behind Logano and gave him the pushes he needed to deny Daniel Suarez the victory.

But after a review, Suarez was moved to second and Blaney dropped to third. Team owner Roger Penske was not at the race because the Detroit resident was scheduled to attend the Lions' NFL home opener later Sunday.

Suarez, who won the closest three-wide finish in NASCAR history here in February, had his own help from Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain. The two-lap overtime sprint to the finish began with Logano and Suarez lined up side-by-side on the front row, each with their teammate behind them for the push to the front.

Blaney got Logano out first, but Chastain remained locked onto the bumper of Suarez's Chevrolet and the two dueled it out until Blaney used a final push to get his Penske teammate the win.

Suarez, who gained two spots in the standings to ninth with his runner-up finish, was disappointed to come up short.

“No, definitely not satisfied. I am happy with it, but not satisfied," he said. “I felt like we were going to have a great shot at it. Ross was doing an amazing job of pushing, and I don’t know if he got a flat tire or something, but once I lost him, I knew it was going to be tough. But, that is part of racing, right?”

Christopher Bell in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing finished fourth, and Alex Bowman in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports was fifth. Regular-season champion Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing was sixth and followed by Busch of Richard Childress Racing, Chase Elliott of Hendrick, William Byron of Hendrick and Austin Cindric of Penske. Only two Toyotas — Bell and Reddick — finished inside the top 10.

Larson crashes early

Larson running third in the closing laps of the first stage when his car inexplicably shot into the outside wall.

“I don't know if I blew a tire or what,” Larson radioed.

As the No. 5 Chevrolet shot back down the track, Larson was hit in the rear by fellow playoff driver Chase Briscoe. That contact caused damage to Briscoe's Ford.

The incident ended the race for both drivers.

Larson was the points leader at the start of Sunday before his crash, which he called one of the hardest hits of his career and it came without any warning.

“No, not at all. Never. Not once," Larson said. “It just caught me way off guard. I was never once loose, even in that corner. And then, it just started stepping out. I corrected it and overcorrected it, I guess. I feel fine. Thankfully, everything held up great in the car.”

His 37th-place finish dropped him all the way to 10th in the standings; four drivers will be cut from the field after the Sept. 21 race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Briscoe, who won last week's regular-season finale to make the playoff field, was ranked 13th out of 16 at the start of the race. He's now last in the standings after finishing last in the race.

“That’s NASCAR — you can be on top one week and you can be at the very bottom of the mountain the next week," said Briscoe, who added he was fortunate not to be injured. "It was a big hit. One of the biggest hits I’ve had in a long time. My private area hurt pretty bad at first, just when I hit it was a big hit, but, other than that, I’m totally good.

"My head, everything feels fine. I’m glad my ankles didn’t get messed up. The brake pedal and everything went through the floorboard, so I’m thankful that I’m alright, for sure.”

Mixed playoff day

It was a huge points day for Bowman, who opened the week defending his job in the No. 48 for Hendrick Motorsports. His performance has been off since an injury last season and Bowman needed a win at Chicago to earn a spot in the playoff field.

He began the playoffs ranked 12th and jumped all the way to sixth by finishing fifth at Atlanta.

It was the exact opposite for Denny Hamlin, who opened the day ranked sixth but had a horrible weekend in Atlanta that ended with a last-lap crash and a 23rd-place finish. He dropped to 11th in the standings and is only three points above the cutoff line.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs, who led 37 laps, faded to 17th and is the final driver above the cutline with a one-point margin.

The four drivers below the cutline and in danger of elimination are Brad Keselowski, Harrison Burton, Martin Truex Jr., and Briscoe.

Up next

The road course in Watkins Glen, New York, makes its debut in the 10-race playoff schedule next Sunday. Hendrick Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott, Larson and William Byron have combined to win the last five races at the track dating to 2018 when Watkins Glen was part of the regular-season schedule.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press