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Live updates: NASCAR race at Atlanta sees Joey Logano edge Brad Keselowski for the win

Live updates have ended for this race. For a full race recap, click here — and stay tuned at charlotteobserver.com for more post-race content.

Charlotte Observer NASCAR reporter Alex Zietlow will be passing along live updates throughout Sunday’s Cup race from Atlanta Motor Speedway in the section below. Refresh for the latest news. Full results will be posted at the end of the race.

Unofficial results from NASCAR Cup Race: Logano wins

POS

CAR

DRIVER

DELTA

LAST LAP

BEST SPEED

1

22

Joey Logano

--

30.043

185.847

2

6

Brad Keselowski

0.193

30.426

186.503

3

20

Christopher Bell

0.194

30.301

185.102

4

7

Corey LaJoie

0.297

30.278

188.251

5

45

Tyler Reddick

0.299

30.287

186.284

6

11

Denny Hamlin

0.39

30.277

186.059

7

12

Ryan Blaney

0.399

30.248

185.915

8

43

Erik Jones

0.489

29.875

185.959

9

54

Ty Gibbs #

0.557

30.361

188.232

10

8

Kyle Busch

0.575

30.304

187.045

11

2

Austin Cindric

0.583

30.356

185.965

12

42

Noah Gragson #

0.7

30.361

186.09

13

1

Ross Chastain

0.726

30.253

188.725

14

48

Alex Bowman

0.735

30.387

187.919

15

38

Todd Gilliland

0.804

30.357

186.717

16

16

AJ Allmendinger

0.832

30.284

188.636

17

47

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

0.893

30.296

188.2

18

9

Josh Berry(i)

0.925

30.098

187.665

19

19

Martin Truex Jr.

0.975

30.295

187.114

20

3

Austin Dillon

1.069

30.157

186.134

21

34

Michael McDowell

1.158

30.185

186.616

22

31

Justin Haley

1.351

30.29

186.103

23

77

Ty Dillon

1.488

30.182

186.209

24

14

Chase Briscoe

-1

31.59

186.391

25

51

Cody Ware

-2

31.806

186.265

26

15

JJ Yeley(i)

-2

31.888

185.362

27

23

Bubba Wallace

-5

32.61

185.524

28

41

Ryan Preece

-16

33.03

185.102

29

99

Daniel Suarez

-47

56.501

187.114

30

10

Aric Almirola

-52

30.385

186.34

31

5

Kyle Larson

-52

30.358

186.554

32

24

William Byron

-68

114.376

186.184

33

4

Kevin Harvick

-70

107.746

186.516

34

21

Harrison Burton

-70

526.534

185.548

35

17

Chris Buescher

-71

30.142

187.399

36

78

BJ McLeod

-71

29.826

185.878

Live updates from Atlanta Motor Speedway

Stage 3

Lap 260: Joey Logano! Wow! After a clean 50 laps — one that featured some classic two-lined superspeedway racing and had Brad Keselowski at the front — Logano made his move on the outside. Keselowski tried to block him on top, but Logano’s car was simply too fast. That makes Logano’s first win ever at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Watch that final lap below.

Lap 208: Another wreck! Aric Almirola! Just as we go green again, the No. 10 car blows a tire and catches Kyle Larson as he loses control. The 5 then spins and knocks into the wall. Larson’s day is done. So are the days of Almirola and Daniel Suarez.) Fifty laps to go. New lineup: Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Justin Haley, Denny Hamlin, Todd Gilliland, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Corey LaJoie.

Lap 195: A pretty interesting pit stop — which includes Ross Chastain having to drive in the grass and Denny Hamlin getting blocked by Ty Dillon — has shaken up the leadership once more. Off pit road: Aric Almirola, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Chastain, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Corey LaJoie.

Lap 190: We might’ve just seen Atlanta’s version of The Big One. Kevin Harvick and Ross Chastain appeared to get entangled on Turn 2, and then Harvick got loose, and then a bunch of cars collected behind him. No damage for Chastain. Harvick is done for the day. So is Chris Buescher and William Byron. Ryan Blaney back on the lead lap. We’re going to have a fun restart: Chastain and Denny Hamlin are running 1-2 during this caution. See for yourself below.

Lap 179: The first part of Stage 3 has been eventful. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. found himself in the lead after only taking two tires at the stage break caution pit stop. He threw a ton of blocks. His racing effectively buried the Team Penske drivers that have run out front all day and paved the way for Denny Hamlin to take the lead. Now we’re seeing three-wide turns and two even lines. This should be a fun ending. Also: Don’t look now, but Ross Chastain started 25th at the restart and is now running fifth.

Lap 162: Only have had three cautions for 12 laps thus far. Only one caution for cause. A third clean race in as many weekends in the Cup Series — much different than Saturday’s races. The positioning after pit stops under yellow: Aric Almirola (took fuel only), Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (only took two tires), Alex Bowman, William Byron, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch.

Stage 2

Lap 160: This race thus far reminds me of Henry David Thoreau — but instead of “simplify, simplify” ... it’s “single file, single file.” That’s what most of Stage 2 was, at least. Outside of a few attempts from Noah Gragson and Kyle Larson to no avail, everyone has run in the top line. Kyle Busch started the stage out front, but Joey Logano climbed up to take P1 again early and held on most of the way. But then! Pit stops under green cycled through. Racing picked up. Only disaster: Ryan Blaney caught speeding on pit road; he served a pass-through penalty and will have to work just to make it back on the lead lap. Fuel-only pit stops thrusted three Hendrick cars (Alex Bowman, Josh Berry, William Byron) into the Top 10. Logano and Austin Cindric cycled out as leaders and were able to hold off another 1-2 stage finish. But it was Cindric who took the win. Stage 2 results: Cindric, Logano, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Corey LaJoie.

Lap 135: Ryan Blaney too fast on pit road! That’ll likely cost the No. 12 car two laps. Christopher Bell stayed out longer than everyone else, but it’s Joey Logano who will cycle out as the leader with teammate Austin Cindric right behind him.

Lap 132: And the pit stops under green begin. Austin Dillon is first — took forever to get there; might have run out of gas? Kyle Busch follows and is sure to not speed on pit road. (He’s done that three times before. But a speeding penalty will effectively end your day at Atlanta Motor Speedway.) Martin Truex Jr. took his trip when KB did. Then Brad Keselowski, then all of Team Penske. Dang, 45 mph has never looked so painfully slow!

Lap 64: Now that’s an exciting pit stop! Kyle Busch gained five positions down pit road after a lightning-fast four-tire pit stop. He’ll be followed by Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric and Joey Logano — who lost five spots in large part because he needed to replenish all the fuel he burned from leading all of Stage 1.

Stage 1

Lap 60: And Joey Logano has led every lap of Sunday’s race! The 22 notches his first stage win of the season For most of Stage 1, the inside line isn’t worth trying— just ask Kyle Larson, who was running in the Top 5 for much of Stage 1 before he tried to make a pass at the bottom before no one followed him and therefore fell down the field like a piece of paper. There was a brief two-lane moment at the end of Stage 1, but the same characters held onto their positions. Those earning stage points (in order): Logano, Austin Cindric, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell (who started the race at the rear!), Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez and Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 45: Checking in. Looks like the Cup drivers learned from the caution-cluttered Xfinity and truck races of Saturday. They’re all well-behaved. Nearly the entire field is running in single-file on the top line, led by Joey Logano, Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney — the Team Penske drivers who began the race 1-2-3. Stage 1 almost done.

Lap 10: Early caution! Bubba Wallace spins out on the backstretch without any contact with anyone else. Unclear what happened exactly. A lot of left-front damage to the 23 now. Wallace making the exceptionally long trip down pit road. Getting work on the car now under yellow.

Lap 4: The speed of the Fords this weekend has be well documented. (They notched the top eight spots in qualifying.) But the fact that all three Team Penske drivers are going 1-2-3 could loom extra large. Joey Logano, Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney are single-file on the top line.

Green flag! 3:20 p.m.: Let’s do this!

3:10 p.m.: Engines fired!

3:02 p.m.: Christopher Bell will have to drop to the rear for unapproved adjustments. Joe Gibbs Racing’s 20 car was supposed to start P10.

2:57 p.m.: Another update on Reddick: He has the stomach bug, per FOX Sports, but will try his best to run on Sunday. John Hunter Nemechek is on standby for the 45 today.

2:44 p.m.: Tyler Reddick is feeling a bit sick, so the 45 car team adjusted the race car’s seat in case John Hunter Nemechek needed to replace Reddick. Things seem all good for Reddick to run, though. He was announced in driver introductions. Still something to keep an eye on nonetheless. (Nemechek drove in both the Truck Series and Xfinity Series races this weekend already.)

1:44 p.m.: The Cup race is undeniably the main draw at Atlanta Motor Speedway. But Saturday was nonetheless... eventful. It featured a bunch of drivers weighing in on the Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain quarrel, a competitive truck race, a Twitter-blazing Xfinity park (?) and then an exciting Xfinity finish.

1:31 p.m.: Some pre-race timing: Driver introductions will begin at 2:30 p.m., followed by the invocation at 3 p.m., then the national anthem at 3:01 p.m., then the command at 3:08 p.m., then the green flag at 3:19 p.m.

1:25 p.m.: Kevin Harvick’s retirement tour has been riddled with milestones, but Atlanta is particularly special to the all-time great driver. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver, who will start in P6, notched his first win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2001. He was robbed of a win at Phoenix Raceway last week. Can the No. 4 car get into Victory Lane today?

Mar 18, 2023; Hampton, Georgia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick (4) is pushed to the grid during qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2023; Hampton, Georgia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick (4) is pushed to the grid during qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports

How to watch NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta

  • Race: Ambetter Health 400

  • Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway

  • Date: Sunday, March 19

  • Time: 3 p.m. ET

  • Purse: $8,725,965

  • TV: FOX, 2 p.m. ET

  • Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

  • Distance: 400 miles

  • Laps: 260 laps around 1.54-mile track

  • Stages: Stage 1 (Lap 60), Stage 2 (Lap 160), Final Stage (Lap 260)

Cup Series starting lineup

Position

Driver

Car No.

1

Joey Logano

22

2

Austin Cindric

2

3

Ryan Blaney

12

4

Brad Keselowski

6

5

Aric Almirola

10

6

Kevin Harvick

4

7

Chris Buescher

17

8

Chase Briscoe

14

9

Kyle Larson

5

10

Christopher Bell

20

11

William Byron

24

12

Michael McDowell

34

13

Austin Dillon

3

14

Denny Hamlin

11

15

Alex Bowman

48

16

Tyler Reddick

45

17

Kyle Busch

8

18

Ross Chastain

1

19

Bubba Wallace

23

20

Justin Haley

31

21

Josh Berry

9

22

Noah Gragson

42

23

Todd Gilliland

38

24

Ryan Preece

41

25

Daniel Suarez

99

26

Ty Dillon

77

27

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

47

28

Erik Jones

43

29

Martin Truex Jr.

19

30

AJ Allmendinger

16

31

Corey LaJoie

7

32

Cody Ware

51

33

Harrison Burton

21

34

JJ Yeley

15

35

Ty Gibbs

54

36

BJ McLeod

78