Playoff Pulse: Mr. Opportunistic prevails again as fellow title contenders falter at Atlanta

After the opening race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, here‘s a quick look at the playoff picture as another opportunistic victory from a two-time champion highlighted Sunday’s thriller at Atlanta Motor Speedway while a pair of title hopefuls had days they’d like to forget as soon as possible.

WINNER

After a rocky regular season, Joey Logano delivered his second win of 2024 which automatically moves him into the Round of 12. With help from Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney on the overtime restart, the driver of the No. 22 Ford got the shoves he needed to stay out front and hold off Daniel Suárez, who was going for a sweep of the 2024 races at the 1.5-mile drafting track.

RELATED: Unofficial results | At-track photos: Atlanta

WHO’S HOT?

Daniel Suárez. It wasn’t a sweep of the year at Atlanta but a second-place result will do for the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing driver. Battling Logano on the outside of the front row of the OT restart, Suárez’s teammate Ross Chastain lost connection with him in Turn 3 with two laps to go, allowing the Penske pair of Logano and Blaney to hold serve to the finish. But leading nine laps and collecting seven stage points in the process, Suárez sits 21 points above the elimination line heading to Watkins Glen International, where he owns three top-five results in six career starts.

Alex Bowman. Sunday was a pivotal one for the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports driver. Bowman hung around in the top 10 all day, collecting 16 points after the first two stages and taking the checkered flag in fifth place. Bowman limped into the playoffs with five consecutive finishes outside the top 15 entering Atlanta but now holds a 27-point advantage going to Watkins Glen. He’ll need to rely on that gap as he’s yet to score a top 10 at the road course in seven starts.

WHO’S NOT?

Denny Hamlin. A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad weekend for Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team. After a miserable qualifying session Saturday resulted in a last-place starting spot, the team made a plug wire change prior to Sunday’s start. Expecting an attrition-filled 400 miles, Hamlin utilized the strategy of riding in the back of the pack to avoid the carnage, but the incidents were too few and far between for Hamlin to make up any ground. Instead, Hamlin was caught up in a final-lap incident along with playoff driver Harrison Burton. Hamlin was scored 24th at the finish and now sits just two points above the elimination line entering Watkins Glen.

Kyle Larson. The first twist of the 2024 postseason occurred near the end of Stage 1 as Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet snapped loose in Turn 2, resulting in a hard collision into the outside SAFER barrier. Larson was then hit in the rear end by Southern 500 winner Chase Briscoe, bringing an end to the opener of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing driver’s playoff campaign. Entering Sunday as the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, Larson dropped to 10th and holds just a 15-point cushion going to the middle race in the Round of 16 at Watkins Glen.

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