The 2023 Quaker State 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on July 9, 2023, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Originally scheduled for 260 laps on the 1.54-mile-long (2.48 km) asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway (with superspeedway rules), the race was shortened to 185 laps due to rain. It was the 19th race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Report
Background
Atlanta Motor Speedway is a track in Hampton, Georgia, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It is a quad-oval track with a seating capacity of 111,000. It opened in 1960 as a standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval. The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes the driver ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Noah Gragson (R) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Cole Custer (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 62 Austin Hill (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Qualifying Aric Almirola scored the pole for the race with a time 31.261 of and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 31.387 31.261 2 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 31.293 31.275 3 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 31.295 31.296 4 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 31.323 31.344 5 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 31.341 31.357 6 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 31.425 31.373 7 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 31.369 31.375 8 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.464 31.388 9 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 31.457 31.404 10 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 31.465 31.482 11 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 31.477 — 12 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 31.494 — 13 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 31.506 — 14 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 31.511 — 15 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 31.527 — 16 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 31.574 — 17 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 31.574 — 18 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.579 — 19 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 31.598 — 20 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 31.611 — 21 51 Cole Custer (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 31.650 — 22 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31.731 — 23 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.751 — 24 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 31.770 — 25 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 31.773 — 26 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 31.834 — 27 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 31.877 — 28 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 31.880 — 29 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 31.924 — 30 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 32.278 — 31 42 Noah Gragson (R) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 32.346 — 32 62 Austin Hill (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 32.501 — 33 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32.525 — 34 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 32.754 — 35 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 32.990 — 36 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 33.539 — 37 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 0.000 —Official qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 60
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 102 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 75 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 66 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 57 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 48 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 39 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 210 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 100
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 102 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 93 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 84 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 75 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 66 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 57 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 48 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 39 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Stage results
Stage Three Laps: 25 (shortened by rain)
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 18 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 185 462 26 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 185 353 19 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 185 404 20 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 185 395 22 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 185 326 11 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 185 417 24 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 185 08 17 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 185 339 2 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 185 4710 29 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 185 2711 25 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 185 2612 10 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 185 3613 23 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 185 2414 14 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 185 2315 15 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 185 3016 9 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 185 2117 4 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 185 2718 1 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 185 2019 27 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 185 1820 33 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 185 1721 35 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 185 1622 3 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 185 1523 34 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 185 2124 13 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 185 1425 37 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 185 1726 36 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 185 1127 12 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 185 1228 5 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 184 929 16 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 184 1630 6 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 181 731 28 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 179 632 21 51 Cole Custer (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 178 033 31 42 Noah Gragson (R) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 174 434 7 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 150 335 30 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 124 236 8 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 111 1037 32 62 Austin Hill (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 92 0Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 18 among 12 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 7 for 43 Red flags: 1 for weather Time of race: 2 hours, 24 minutes, and 17 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television USA covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, and 2004 Atlanta winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.
USABooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve LetarteColor-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dave BurnsKim CoonMarty Snider
Radio The race was broadcast on radio by the Performance Racing Network and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race from the booth when the field raced down the front stretch. Rob Albright called the race from atop a billboard outside of turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2. Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. On pit road, PRN was manned by Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Doug Turnbull and Wendy Venturini.
PRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Doug RiceAnnouncer: Mark Garrow Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson Brad GillieBrett McMillanDoug TurnbullWendy Venturini
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 1 William Byron 628 1 2 Martin Truex Jr. 607 (–21) 2 3 Kyle Busch 592 (–36) 4 Christopher Bell 591 (–37) 2 5 Ross Chastain 575 (–53) 6 Denny Hamlin 561 (–67) 2 7 Ryan Blaney 553 (–75) 8 Kyle Larson 531 (–97) 2 9 Kevin Harvick 530 (–98) 10 Joey Logano 518 (–110) 11 Chris Buescher 506 (–122) 1 12 Brad Keselowski 504 (–124) 1 13 Tyler Reddick 475 (–153) 14 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 445 (–183) 2 15 Daniel Suárez 407 (–221) 2 16 Michael McDowell 407 (–221)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 722 2 Toyota 649 (–73) 3 Ford 636 (–86)
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
References