Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):
● Chase Briscoe started 11th and finished 17th.
● At the competition caution on lap 25, Briscoe reported the One Cure Ford Mustang was tight in the corners. He pitted from the 25th position for tires, fuel and adjustments, and restarted 19th on lap 30.
● Just two laps later, the yellow flag waved again. Briscoe said the adjustments hurt his restart, sending his car into a four-wheel slide. He stayed on track to restart 19th on lap 36.
● During the long green-flag run that closed out the stage, Briscoe radioed that his balance was much better. When the stage ended he asked for air pressure and wedge adjustments to help fire off at the start of a run.
● After pitting at the break for four tires, fuel and adjustments, the No. 14 Ford Mustang lined up 12th for the start of the second stage.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):
● Briscoe started 14th and finished 18th.
● The No. 14 One Cure Ford advanced to the 11th position before sliding back to 18th prior to a scheduled green-flag stop on lap 120. Briscoe pitted for tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to help with a tight-handling condition.
● He rejoined the field in 22nd and moved forward to 18th by the end of the stage on lap 160.
● Briscoe brought his Ford Mustang to pit road at the break for additional adjustments and fresh tires.
Stage 3 Recap (Laps 161-260):
● Briscoe started 13th and finished 15th.
● Before cars were able to take the green for the start of the final stage, the field was red flagged on lap 162 as workers began to repair a hole that had formed on the track surface.
● When the race returned to green, Briscoe restarted 13th but ended up in a four-wide battle on lap 171. He settled into 16th before trading the 15th position with teammate Kevin Harvick.
● Briscoe advanced as high as 13th before making a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 211 after reporting the One Cure Ford Mustang was tight. He visited pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments and returned to the track in the 21st position.
● On lap 213, Briscoe had already driven his way to 17th. He maintained that position until, with five laps to go, Briscoe powered into the top-15, where he finished.
Notes:
● Briscoe earned his fifth top-15 of the season, and it came in his second career NASCAR Cup Series start at Atlanta.
● Briscoe was the highest finishing NASCAR Cup Series rookie for the 17th time this season.
● Kurt Busch won the Atlanta 400 to score his 33rd career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his series-leading fourth at Atlanta. His margin over second-place Kyle Busch was 1.237 seconds.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 21 laps.
● Only 18 of the 37 drivers in the Atlanta 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Denny Hamlin remains the championship leader after Atlanta with a 10-point advantage over second-place Kyle Larson.
Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 One Cure Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“I felt like our One Cure Ford Mustang was a little better than where we finished, but we worked on it all day, and it definitely was better toward the end. It wasn’t one of our best tracks, but we improved and came out better than we were, and I’m proud of the team for sticking with it. We may have some work to do at New Hampshire, but I’ll be ready for the road courses when we come back from the break in a few weeks.”
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 July 18 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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