No. 2 Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric
Start: 16th
Race Finish: 32nd
Stage 1 Finish: 10th
Stage 2 Finish: 32nd
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings: 17th (-50)
Race Rundown: Austin Cindric started 16th and finished 32nd in Sunday’s race at the revamped Atlanta Motor Speedway. The driver of the Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang brought home 10th-place stage points in Stage 1. He narrowly avoided significant damage on a lap 146 spin. Unfortunately, his luck would run out as he was involved in a lap 202 crash, ending his day. Cindric now sits 16th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, trailing the lead by 49 points.
Cindric’s Thoughts: “It was something I’d been watching and waiting for the entire race, the leaders getting wrecked. From my vantage point, just tried to slow down through the crash and got rear-ended by somebody. It’s just how it goes when there’s not a lot of room. This is the style racing we’re all together and it’s a pretty large hit. It’s a shame to be out of the race. We were fighting close to the top 10 range most of the day, but just kind of a victim and it’s a bummer.”
No. 12 BODYARMOR Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney
Start: 2nd
Race Finish: 17th
Stage 1 Finish: 16th
Stage 2 Finish: 1st – Second stage win of 2022
Laps Led: 15
Point Standings: 6th (-23)
Race Rundown: Ryan Blaney started second and finished 17th in the No. 12 BODYARMOR Ford Mustang, after running inside the top-five for much of the race. Blaney started the day off having to return to pit road after a fueling issue on the first pit stop of the race. He quickly recovered for the Stage 2 win, his second of 2022. The driver of the No. 12 Mustang remained in contention for the remainder of the race. On the closing lap, Blaney got shuffled from the top-five and then into the outside wall after a hard bump draft, dropping him to the 17th finishing position. Blaney led the race five times for 15 laps on the afternoon.
Blaney’s Thoughts: “Had a fast BODYARMOR Ford Mustang most of the day. We lacked a little bit of speed overall but were able to run inside the top-five most of the day. Unfortunately, didn’t get the finish we deserved there on the last lap.”
No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – Joey Logano
Start: 3rd
Race Finish: 9th
Stage 1 Finish: 13th
Stage 2 Finish: 20th
Laps Led: 12
Point Standings: 2nd (-7)
Race Rundown: Joey Logano started second and finished ninth on Sunday afternoon in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Logano lost track position with a mid-race spin, dropping the team a lap down. Logano powered back forward, running with the top-five competitors, despite being a lap down. Logano received the free pass on the next caution flag. The team would move back into the top-15 in the final stage and a wild final lap saw Logano maneuver the chaos and score a top-10 finish. The finish was Logano’s third top-10 result in the first five races as he sits second in the point standings trailing the lead by seven points.
Logano’s Thoughts: “A long day. We spun out and then the engine wouldn’t start. I don’t know why it wouldn’t start, but it wouldn’t start until I got pushed. We lost a lap and then got our lap back. We just battled and battled and finished ninth. No stage points.”
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