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.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 19 of 36 in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | July 9, 2023 | ||
| Location | Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.54 mi (2.48 km) | ||
| Distance | 185 laps, 284.9 mi (458.404 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 260 laps, 400.4 mi (644.244 km) | ||
| Average speed | 118.475 miles per hour (190.667 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Stewart-Haas Racing | ||
| Time | 31.261 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
| Laps | 46 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | USA | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Doug Rice and Mark Garrow | ||
| Turn Announcers | Rob Albright (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4) | ||
Report
editBackground
editAtlanta Motor Speedway is a track in Hampton, Georgia, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It is a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) quad-oval track with a seating capacity of 111,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) 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 1.5-mile (2.4 km) 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
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes the driver ineligible for series driver points.
Qualifying
editAric Almirola scored the pole for the race with a time 31.261 of and a speed of 177.346 mph (285.411 km/h).[9]
Qualifying results
editRace
editRace results
editStage results
editStage One Laps: 60
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 100
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage results
editStage Three Laps: 25 (shortened by rain)
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 185 | 46 |
| 2 | 26 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 185 | 35 |
| 3 | 19 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 185 | 40 |
| 4 | 20 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 185 | 39 |
| 5 | 22 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 185 | 32 |
| 6 | 11 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 185 | 41 |
| 7 | 24 | 15 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 185 | 0 |
| 8 | 17 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 185 | 33 |
| 9 | 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 185 | 47 |
| 10 | 29 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 185 | 27 |
| 11 | 25 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 185 | 26 |
| 12 | 10 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 185 | 36 |
| 13 | 23 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 185 | 24 |
| 14 | 14 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 185 | 23 |
| 15 | 15 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 185 | 30 |
| 16 | 9 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 185 | 21 |
| 17 | 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 185 | 27 |
| 18 | 1 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 185 | 20 |
| 19 | 27 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 185 | 18 |
| 20 | 33 | 78 | B. J. McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Chevrolet | 185 | 17 |
| 21 | 35 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 185 | 16 |
| 22 | 3 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 185 | 15 |
| 23 | 34 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 185 | 21 |
| 24 | 13 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 185 | 14 |
| 25 | 37 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 185 | 17 |
| 26 | 36 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 185 | 11 |
| 27 | 12 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 185 | 12 |
| 28 | 5 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 184 | 9 |
| 29 | 16 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 184 | 16 |
| 30 | 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 181 | 7 |
| 31 | 28 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 179 | 6 |
| 32 | 21 | 51 | Cole Custer (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 178 | 0 |
| 33 | 31 | 42 | Noah Gragson (R) | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 174 | 4 |
| 34 | 7 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 150 | 3 |
| 35 | 30 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 124 | 2 |
| 36 | 8 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 111 | 10 |
| 37 | 32 | 62 | Austin Hill (i) | Beard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 92 | 0 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
edit- 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: 118.475 miles per hour (190.667 km/h)
Media
editTelevision
editUSA 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.
| USA | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
Dave Burns Kim Coon Marty Snider |
Radio
editThe 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.
| PRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Mark Garrow |
Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson |
Brad Gillie Brett McMillan Doug Turnbull Wendy Venturini |
Standings after the race
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References
edit- ^ "2023 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
- ^ "Atlanta Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
- ^ Taranto, Steven (September 14, 2022). "NASCAR releases 2023 Cup Series schedule highlighted by new Chicago, All-Star race stops". CBS Broadcasting Inc. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "NASCAR unveils 2023 schedule for its national series". National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC. September 14, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
- ^ "Qualifying Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. July 8, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
- ^ "Quaker State 400 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. July 9, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
- ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. July 9, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
- ^ DeGroot, Nick (July 8, 2023). "Almirola grabs pole as Fords dominate Atlanta Cup qualifying". Motorsport.com. Hampton, Georgia: Motorsport Network. Retrieved July 8, 2023.