HAMPTON, Ga. – Here is what drivers were saying after Sunday’s race at Atlanta, one that featured 10 cautions and 48 lead changes.
Daniel Suarez — Winner: “It’s an amazing feeling. This team did an amazing job all race long. We wrecked on Lap 2. The guys fixed the car and we were able to make it good again, make it fast again. It took some tweaking, but unbelievable. Freeway Insurance, Trackhouse, Chevrolet, and all the people that believed in us from day one — it’s unbelievable to do this in this fashion.”
Ryan Blaney — Finished 2nd: “I’m sure it was close. I’ve won some by a few inches and lost some by a few inches. It was a fun night, fun racing. I didn’t think they’d get that big of a run on me. I thought I did a good job of getting close off of two to where I kind of had some of their energy. I guess they just got hooked up super good and got a massive run, and I can’t block both lanes. It was fun racing, but just a couple inches short. I’m happy for Daniel, though. That was fun racing him and Kyle. That was fun.”
#NASCAR … Ryan Blaney was talking to the media when he saw the finish for the first time. His reaction … pic.twitter.com/fQw6efp0Y2
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) February 26, 2024
Kyle Busch — Finished 3rd: “I just got a little too far ahead of the 99 and he got a good side draft through the corner. I didn’t think the outside would prevail, but with the run down the frontstretch and the side draft, that is what hurt us. I was looking at the 12 and I swore I was ahead of the 12 at the line, but obviously my eyes are bad. Need more powerful glasses, I guess.”
Austin Cindric — Finished 4th: “It was fun to lead laps and win the stage. I got in a real tight aero spot while I was following Ryan and washed up the track a bit. He was, honestly, in a really tough spot with the runs that were coming from behind. I thought he was gonna be able to hold on, but the first win for the Mustang Dark Horse has to wait another race, but I’m really proud of the effort. It should be a really great points day for us, so that puts us on the right side of things heading into Vegas.”
Bubba Wallace — Finished 5th: “What a day. I’m so glad we’re done with superspeedway racing for a while. The mental toll it takes on you, to just making sure you make the right move for 260 laps, including the race last week too, is a lot. Team did a great job. I put us behind with that speeding penalty on pit road. Never gave up, though. Came from the back. Enjoying where we’re at right now. Just can’t get complacent. We get to go race the next couple weeks and really got to dig deep and figure out where we need to be better. I thought we had a fifth-place car and came home fifth.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — Finished 6th: “It was a wild race, but a fun race. I think the track is kind of coming into itself a little bit. Obviously we sped on pit road and we had to claw our way back up through there. But our No. 47 Kroger/Blue Buffalo Camaro handled really well. I think that was an advantage. I was able to put my Chevy in spots that I think others weren’t comfortable with. It was a really good effort by our team, and a good rebound from last weekend. We got some stage points and a solid top-10 finish there.”
Chris Buescher — Finished 9th: “It’s a handling racetrack and the handling is just not very good for a lot of cars, and then you get into different aero spots basically and it changes pretty drastically. It’s just tricky. It’s easy to make mistakes and without practice I don’t think many of us were able to find that balance, so you get into the race and you find out if you overstep your bounds for speed versus handling real quick and there’s not much you can do about it then.”
Ty Gibbs — Finished 10th: “It was a pretty eventful day for us. I kind of got shuffled out a good bit and got some damage but ended up finishing well. I appreciate all of the hard work from my 54 Monster Energy Toyota crew, and now we go to (Las) Vegas.”
Kaz Grala — Finished 14th: “We had a really good ending to a very tough day. The No. 15 N29 Capital Partners team overcame a lot of adversity to leave Atlanta with a top-15 finish and we learned a few things we’ll be able to apply to some upcoming intermediate races. I couldn’t be more proud of everyone at RWR and the way we handled everything that was thrown at us today.”
Ryan Preece — Finished 16th: “Our day was ruined right from the start, so to really end up 16th is a gift. For the half a lap that I felt like my car made it through it felt like it was gonna be really fast, so it gives me a lot of hope moving towards Vegas next week.”
Daniel Hemric — Finished 18th: “What a chaotic day, from start to finish. We got some nose damage early on in that first caution, which really just made us aero-tight for the rest of the race. Trent [Owens] made some great calls, and the No. 31 crew repaired as much as they could. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t quite bounce back.”
Justin Haley — Finished 20th: “I’m not really sure what we could’ve done any different. It felt like we were caught up in every situation that happened from the start, so I’m glad we were able to finish and get a decent result for Rick and everyone at RWR. Even with a roughed-up Grady Health Mustang we were still to run in the top-10 for a bit and show that we’ve got the speed to do more. Still a lot of positives to take away, but definitely a tough day for us.”
Austin Dillon — Finished 22nd: “The right side of the diffuser broke off in a wreck not of our doing on Lap 2. Everyone on the No. 3 team worked hard to get it back, but we couldn’t overcome the lack of downforce. We tried really hard to race again, but without the right side of the diffuser to lean on we slapped the wall in (the final stage). We salvaged a finish today, but can’t wait to get to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to try and turn our luck around.”
Todd Gilliland — Finished 26th: “My car was really fast. The Georgia Peanuts Ford Mustang Dark Horse is really fast. We’ve shown that the last couple of weeks. Just the progress from my team. Right at this moment, it definitely feels like a huge missed opportunity. I lost some track position and got caught in the middle and then just got behind that wreck, which ultimately bent a toe link. I feel like I made a lot of good moves, but obviously the one at the end where it all counts I didn’t. I’ll put the emphasis on a really fast car and my team did an amazing job. I just wish I could have done a little bit better at the end.”
Josh Berry — Finished 29th: “The guys did a really good job to get us back in position. We obviously made some mistakes there and have to clean that up, but the car was kind of weird. It was really strong on the bottom, but struggled on the top. There were several times I got put in a bad spot in the third lane and kind of had a moment there, and ultimately that’s what did us in at the end. I was trying to stay out of the top lane. I kind of got forced up there and I just got loose and unfortunately wrecked.”
Chase Briscoe — Finished 31st:
#NASCAR … Chase Briscoe on the “fun” he had in the Atlanta race pic.twitter.com/BVDzA7tBPe
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) February 25, 2024
Kyle Larson — Finished 32nd: “Brad (Keselowski) just got sideways. I don’t know if he got tight, got into clean air and just got sideways – but there wasn’t anything I could do from my seat. I just tried to check-up as much as I could. It was just a chain reaction and I kind of got pushed into the wreck. Just a bummer to end the race early again here at Atlanta (Motor Speedway). We had a really good No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy. I actually had a lot of fun today. It was super intense and it’s been a great race. It’s been the opposite from last weekend with no fuel saving and guys going at it, so it’s been fun.”
Brad Keselowski — Finished 33rd: “I don’t know. My car just took off in the middle of the corner. I don’t know if dumped or I lost the rear tire. Once I got up to the wall I couldn’t get it off the wall. It’s a shame. We were in good position. We ran up front most of the day and made good adjustments on the car. I’m just really proud of my crew chief and the team and weren’t able to make it count with a solid finish I feel like we deserved today.”
Noah Gragson — Finished 36th: “It’s definitely a bummer. They started stacking up on the top and I thought we were gonna miss the 3 and then got tagged in the right-rear by someone. I just got hit from behind and the car was pretty torn up. We tried to keep it going, but then the rack started falling out of it, so we started losing steering and had to bring it in. It’s just a bummer, but we’re gonna go to Vegas and rebound.”
Josh Williams — Finished 37th: “It’s just insane. I had guys passing me when we were still wrecking. It’s just unfortunate for this No. 16 Alloy Employer Services Chevy team. I just have some bad luck and I need to figure out how to get rid of it.”
