Logano's last-lap pass nets him first win of year
Joey Logano dominated early and then passed Brad Keselowski on the final lap to win NASCAR's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and end the early season domination of Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports on Sunday.
Logano won the pole and led a strong showing of three straight Team Penske drivers in qualifying, but Keselowski looked like the Ford driver to beat late in the race. Keselowski had help from Corey LaJoie, but Logano got a push from Christopher Bell that proved decisive on the final lap.
Bell finished third in a Toyota and LaJoie finished a career-best fourth in a Chevrolet.
“The first win of the season always feels better,” said the reigning Cup champion, who led 141 of the 260 laps.
Logano's win ended a streak of four consecutive victories by Chevrolet to open the NASCAR Cup season, including back-to-back wins by William Byron of Hendrick.
Pushed by his Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric, Logano passed Keselowski to regain the lead with 34 laps to go. Keselowski regained the lead to setup the last-lap drama.
After no cautions during the second stage, the competition — and crashes — picked up late in the race.
Kevin Harvick, who won in Atlanta in 2018 and 2020, was leading late when he was lost control while being pushed by Ross Chastain. Replays indicated Chastain's Chevrolet didn't hit Harvick's Ford, but Harvick's spin caused a major crash.
“I think he was just so close to me he caught me right in the corner,” Harvick said of Chastain. “The way he came from right to left took the car away from me.”
Byron called the wreck “just a part of racing.”
Another wreck involving the leaders followed 20 laps later when Aric Almirola blew a tire, causing a spin that also took out Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez.
Hendrick Motorsports' four drivers had fill-in crew chiefs following the largest combined fine on one team in series history for modifying air-deflecting pieces last weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Hendrick was issued a combined $400,000 in fines along with four-race suspensions for the crew chiefs.
Formula One
Sergio Perez won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and Max Verstappen drove from 15th to second to give Red Bull a 1-2 finish in what is shaping up to be a runaway season for the reigning Formula One champions.
And there have only been two races so far.
But it's been two Red Bull wins, two 1-2 finishes, and an air of desperation from everyone else on the grid.
Fernando Alonso finished third for the second consecutive race — it was his 100th career podium, and he's only the sixth driver to reach that mark. But even as the Spaniard enjoys a renaissance with his new Aston Martin team, he acknowledged he had little chance at beating Red Bull.
Verstappen won a record 15 races last season and a second consecutive F1 title, and Perez added another two victories as the 17 total wins in 23 races easily gave Red Bull the constructors title. There have been no signs of an offseason drop in performance and George Russell, who finished fourth on Sunday, predicted after the season-opener that Red Bull would win every race this season.
Lewis Hamilton finished fifth as Mercedes went fourth and fifth just three days after the seven-time F1 champion said the team needed three other organizations not to finish a race for Mercedes to have a shot to win.
The show on Sunday was Verstappen, who overcame a mechanical problem in qualifying that forced him to start 15th and quickly work his way up the grid. The Dutchman set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap to retain his hold atop the F1 points standings.
“Great recovery, Max, that was a really good drive at the end,” Red Bull boss Christian Horner radioed Verstappen.
Red Bull has now finished 1-2 in three consecutive races dating to last year's finale.