This Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series will be returning to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart (July 9 at 7 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), and this go-around the competitors will have to navigate the high-speed, door-to-door action for the first time 'under the lights' since the 1.54-mile track was recently reconfigured by narrowing the racing surface and raising the degree of banking in the Turns to 28 degrees.
Earlier this season, Team Penske's Joey Logano scored his first and only win of the 2023 season at Atlanta Motor Speedway extending the organization's wins total at the 1.54-mile facility to seven victories. Heading into the 19th race of the season this weekend, Logano has the opportunity to become the 12th different driver to win consecutive Cup races at Atlanta Motor Speedway; joining Marvin Panch (1965 sweep), Bobby Allison (1972 sweep), David Pearson (1973 sweep), Richard Petty (1974-75), Cale Yarborough (1980-81), Bill Elliott (1985 sweep, 1992 sweep), Dale Earnhardt (1989-90; 1995-96), Bobby Labonte (1997-98), Jeff Gordon (1998-99), Carl Edwards (2005 sweep) and Jimmie Johnson (2007 sweep; 2015-16).
RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski finished runner-up to Logano earlier this season at Atlanta, and he and his former teammate put on quite the show for the fans in the closing laps.
"A heck of a battle," exclaimed Brad Keselowski on pit road following the Atlanta race in March. "The coolest thing about this race is two veterans showed you can run a race here side-by-side, bump-drafting, and not wreck the field. It can happen if you race respectfully. I thought everybody did a great job."
No practice this weekend, so all the NASCAR Cup Series on-track action will kick off with Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 5:35 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 8. Qualifying will be televised on the USA Network.
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