Race Lineup

Quaker State 400

Sunday, July 9th, 2023

Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, GA

  • 17 Chevrolet
  • 14 Ford
  • 6 Toyota

  • Atlanta Motor Speedway
  • Quaker State 400 available at Walmart
  • Busch Pole Award Pole Winner: Aric Almirola
  • Age: 39
  • Team : No. 10 - Smithfield/IHOP Ford
  • Owner: Tony Stewart
  • Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer
  • Aric Almirola won the Pole Award for the Quaker State 400 available at Walmart with a lap of 31.261 seconds, 177.346 mph.
  • This is his fifth pole in 443 NASCAR Cup Series races.
  • This is his first pole and fifth top-10 start in 2023.
  • This is his second pole in 16 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
  • Ryan Blaney (second) posted his 12th top-10 start of 2023 and his sixth in 11 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
  • Chase Briscoe (third) posted his third top-10 start at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It is his fifth in 19 races this season.
  • Ty Gibbs (seventh) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

  • Sunday, July 9th, 2023
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
William Byron overcomes adversity in rain-shortened NASCAR Cup Series race to win at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Neither an early spin nor damage to his No. 24 Chevrolet could prevent William Byron from winning Sunday night’s rain-shortened Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

With a storm approaching the 1.54-mile track, Byron surged past AJ Allmendinger into the lead on Lap 167 and remained out from until an accident in Turn 3 involving Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Preece and Bubba Wallace caused the seventh caution of the evening on Lap 178.

With Byron out front, the NASCAR Cup Series cars circled the track until the rain arrived and began falling more heavily. NASCAR brought the cars to pit road and red-flagged the race at 9:47 p.m. after 185 laps were complete.

With severe weather moving into the area, the sanctioning body called the race and made Byron the first four-time winner in the series this season. The victory was Byron’s second at Atlanta and the eighth of his career.

Daniel Suárez was second when NASCAR called the race, with Allmendinger running third. Michael McDowell and Kyle Busch completed the top five.

Crew chief Rudy Fugle called Byron to pit road on Lap 125 under caution for a pileup in Turn 2 that damaged the cars of Erik Jones, Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs.

That enabled Byron to restart fourth on Lap 165 after roughly half the field (cars that had not pitted since Lap 95) came to pit road on Lap 161. Two laps later, Byron had the lead.

Byron hardly looked like a winner after spinning through the grass on Lap 80 and losing a lap getting to pit road. But the 25-year-old from Charlotte, N.C., regained the lost circuit as the beneficiary under caution for Kyle Larson’s spin on Lap 92.

“It’s cool, man,” Byron said. “We went through so much throughout the night—spinning through the infield, destroyed the bottom of the car dragging it around the apron trying to stay on the lead lap. At that point, you just don’t have the grip, so I was real edgy back in traffic, but Rudy made a good call to pit there and then stay out.

“Once we got towards the front, it was OK. We could make the right decisions, block OK, and I got the lead from AJ and was able to manage the run. Just a crazy night.”

The race was a boon not only for Byron, who leads the Playoff standings, but for winless drivers around the Playoff bubble. First, there was no new winner in the series to reduce the number of spots available on points.

Moreover, Suárez, Allmendinger and McDowell improved their chances with top-five finishes. Those three drivers all gained ground on Chase Elliott, who is trying to qualify for the Playoffs despite missing seven of the 19 races this season.

Elliott wasn’t a factor on Sunday night, failing to earn any stage points and finishing 13th.

Despite his early struggles, Byron was pleased that handling played such an important part in the racing on the recently repaved racing surface.

“It was awesome—that’s all you can ask for on a superspeedway,” Byron said. “We want handling to matter. We want to be able to drive the things. I felt like the first stage was really fun. I was able to make some moves on the bottom.

“And you’re lifting every corner, so it’s different than a 550 (horsepower) old-style race. It’s more packed up, but still handling matters, and guys can make aggressive moves… I’m thankful for the whole team and just staying in it, ‘cause we were a lap down, and it could have been over.”

The race started with team owner Richard Childress driving pace laps in the No. 29 Chevrolet that launched Kevin Harvick’s career with an Atlanta win after Dale Earnhardt’s death in 2001. It wasn’t Harvick’s night, however. After a late spin, he finished 30th in his final run at Atlanta. Harvick is retiring from Cup racing at the end of the season.

  • Drivers Entered: 37
  • Laps Scheduled: 260
  • Laps Actual: 185 - Race Shortened
  • Margin of Victory: Under Caution Seconds
  • Time of Race: 2 Hours 24 Minutes 17 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 118.475
  • Cautions: 7 for 43 laps
  • Lead Changes: 18
  • Green Flag Passes: 4,978 (35.1 passes per green flag lap)

  • Atlanta Motor Speedway
  • Quaker State 400 available at Walmart
  • Race Winner: William Byron
  • Age: 25
  • Team : No. 24 - Axalta Chevrolet
  • Owner: Rick Hendrick
  • Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
  • William Byron won the Quaker State 400 available at Walmart, his eighth victory in 199 Cup Series races.
  • This is his fourth victory and 11th top-10 finish in 2023.
  • This is his second victory and third top-10 finish in nine races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
  • Daniel Suarez (second) posted his fourth top-10 finish in ten races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It is his sixth top-10 finish in 2023.
  • AJ Allmendinger (third) posted his fourth top-10 finish in 15 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
  • Noah Gragson (33rd) was the highest finishing rookie.
  • William Byron leads the point standings by 21 points over Martin Truex Jr..
Aric Almirola looks on during qualifying
Hampton, Georgia - July 8, 2023 : Aric Almirola, driver of the #10 Smithfield/IHOP Ford, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Alex SlitzGetty Images
Race lineup for the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
START VEH # DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR TEAM CREW CHIEF
1 10 Aric Almirola Ford Smithfield / IHOP Stewart-haas Racing Drew Blickensderfer
2 12 Ryan Blaney Ford Wurth Team Penske Jonathan Hassler
3 14 Chase Briscoe Ford Magical Vacation Planner Stewart-haas Racing Richard Boswell
4 22 Joey Logano Ford Shell Pennzoil Team Penske Paul Wolfe
5 21 Harrison Burton Ford DEX Imaging Wood Brothers Racing Brian Wilson
6 4 Kevin Harvick Ford Hunt Brothers Pizza Stewart-haas Racing Rodney Childers
7 54 Ty Gibbs Toyota He Gets us Joe Gibbs Racing Chris Gayle
8 5 Kyle Larson Chevrolet HendrickCars.com Hendrick Motorsports Cliff Daniels
9 38 Todd Gilliland Ford Georgia Peanuts Front Row Motorsports Ryan Bergenty
10 2 Austin Cindric Ford Menards\Quaker State Team Penske Jeremy Bullins
11 6 Brad Keselowski Ford Castrol Edge Rfk Racing Matt McCall
12 45 Tyler Reddick Toyota The Beast Unleashed 23xi Racing Billy Scott
13 41 Ryan Preece Ford Sony Mobile ES Stewart-haas Racing Chad Johnston
14 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota Coca-Cola Joe Gibbs Racing Chris Gabehart
15 17 Chris Buescher Ford Fastenal Rfk Racing Scott Graves
16 19 Martin Truex Jr Toyota Auto-Owners Insurance Joe Gibbs Racing James Small
17 31 Justin Haley Chevrolet LeafFilter Gutter Protection Kaulig Racing Trent Owens
18 24 William Byron Chevrolet Axalta Hendrick Motorsports Rudy Fugle
19 16 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet Farmsmart Kaulig Racing Matt Swiderski
20 34 Michael McDowell Ford FR8Auctions.com Front Row Motorsports Travis Peterson
21 51 Cole Custer Ford Jacob Companies Rick Ware Racing Billy Plourde
22 8 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Richard Childress Racing Randall Burnett
23 9 Chase Elliott Chevrolet NAPA/Children's Hendrick Motorsports Alan Gustafson
24 15 JJ Yeley Ford Patriot Mobile Rick Ware Racing Jerry Kelley
25 43 Erik Jones Chevrolet Allegiant Legacy Motor Club Dave Elenz
26 99 Daniel Suarez Chevrolet Quaker State Trackhouse Racing Travis Mack
27 77 Ty Dillon Chevrolet Raze Energy Blue Shock Spire Motorsports Kevin Bellicourt
28 7 Corey Lajoie Chevrolet Gainbridge Spire Motorsports Ryan Sparks
29 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Chevrolet Kroger/Slim Jim Jtg Daugherty Racing Mike Kelley
30 1 Ross Chastain Chevrolet Worldwide Express Trackhouse Racing Phil Surgen
31 42 Noah Gragson Chevrolet Sunseeker Resort Legacy Motor Club Luke Lambert
32 62 Austin Hill Chevrolet Bennett Transportation/Beard Beard Motorsports Darren Shaw
33 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet Dow Salutes Veterans Richard Childress Racing Keith Rodden
34 20 Christopher Bell Toyota Rheem Joe Gibbs Racing Adam Stevens
35 78 BJ McLeod Chevrolet Gunk Live Fast Motorsports David Ingram
36 48 Alex Bowman Chevrolet Ally Hendrick Motorsports Blake Harris
37 23 Bubba Wallace Toyota Leidos 23xi Racing Bootie Barker