Joey Logano started on the pole and led 140 of 260 laps to win at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That sounds like a boring race, but Logano went from third to first on the final lap, passing Brad Keselowski for the win.
Logano’s win caps off an incredible weekend where he also won the pole, in a 1-2-3 Penske and 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 Ford start. There weren’t as many Fords up front at the end of the race, but one of them won. Keselowski finished second, and Christopher Bell ended up third. Corey LaJoie put together a very strong effort in his Spire Motorsports Chevy to finish fourth, while Tyler Reddick finished fifth.
Joey Logano passes Brad Keselowski on the final lap and wins at Atlanta! #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/016SIXIbME
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) March 19, 2023
What’s shocking about this race was that not only did the end of the race finish caution-free, it was green for the final 44 laps. A Daytona/Talladega/Atlanta race without a late race caution is as rare as someone winning those races by more than a second, but it happened.
There were some crashes earlier in the race. Bubba Wallace hit the wall early in the race, while big crashes in Stage 3 took out drivers like Kevin Harvick, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Aric Almirola, and Daniel Suárez.
BIG CRASH! Ross Chastain gets Kevin Harvick loose and many cars have damage. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/kofyPAYZ2r
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) March 19, 2023
We got another crash. Leaders Aric Almirola and Kyle Larson crash, along with a few others. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/KPqTEKXhKh
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) March 19, 2023
Many were impressed with the clean run at the end of the race.
Final 44 laps of that race went green. Nicely done by the field to put on some good racing without crashing everyone.
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) March 19, 2023
How a race SHOULD finish with drivers considered to be the best in the world. . Bumpin, blocking, all out but doing so without crossing a line or wrecking. Refreshing. Respect.
— Matthew Dillner (@MatthewDillner) March 19, 2023
Atlanta weekend was very disappointing until the last green-flag run of the NASCAR Cup Series race.
Clean, respectful superspeedway racing that did not end up with any wrecks. Really fun at the end!
— Austin Konenski (@AustinKonenski) March 19, 2023
NASCAR fans when caution every 5 laps: URGGGGG🤬🤬🤬🤬
NASCAR fans when clean hard racing at the end: URGGGGGG🤬🤬🤬🤬
— Justin Champagne (@ChampagneRacin) March 19, 2023
Expected a massive pile-up and another race ending under caution, but instead got a great finish between two veteran champions. Very nice to see. #NASCAR https://t.co/YIY8mTxdwX
— Nick DeGroot (@ndegroot89) March 19, 2023
