Live updates: NASCAR race at Atlanta sees Joey Logano edge Brad Keselowski for the win

Live updates have ended for this race. For a full race recap, click here — and stay tuned at charlotteobserver.com for more post-race content.

Charlotte Observer NASCAR reporter Alex Zietlow will be passing along live updates throughout Sunday’s Cup race from Atlanta Motor Speedway in the section below. Refresh for the latest news. Full results will be posted at the end of the race.

Unofficial results from NASCAR Cup Race: Logano wins

Live updates from Atlanta Motor Speedway

Stage 3

Lap 260: Joey Logano! Wow! After a clean 50 laps — one that featured some classic two-lined superspeedway racing and had Brad Keselowski at the front — Logano made his move on the outside. Keselowski tried to block him on top, but Logano’s car was simply too fast. That makes Logano’s first win ever at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Watch that final lap below.

Lap 208: Another wreck! Aric Almirola! Just as we go green again, the No. 10 car blows a tire and catches Kyle Larson as he loses control. The 5 then spins and knocks into the wall. Larson’s day is done. So are the days of Almirola and Daniel Suarez.) Fifty laps to go. New lineup: Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Justin Haley, Denny Hamlin, Todd Gilliland, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Corey LaJoie.

Lap 195: A pretty interesting pit stop — which includes Ross Chastain having to drive in the grass and Denny Hamlin getting blocked by Ty Dillon — has shaken up the leadership once more. Off pit road: Aric Almirola, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Chastain, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Corey LaJoie.

Lap 190: We might’ve just seen Atlanta’s version of The Big One. Kevin Harvick and Ross Chastain appeared to get entangled on Turn 2, and then Harvick got loose, and then a bunch of cars collected behind him. No damage for Chastain. Harvick is done for the day. So is Chris Buescher and William Byron. Ryan Blaney back on the lead lap. We’re going to have a fun restart: Chastain and Denny Hamlin are running 1-2 during this caution. See for yourself below.

Lap 179: The first part of Stage 3 has been eventful. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. found himself in the lead after only taking two tires at the stage break caution pit stop. He threw a ton of blocks. His racing effectively buried the Team Penske drivers that have run out front all day and paved the way for Denny Hamlin to take the lead. Now we’re seeing three-wide turns and two even lines. This should be a fun ending. Also: Don’t look now, but Ross Chastain started 25th at the restart and is now running fifth.

Lap 162: Only have had three cautions for 12 laps thus far. Only one caution for cause. A third clean race in as many weekends in the Cup Series — much different than Saturday’s races. The positioning after pit stops under yellow: Aric Almirola (took fuel only), Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (only took two tires), Alex Bowman, William Byron, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch.

Stage 2

Lap 160: This race thus far reminds me of Henry David Thoreau — but instead of “simplify, simplify” ... it’s “single file, single file.” That’s what most of Stage 2 was, at least. Outside of a few attempts from Noah Gragson and Kyle Larson to no avail, everyone has run in the top line. Kyle Busch started the stage out front, but Joey Logano climbed up to take P1 again early and held on most of the way. But then! Pit stops under green cycled through. Racing picked up. Only disaster: Ryan Blaney caught speeding on pit road; he served a pass-through penalty and will have to work just to make it back on the lead lap. Fuel-only pit stops thrusted three Hendrick cars (Alex Bowman, Josh Berry, William Byron) into the Top 10. Logano and Austin Cindric cycled out as leaders and were able to hold off another 1-2 stage finish. But it was Cindric who took the win. Stage 2 results: Cindric, Logano, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Corey LaJoie.

Lap 135: Ryan Blaney too fast on pit road! That’ll likely cost the No. 12 car two laps. Christopher Bell stayed out longer than everyone else, but it’s Joey Logano who will cycle out as the leader with teammate Austin Cindric right behind him.

Lap 132: And the pit stops under green begin. Austin Dillon is first — took forever to get there; might have run out of gas? Kyle Busch follows and is sure to not speed on pit road. (He’s done that three times before. But a speeding penalty will effectively end your day at Atlanta Motor Speedway.) Martin Truex Jr. took his trip when KB did. Then Brad Keselowski, then all of Team Penske. Dang, 45 mph has never looked so painfully slow!

Lap 64: Now that’s an exciting pit stop! Kyle Busch gained five positions down pit road after a lightning-fast four-tire pit stop. He’ll be followed by Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric and Joey Logano — who lost five spots in large part because he needed to replenish all the fuel he burned from leading all of Stage 1.

Stage 1

Lap 60: And Joey Logano has led every lap of Sunday’s race! The 22 notches his first stage win of the season For most of Stage 1, the inside line isn’t worth trying— just ask Kyle Larson, who was running in the Top 5 for much of Stage 1 before he tried to make a pass at the bottom before no one followed him and therefore fell down the field like a piece of paper. There was a brief two-lane moment at the end of Stage 1, but the same characters held onto their positions. Those earning stage points (in order): Logano, Austin Cindric, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell (who started the race at the rear!), Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez and Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 45: Checking in. Looks like the Cup drivers learned from the caution-cluttered Xfinity and truck races of Saturday. They’re all well-behaved. Nearly the entire field is running in single-file on the top line, led by Joey Logano, Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney — the Team Penske drivers who began the race 1-2-3. Stage 1 almost done.

Lap 10: Early caution! Bubba Wallace spins out on the backstretch without any contact with anyone else. Unclear what happened exactly. A lot of left-front damage to the 23 now. Wallace making the exceptionally long trip down pit road. Getting work on the car now under yellow.

Lap 4: The speed of the Fords this weekend has be well documented. (They notched the top eight spots in qualifying.) But the fact that all three Team Penske drivers are going 1-2-3 could loom extra large. Joey Logano, Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney are single-file on the top line.

Green flag! 3:20 p.m.: Let’s do this!

3:10 p.m.: Engines fired!

3:02 p.m.: Christopher Bell will have to drop to the rear for unapproved adjustments. Joe Gibbs Racing’s 20 car was supposed to start P10.

2:57 p.m.: Another update on Reddick: He has the stomach bug, per FOX Sports, but will try his best to run on Sunday. John Hunter Nemechek is on standby for the 45 today.

2:44 p.m.: Tyler Reddick is feeling a bit sick, so the 45 car team adjusted the race car’s seat in case John Hunter Nemechek needed to replace Reddick. Things seem all good for Reddick to run, though. He was announced in driver introductions. Still something to keep an eye on nonetheless. (Nemechek drove in both the Truck Series and Xfinity Series races this weekend already.)

1:44 p.m.: The Cup race is undeniably the main draw at Atlanta Motor Speedway. But Saturday was nonetheless... eventful. It featured a bunch of drivers weighing in on the Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain quarrel, a competitive truck race, a Twitter-blazing Xfinity park (?) and then an exciting Xfinity finish.

1:31 p.m.: Some pre-race timing: Driver introductions will begin at 2:30 p.m., followed by the invocation at 3 p.m., then the national anthem at 3:01 p.m., then the command at 3:08 p.m., then the green flag at 3:19 p.m.

1:25 p.m.: Kevin Harvick’s retirement tour has been riddled with milestones, but Atlanta is particularly special to the all-time great driver. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver, who will start in P6, notched his first win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2001. He was robbed of a win at Phoenix Raceway last week. Can the No. 4 car get into Victory Lane today?

How to watch NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta

• Race: Ambetter Health 400
• Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway
• Date: Sunday, March 19
• Time: 3 p.m. ET
• Purse: $8,725,965
• TV: FOX, 2 p.m. ET
• Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 400 miles
• Laps: 260 laps around 1.54-mile track
• Stages: Stage 1 (Lap 60), Stage 2 (Lap 160), Final Stage (Lap 260)

Cup Series starting lineup

This story was originally published March 19, 2023 at 1:24 PM.

Alex Zietlow

The Charlotte Observer

Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22. Support my work with a digital subscription