Larson, Bell, and Reddick lead the NASCAR Cup playoff standings, while Palou holds a 33-point advantage heading into the IndyCar season finale.
NASCAR CUP SERIES
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Site: Hampton, Georgia.
Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 12:30 p.m.; Sunday, race, 3 p.m. (USA).
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Race distance: 260 laps, 400.4 miles.
Last year: William Byron won the rain-shortened race after 185 laps, regrouping from an early-race spin that put him a lap down. It marked his fourth victory of the season and second in as many years. Daniel Suarez was second and A.J. Allmendinger third as Chevys swept the top three spots.
Last race: Chase Briscoe’s three-wide, late-race pass over Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain won Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington to qualify for the playoffs. It also allowed Stewart-Haas Racing to pursue a third and final championship before shutting down after the season. Briscoe held off Kyle Busch with Christopher Bell third. Tyler Reddick’s 10th-place finish clinched the regular-season championship by a point over Larson, who led 263 laps before Briscoe passed him.
Fast facts: NASCAR’s playoffs begin just south of Atlanta at one of its fastest tracks, a 1.54-mile quadoval with superspeedway qualities like Daytona and Talladega and a similar rules package to boot. Turns feature 28-degree banking and are tighter than its larger, longer counterparts, and lap speeds under 30 seconds are common. … Atlanta starts the Cup playoffs this year because of the Olympic break and was moved from July after several years. … Larson (four wins) tops the 16-driver playoff field with Bell seeded second and Reddick third. … Daniel Suárez earned his way into the playoffs with his thrilling three-wide, photo-finish victory in the February spring race, edging Ryan Blaney by .003 seconds and Kyle Busch by .007. Suárez is seeded 11th in the playoff field.
Next race: Sept. 15, Watkins Glen, New York.
