Winners and losers from an unbelievable NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta

Inclement climate, crimson flags, track-clearing pileups and a last-lap cross by the hometown hero — EchoPark Speedway placed on a present for the ages on Saturday evening. Some are calling it the perfect race of the 12 months with continuous motion all through the pack, even after half the sphere was collected in a mid-race pileup. 

It was additionally the primary race of the five-week in-season problem, and most brackets are absolutely busted already. However with that being stated, here is a have a look at the most important winners and losers from this weekend’s thriller in Atlanta:

WINNER: Hendrick teamwork makes the dream work

On the finish of the Cup race in Atlanta, the RFK teammates overpassed one another however the Hendrick duo of Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman caught collectively. They completely timed the ultimate two laps, shifting up into second and third and leaving the race little nothing he may do. The No. 6 Ford tried to dam, nevertheless it wasn’t sufficient to cease Elliott from finishing a last-lap cross for the lead. And any hope Brad Keselowski had of combating again vanished as Bowman refused to push him, permitting Elliott to snap a 44-race winless streak. 

LOSER: Brad Keselowski loses his golden ticket to the playoffs

Watch: Brad Keselowski talks ‘good effort’ in runner-up end

The one factor that would save Keselowski’s season at this level is a win. He sits twenty seventh in factors and has gone winless this 12 months, however Atlanta was a terrific alternative to rectify that. At one level, he had two teammates lined up behind him however by the point the white flag flew, they had been nowhere to be seen. Sadly, it isn’t the primary time Keselowski has misplaced certainly one of these Atlanta races in a last-lap cross.

WINNER: The race observe for placing on the most effective reveals of the 12 months

Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Photograph by: Sean Gardner / Getty Pictures

Name it Atlanta Motor Speedway, EchoPark Speedway, or no matter you need. It does not change the truth that it simply placed on one unimaginable present. Even a 23-car pileup could not decelerate the motion because the lead modified 46 occasions. 5 completely different drivers led the race within the remaining ten laps. The breath-taking race by no means let up with drivers continuously making large strikes all through the pack and it appeared like nobody may maintain the lead for lengthy. Atlanta has asserted itself as the perfect drafting observe on the schedule and it isn’t even shut.

LOSER: Just about everybody concerned in that 23-car pileup

Photograph by: Krista Jasso / Getty Pictures

Would possibly as properly simply group everybody into this. Of the 23 drivers concerned on this mess, 9 had been unable to proceed. The second stage had barely gotten underway when names like Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Joey Logano, and Ross Chastain had their vehicles destroyed. In truth, this wreck practically assured a brand new winner as seven of the 11 winners this 12 months had been eradicated within the wreck whereas others had been wounded.

WINNER: Ty Dillon with the in-season match upset

Ty Dillon, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Photograph by: Sean Gardner / Getty Pictures

Each the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have been knocked out of the in-season bracket problem, permitting the No. 31 and No. 32 seeds to advance. Most surprisingly, Ty Dillon strikes on over Hamlin, giving him the possibility to combat for a $1 million prize that may be the spotlight of his Cup profession. And he had the proper response for Hamlin followers after the race, saying: “To all of the Denny followers on the market, I simply knocked your favourite driver out.”

LOSER: Ryan Blaney on the flawed place on the flawed time once more

Photograph by: Sean Gardner / Getty Pictures

It is a good factor Ryan Blaney managed to win at Nashville as his season has included six DNFs within the first 18 races. Final 12 months, he had seven in 36 races. Blaney was as soon as once more an harmless bystander as he tried to keep away from the primary wreck of the evening, however as a substitute discovered himself slamming the skin wall. Blaney lamented the dangerous luck, noting how he all the time appears to get “caught up in different individuals’s rubbish.” He completed fortieth (final), which is his worst end in 5 years.

WINNER: The 18-year-old rookie for preserving it clear

Photograph by: David J. Griffin – Icon Sportswire – Getty Pictures

Whereas veterans had been crashing in every single place, 18-year-old Connor Zilisch stored his automobile clear and stayed out of bother, working each single lap and practically scoring a high ten end. He was the perfect of the 4 Trackhouse vehicles as his three teammates did wreck whereas Zilisch positioned eleventh within the No. 87 Purple Bull Chevrolet. He drove like somebody who has been doing this for some time, not a rookie in his fourth profession begin.

LOSER: Stenhouse battles again from a penalty, however misses out on the win

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

Photograph by: Krista Jasso / Getty Pictures

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had the most effective drives of anybody throughout the remaining run of the race. He needed to begin from the rear of the sphere for the final restart because of a penalty, however he rapidly marched ahead. Stenhouse pulled off an excellent three-wide cross for the lead with simply six laps to go, however he couldn’t maintain it because the No. 47 slipped again. He was nonetheless inside the highest 5 on the ultimate lap, however contact with the skin wall triggered him to slide again to sixth. It was nonetheless a powerful consequence however with how shut he was to Victory Lane, he is absolutely questioning what he may have performed otherwise in these remaining few laps.