In the closing laps of the Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19th, 2023, a pair of NASCAR Ford Mustang race cars showed the way for the rest of the field. Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 Mustang was certainly a dominant force during the race, but ultimately, he couldn’t block the No. 22 Mustang of Joey Logano when it counted most. At the end of the day, Logano and the No. 22 Mustang ended up in Victory Lane after starting on the pole.
On the final lap, Logano’s No. 22 Mustang benefitted from a push from the No. 20 Toyota TRD Camry of Christopher Bell, allowing him to complete the pass on Keselowski’s No. 6 Mustang. Logano then dove the No. 22 NASCAR Ford onto the bottom lane, sealing the deal and holding off Keselowski’s No. 6 Mustang by .193 seconds at the line.
“Yeah, first off so special to win Atlanta for me,” said Logano. “So many memories of me and my dad racing right here on the quarter mile [in the Legends division]. This is the full circle for us. So many memories gritting over there with the Legends car, racing, having a big time.”
He added, “Dreaming of going straight at the quarter mile and going onto the big track. That was always the dream to do it. To finally win here means so much to me here personally, but the team.”
Despite being disappointed at his second-place result, Keselowski kept his chin up, and said, “The coolest thing about this race is two veterans showed you can run a race here side-by-side, bump-drafting, and not wreck the field. It can happen if you race respectfully. I thought everybody did a great job.” He added, “We were right there. Proud of my team and the effort. Nothing much we could do there at the end.”
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the NASCAR Ford teams, however. Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Mustang got aero-loose off the nose of the No. 1 Camaro of Ross Chastain, triggering a massive wreck on Lap 190, and Aric Almirola’s No. 10 Mustang blew a tire while leading just a few laps later.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Autotrader Ford | 260 | 140 | Ford Mustang |
| 2 | 4 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | King's Hawaiian Ford | 260 | 47 | Ford Mustang |
| 3 | 10 | 20 | Christopher Bell | DeWalt Toyota | 260 | 6 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 4 | 31 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Celsius Chevrolet | 260 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 5 | 16 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | Xfinity 10G Network Toyota | 260 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 6 | 14 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Shingrix Toyota | 260 | 14 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 7 | 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | BodyArmor Smart Water Ford | 260 | 5 | Ford Mustang |
| 8 | 28 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 260 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 9 | 35 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 260 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 10 | 17 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Lenovo Chevrolet | 260 | 7 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 11 | 2 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Menards/Knauf Ford | 260 | 5 | Ford Mustang |
| 12 | 22 | 42 | Noah Gragson # | Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet | 260 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 13 | 18 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Advent Health Chevrolet | 260 | 5 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 14 | 15 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 260 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 23 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Gary Martin Hays Ford | 260 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 16 | 30 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Action Industries Chevrolet | 260 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 17 | 27 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/Nature Valley Chevrolet | 260 | 7 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 21 | 9 | Josh Berry(i) | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 260 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 29 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 260 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 20 | 13 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Andy's Frozen Custard Chevrolet | 260 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 12 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Fr8Auctions.com Ford | 260 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 22 | 20 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 260 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 23 | 26 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Ferris Commercial Mowers Chevrolet | 260 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 8 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | HighPoint.com Ford | 259 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | 32 | 51 | Cody Ware | Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford | 258 | 1 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 34 | 15 | JJ Yeley(i) | Barnett Southern Corporation Ford | 258 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 27 | 19 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | DoorDash Toyota | 255 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 28 | 24 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Ford | 244 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 29 | 25 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet | 213 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 30 | 5 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 208 | 17 | Ford Mustang |
| 31 | 9 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 208 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 32 | 11 | 24 | William Byron | Liberty University Chevrolet | 192 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 33 | 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Busch Light Ford | 190 | 1 | Ford Mustang |
| 34 | 33 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 190 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 35 | 7 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Violet Defense Ford | 189 | 5 | Ford Mustang |
| 36 | 36 | 78 | BJ McLeod | B'laster Chevrolet | 189 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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