2024 Trackhouse Racing Advance – Atlanta - Speedway Digest

NASCAR holds the first of 10 races in its 2024 Playoffs Sunday with the Quaker State 400 available at Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga.

Between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Atlanta underwent a facelift that saw the banking increase from 24 to 28 degrees in the turns and the width of the racing surface consolidated from 55 to 40 feet. The changes made Atlanta a third drafting-style track on the circuit, producing similar racing to what has been the staple at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Few have done better than Daniel Suárez.

He owns four top-six finishes in five races since the reconfiguration including a victory in February when he and runner-up Ryan Blaney were separated by 0.003 seconds at the finish line. It was the fourth-closest finish in series history, and with third-place Kyle Busch just 0.007 seconds behind the winner, it also stands as the closest finish among three cars in the history of auto racing.

He will need another good finish Sunday if he hopes to advance to the second round of the playoffs. NASCAR will eliminate four of the 16 playoff drivers every three races until the final four drivers will battle for the championship in a winner-take-all race at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 10.

Playoff Standings

WWEX Group: This weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., Ross Chastain will pilot the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro with the blue-and-black livery of WWEX Group for the second time in three weeks. The Florida native most recently drove the WWEX Group paint scheme to a 12th-place finish two weeks ago at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Chastain will also pilot the No. 1 WWEX Group Chevy for upcoming races at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway later this month and Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October.
Season Stats: Chastain narrowly missed the playoffs, even with the sixth best average finish of 14.4 among fulltime Cup Series drivers. Chastain, who scored the 10th most points of any driver in the 2024 regular season, will not be in the playoffs because 14 drivers won races and two drivers ahead of him in points grabbed the final two playoff positions. Chastain has earned nine top-10s in 26 races so far this season and ranks 11th in most laps led with 178.
Meet Chastain: Sunday at 11 a.m. ET, Chastain will sign autographs at the Georgia Office of Highway Safety booth located in the Atlanta fan midway. Wristband required - distribution begins on Saturday at the booth.
Atlanta Stats: While driving the No. 1 Chevrolet in five Cup Series races for Trackhouse Racing, Chastain has two runner-up finishes, seventh and 13th-place finishes and an accident ended one race prematurely. He's led 79 laps at the 1.5-mile track.
Last Weekend at Darlington: Chastain entered Sunday night's race looking for a win at one of his favorite tracks. A win would've automatically locked him into the playoffs. He came up just short of a win with a fifth-place finish and led three laps at the South Carolina track.
NASCAR: Full Speed: Catch Chastain in the five-episode docuseries NASCAR: Full Speed on Netflix. The series documented portions of Chastain's 2023 season on and off the track. All five episodes are currently available on Netflix.
2023 Season Recap: Chastain won at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in June and at the Phoenix Raceway season finale in November. He posted 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in his third full time Cup season. The Alva, Florida native finished ninth in points.

Ross Chastain Career Statistics

Chastain Quotes:

Thoughts on Atlanta?

“Drafting has proved to be really important at Atlanta with this version of the car. I’ve run pretty well there with this configuration of the track and this car. The racing is even a little bit different from our superspeedway races even though drafting is a huge part of it. Its kind of wild to think that’s how Atlanta is now. I’ve got a couple of second-place finishes at Atlanta and it would be awesome to drive into victory lane in the WWEX Group Chevy.”

What are your goals now that the playoffs have started?

“Obviously, we want to be in the playoffs, that’s the goal every year but we’re not laying down. We are still going out to win races. I feel like we’ve had more speed in the car here lately which is important and will certainly help us in our effort to win in the last 10 races of the season. I’ve got a great group of people at Trackhouse who are focused on getting back to victory lane and I can’t wait to get there.”

About WWEX Group:

WWEX Group, the parent brand of Worldwide Express, GlobalTranz and Unishippers, is a top-ranked, full-service logistics provider offering supercharged parcel, less-than-truckload (LTL), truckload and managed transportation shipping services for customers nationwide. Customers benefit from enhanced visibility and value-driven solutions, thanks to the company’s logistics experts, proprietary technology, unique data assets and business intelligence capabilities. The WWEX Racing initiative was born of a desire to address the complex but underserved shipping needs of the performance motorsports industry, using the unique combination of capabilities offered by the three brands’ combined 80+ years of expertise.

Quaker State partnered with Daniel Suárez to design the No. 99’s paint scheme which he will race this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. Suárez worked with artists at Trackhouse Racing and the company to create a design incorporating elements from his hometown of Monterrey, Mexico.

The design includes symbolic elements like an eagle, mountains, flags, a checkered flag, a Mexican flag and a rose on the hood all which have meaning to Suárez and the citizens of Mexico.

“That was a lot of fun and I’m honored Quaker State would let me work on the design. I hope everyone thinks it is as cool as I do. Let’s see how fast it is this weekend in Atlanta.”

Watch the video on the Creation of the Atlanta Scheme

video

Suárez Notes

Playoffs: Suárez begins the 10-race playoffs in 11th, just one point ahead of the 12th and final position to transfer into the second round. Four of the 16 playoff drivers will be eliminated every three races. The first round includes Atlanta, Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. After three rounds, the remaining four drivers will compete in a winner-take-all championship on Nov. 10 at Phoenix Raceway.
Last time at Atlanta: Suárez is the most recent winner in Atlanta. He and runner-up Ryan Blaney were separated by 0.003 seconds at the finish line. It was the fourth-closest finish in series history, and with third-place Kyle Busch just 0.007 seconds behind the winner, it also stands as the closest finish among three cars in the history of auto racing.
Since the Atlanta Remodeling: Suárez owns four top-six finishes in five races since the reconfiguration including a victory in February.
Returning in 2025: Trackhouse Racing announced in August that Suárez and Freeway Insurance will return to the No. 99 Chevrolet racing team for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, marking their fifth season together. Freeway will be the primary sponsor for one-third of the 2025 season, including the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR All-Star race.
Married Man/Racer: Suárez married his fiancé Julia Piquet at a ceremony on July 30 in Brazil. Four days later he raced in the NASCAR Brazil race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, better known as Interlagos. He won one of the three races and battled for victory in the other two races.
Making History: Suárez owns the unique accomplishment of winning in NASCAR Mexico and Brazil Series in addition to all three American series. Suárez won the 150-lap Mexico Series race at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Feb. 3. It was his 11th victory.




Suárez is Now a Dual Citizen of Mexico and the United States: Suárez took the Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony on June 18 in front of media, friends, the NASCAR industry and NASCAR President Steve Phelps who gave the keynote address to the 48 new citizens from 28 countries who joined Suárez at the ceremony. The 32-year-old, Monterrey, Mexico native came to America about 13 years ago without speaking English. He passed the United States Citizenship test on April 29 in Charlotte before taking the final step on June 18. He is now a dual citizen of Mexico and the United States. 





Trackhouse Victories: Atlanta marked Trackhouse Racing's seventh win in the NASCAR Cup Series, and first at Atlanta. Chastain owns four victories, Suárez two and one for Shane van Gisbergen.
First Mexican to Win in Cup: Suárez became the first driver from Mexico (Monterrey) to win in the NASCAR Cup Series on June 12, 2022, at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
International Driver: He is one of six drivers not from the United States to win a NASCAR Cup Series race: Shane van Gisbergen (New Zealand), Marcos Ambrose (Australia), Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia), Earl Ross (Canada) and Mario Andretti (Italy). Ambrose, Montoya, and Suárez own two victories each.
Cup Career Highlights: Suárez owns two victories (Sonoma 2022 and Atlanta 2024) and three Busch Light Pole Awards - Pocono (Pa.) Raceway July 2018, Kentucky Speedway July 2019, and on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway August 2023.

Daniel Suárez Career Statistics

Suárez Quotes:

As the most recent winner at Atlanta Motor Speedway, are you excited for that to be the first race in the playoffs?

“I think that’s something that’s pretty cool. That definitely brings some extra energy and excitement into our playoff run. So yeah, that’s exciting. Hopefully we can have a good run, hopefully a win. That would be awesome. We just need to push hard, work hard, and hopefully we can give them a run for their money.”

What do you remember about the finish of that race?

“It’s everything about working together, mainly with your manufacturer. The Fords were very strong. If you put the Fords together, they were going to be very strong. My job was to try and split them, and I did a good job with that. But with that being said, Austin Cindric was not really helping me because he knew I was going to make a run on his teammate. It was a little bit tricky. Luckily, things worked out for us. The No. 23 (Bubba Wallace) gave a good push to the No. 8 (Kyle Busch), and that put him in the position to have a run at the No. 12 (Ryan Blaney). I was able to stick with the No. 8 to get a run on him, as well.

“Honestly, to me, Atlanta (Motor Speedway) is almost like a chess match. You just have to be very strategic with your moves. You have to be fast. Everything happens so quick. But yeah, it’s just very important to work with your manufacturer.”

How is Atlanta Motor Speedway different from the bigger superspeedway-style tracks, like Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway?

“It’s similar, but it’s different. Everything happens so quick. The pushes and stuff; they do happen similarly, but everything happens so quick and you have to have a very good handling car. The corners are tighter, so you have to have a very good handling car, as well.

“It’s not a superspeedway, but it’s not a mile-and-a-half anymore. It’s a hybrid and I think because of that, we all love it. It’s just a very different kind of race track. I’m biased, but personally, I enjoy it.”

Trackhouse Racing PR