Quaker State 400 under red flag due to rain
Stop me if this sounds familiar – the NASCAR Quaker State 400 is under a red flag due to rain at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It really does seem like bad weather follows NASCAR wherever it goes. This time it is Georgia with the storms keeping drivers off the race track.
Of course, Chicago last week was marred by terrible weather. Just as we were progressing in the Quaker State 400, the clouds opened up. Lightning and rain are going to make this a long night as NASCAR races under the lights.
When you race at night, it is great for fans to avoid the hot weather of the day. However, storms are just waiting to pop up and ruin the festivities. Here is the news via Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. Red flag until further notice.
This is unfortunate. This race was getting better with every stage and every lap. The rain came through and poured on the NASCAR event. Atlanta Motor Speedway is definitely one of those tracks that you need to watch now. This track has aged perfectly and will just get better in the coming years.
With the red flag out, the race has been halted after 185 laps. Before the flag came out, the race was under caution for an incident involving Bubba Wallace and Ryan Preece. After running caution laps, the decision was made to bring everyone to pit road.
William Byron wins weather-shortened Quaker State 400
NASCAR looked at the situation in front of them, the amount of rain, how long it would rain, how late it was – and they called this race. William Byron was the leader at the time and was declared the winner. This race was going to go 260 laps but after 185 it was over.
Byron was part of a group of 11 drivers that stayed out after Stage 2 and it paid off. AJ Allmendinger was the leader after the break and he held his own. However, there were other cars, like Byron, that were faster. The 24 went by and the 99 of Daniel Suárez was right behind. While the Trackhouse driver was fast, perhaps faster than Byron, the Hendrick wheelman held his own.
William Byron did have to earn this win, his fourth of the season. He fought off Suárez and was looking really solid. Teams were all dealing with fuel issues as they made decisions on whether or not they should pit with the weather coming in. Those that stayed out, and had the fuel to do so, were able to turn this into a solid finish.
Suárez was second as Allmendinger came in third. Michael McDowell in fourth, Kyle Busch fifth, followed by Brad Keselowski, JJ Yeley, Justin Haley, Ryan Blaney, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to round out the top 10.