Previewing the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta

While the NASCAR Cup Series season officially begins with the Daytona 500 each year, spiritually the second race of the season often marks the beginning of the year-long fight for the championship.

In so many ways, the Daytona 500 is a stand-alone spectacle, the Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing, the biggest event on the calendar. Teams dedicate entire offseasons preparing their Daytona entry, and the Daytona 500 often features several teams that might only race a handful of events for the remainder of the year, if at all.

That second date on the calendar moved to Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2024. That race produced a three-wide finish with Daniel Suarez finishing ahead of Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch, .007 seconds separating the three drivers.

Bouncing Back From Rough Starts at Daytona

In that same vein, Atlanta is the first chance for those who suffered misfortune in the Daytona 500 to put it in the proverbial rear-view mirror. As disappointing as losing out as a shot to win the Great American Race may be, a long season awaits.

NASCAR Power Rankings: Carnage Shakes Things Up Post-Daytona

Perhaps no one will be hungrier on that list of drivers than Kyle Busch. A late-race incident end his chance to win the Daytona 500th in his 20th attempt. Furthermore, Busch missed out on the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs in 2024, the near-miss at Atlanta looming large in hindsight alongside a pair of runner-up finishes to close out the regular season.

After Team Penske's dominance for most of the Daytona 500, it's safe to expect Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric to be in the mix. Like Busch, Logano and Blaney were collected in the incident with 15 laps to go in the Daytona 500.

Keep an eye on other superspeedway racing standouts such as Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Michael McDowell to bounce back in Atlanta.

Can William Byron Go Back-to-Back?

Of course, William Byron still has to be mentioned as one of the favorites for Sunday's race. Byron has won twice at Atlanta Motor Speedway since its significant re-profiling ahead of the 2022 season, turning the venerable facility into NASCAR's newest "drafting track."

Byron didn't enjoy that same level of Atlanta success in 2024, with finishes of 17th and ninth in the two races at the Georgia track. However, his past success there - and becoming the youngest multi-time winner of the Daytona 500 - can't be ignored.

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