ATLANTA 2
Saturday, September 7 — NASCAR Xfinity Series, 3 p.m. ET (USA)
Sunday, September 8 — NASCAR Cup Series, 3 p.m. ET (USA)
The NASCAR Cup Series will open its playoff season for the first time at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend as part of a doubleheader that will also see the NASCAR Xfinity Series in action. Six Ford drivers have qualified to compete for the championship, most among manufacturers, including each of the last two titleholders in Ryan Blaney (2023) and Joey Logano (2022).
FORD DRIVERS IN THE CUP SERIES PLAYOFFS
DRIVER – SEED (CUT LINE)
Ryan Blaney – 5th (+13)
Brad Keselowski – 8th (+3)
Joey Logano – 9th (+2)
Austin Cindric – 10th (+2)
Chase Briscoe – 13th (+0)
Harrison Burton – 14th (+0)
SECOND HALF SURGE
Ford enters the NASCAR Cup Series postseason having won back-to-back races at Daytona and Darlington and has been surging in the second half of the year with the new Mustang Dark Horse. The Blue Oval ended the regular season winning seven of the last 14 points races with the six Playoff drivers all delivering at least one victory and defending champion Ryan Blaney two (Iowa and Pocono). Not included in that streak is Joey Logano’s win in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
PLAYOFF APPEARANCES SINCE 2014
NASCAR began the current 16-driver playoff elimination format in 2014 and this season Ford will have a manufacturer-best six drivers battling for the championship. This will mark the 10th time Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have qualified in this latest iteration of the postseason while defending series champion Ryan Blaney will be making his eighth appearance. Chase Briscoe’s dramatic win at Darlington Raceway puts him in the postseason for the second time, which is the same scenario for Austin Cindric after his victory at World Wide Technology Raceway. Meanwhile, Harrison Burton will be making his first playoff appearance after winning in Daytona two weeks ago.
PLAYOFF APPEARANCES IN CURRENT FORMAT
Brad Keselowski – 10
Joey Logano – 10
Ryan Blaney – 8
Chase Briscoe – 2
Austin Cindric – 2
Harrison Burton – 1
FORD’S ALL-TIME PLAYOFF RECORD
Ford has 52 all-time NASCAR Cup Series playoff victories since the postseason era started in 2004. Kurt Busch won the inaugural race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway that year and rode that momentum to the series championship. Since then, a total of 13 drivers have captured at least one playoff event with Joey Logano leading the way with 12. Brad Keselowski is next with six Ford playoff victories (8 overall) while Ryan Blaney won twice in the playoffs a year ago at Talladega and Martinsville.
KESELOWSKI GETS FIRST CUP WIN FOR MUSTANG
Brad Keselowski gave Mustang its first NASCAR Cup Series victory as he held off Martin Truex Jr. at the finish line to win the Folds of Honor 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2019. Keselowski, who was battling an illness all weekend and had Austin Cindric standing by in case he needed relief, led the final 33 laps to post his 28th career victory. In all, Ford led 177 of the 325 laps and won for the third straight year at the 1.5-mile track.
THREE TO GO
Even though the NASCAR Cup Series opens its Playoffs this weekend, the NASCAR Xfinity Series still has three races left in its regular season. Ford drivers Riley Herbst and defending champion Cole Custer have already secured their spots in the 12-driver field while Ryan Sieg is squarely on the bubble. The Georgia native heads to his hometown track on Saturday looking to carve into a 10-point deficit that currently has him on the outside looking in. Sieg finished 22nd in the first race at AMS earlier this year and has two top-10 finishes in 14 career starts.
FORD’S ATLANTA CUP SERIES WINNERS
1961 – Fred Lorenzen
1962 – Fred Lorenzen
1963 – Fred Lorenzen
1964 – Fred Lorenzen and Ned Jarrett
1965 – Marvin Panch (Sweep)
1967 – Cale Yarborough and Dick Hutcherson
1968 – LeeRoy Yarbrough
1969 – LeeRoy Yarbrough
1975 – Buddy Baker
1978 – Bobby Allison
1981 – Neil Bonnett
1985 – Bill Elliott (Sweep)
1987 – Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliott
1990 – Morgan Shepherd
1991 – Mark Martin
1992 – Bill Elliott (Sweep)
1993 – Morgan Shepherd
1994 – Ernie Irvan and Mark Martin
1997 – Dale Jarrett
2002 – Kurt Busch
2005 – Carl Edwards (Sweep)
2008 – Carl Edwards
2017 – Brad Keselowski
2018 – Kevin Harvick
2019 – Brad Keselowski
2020 – Kevin Harvick
2021 – Ryan Blaney (1)
2023 – Joey Logano (1)
