Atlanta winners and losers

A look at the winners and losers following Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway…

William Byron: Byron became the third driver from Hendrick Motorsports’ four-car stable to win in the past four races courtesy of his win at Atlanta. In a race that was statistically unpredictable — there were a track-record 46 different lead changes among 20 drivers, another track record — Byron proved to be the one constant. The No. 24 Chevrolet paced the field for a race-high 111 of 325 laps, controlling the field from the front when despite multiple late restarts. Byron’s year began with DNFs at both Daytona and Auto Club, but his rebounds since have been decent, finishing fifth at Las Vegas and 18th at Phoenix. This victory gives Byron wins in each of the past three seasons, including triumphs at Daytona in August 2020 and Homestead-Miami in February 2021.

What a day!! We never stopped working. Crazy racing today at Atlanta. So thankful, winning in Cup is special. pic.twitter.com/ZaOWIyUZFE

— William Byron (@WilliamByron) March 21, 2022

Ross Chastain: How impressive has Chastain been? His second-place finish Sunday is his second straight runner-up result and third consecutive top-three effort. Chastain scored three top fives during the entire 2021 season. He’s already tied that mark within five races in 2022, all while competing for Trackhouse Racing, which is in the midst of its first year as a two-car program. This hot streak might not soon be over. Chastain scored a fourth-place finish at Circuit of the Americas last year, and the series heads there next.

Kurt Busch: Somehow, someway, Kurt Busch keeps clicking off solid runs. Even though he was involved in a Lap-145 crash that began when Tyler Reddick spun from