Asterisk Mark Report – Atlanta #2 2023

Christopher Bell – Last summer at Atlanta under the lights, Christopher Bell’s race was far from incident free, and he finished an asterisk mark 23rd. In the race, Bell started in the rear of the field, finished 6th in Stage #1, got a pit penalty during the Stage #1 caution, finished 9th in Stage #2 but he then pitted during the Stage #2 caution which dropped him way back in the field, basically dooming him to a 23rd.

Ryan Blaney – Ryan Blaney was one of the best last summer but finished an asterisk mark 9th. In the race, Blaney won Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage # 2, led 20 laps, had the best average running position (4.8), earned the best driver rating but pitted during the Stage #2 caution which dropped him back to the high-teens, and not much of the race was left before it rained.

Ross Chastain – Last summer at Atlanta, Ross Chastain crashed and finished 35th. Chastain was in a slump at that time and couldn’t do anything right, so I wouldn’t read into that race any for him. Chastain ran well at times like many do at superspeedways, but it was nothing special. At the time of his demise, Chastain was running in the low 20’s.

Denny Hamlin – Last summer, Denny Hamlin finished 14th but you can bring out an asterisk mark for that finish. On lap 155 which was late in Stage #2, Denny Hamlin was spun while running in 7th, which dropped him back to the high 20’s, with little left of the race remaining until the rain.