NASCAR’s Atlanta Cup race was the most-watched sports weekend in the USA with 4,546,000 people tuning in - Reports

The second race weekend on the NASCAR Cup Series calendar has broken viewership records in the USA by cementing a stat of 4,546,000 spectators.

The qualifying run of the Ambetter Health 400 took off on Saturday, February 25, at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Following the time-testing run on the 1.54-mile oval, the race underwent on Sunday, 3 PM ET.

Unlike the season-opener Daytona 500 and preseason Busch Light Clash at the LA Coliseum, the 260-lap run at Atlanta didn't encounter dire weather conditions. The program went smoothly without rescheduling, and the second race of the season kicked off without any delay.

Furthermore, the race witnessed the biggest crash in the history of AMS, collecting 16 cars on the second lap. After surviving the caution-riddled race, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Busch dashed towards the checkered flag in a spectacular three-wide photo finish.

The Trackhouse Racing driver sealed the victory by a slim margin of 0.003 seconds. It was Suarez's first title after a winless 2023 Cup Series season, and the third-closest finish ever in the books of NASCAR.

It's safe to say that with all the things that happened during the Atlanta race, the prospects of a high viewership weren't unexpected. Following the successful NASCAR outing, motorsports journalist Adam Stern revealed the record-breaking stats of the race.

Stern further shed light on the 5% increase in viewership from the 2023 Fontana race where Kyle Busch took his car to the victory lane. The journalist disclosed the metric on his X (formerly Twitter) account:

".@FoxTV got 4.546 million viewers for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta, up 5% from 4.315 million for the equivalent weekend last year at Fontana. 🔲 It was the most-watched sports event of the weekend in the U.S."

---

NASCAR slaps Joey Logano, Noah Gragson, and Ryan Preece with penalties

Joey Logano's run at the Atlanta Motor Speedway was scheduled from the P2 spot on the grid, but things took a turn for the worse for him.

The 2023 Atlanta winner modified his gloves, increasing the webbing between the thumb and index finger. It helps guide air out of the car when drivers put their hands near the netted window to avoid air from entering inside.

However, due to violating the rules, Logano was penalized and started from the back of the pack. Moreover, he had to serve a pass-through penalty on the starting lap, and a fine of $10,000 was imposed on him.

Stewart-Haas Racing was docked 35 owner and driver points. This comes after the roof rails of Noah Gragson's #10 Ford and Ryan Preece's #41 cars were confiscated a day before the qualifying stint. The part in question failed to meet the requisites of the "CAD drawing," as disclosed by NASCAR Senior VP of Competition Elton Sawyer (via Frontstretch).

Gragson is now 53 points behind the playoff cutoff, standing at -6 points, whereas Preece is 47 points behind the cutoff at 0 points to his name.