SI:AM | Daniel Suarez Wins NASCAR Race in Atlanta After Unbelievable Three-Wide Finish

Plus, the debate over court storming after a Duke star’s injury.

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I don’t usually pay much attention to NASCAR, but this finish will amaze any sports fan.

In today’s SI:AM:

​​🏀 Time to ban court storming?

⏱️ NFL combine questions

🏓 “Pacoball”

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What a finish

I don’t usually cover NASCAR in this newsletter, but what happened at the end of last night’s race in Atlanta was so incredible that even non-racing fans will be amazed.

Ryan Blaney was in the lead at the start of the final lap, followed closely by Kyle Busch and Daniel Suárez. On Turn 3, Busch squeezed his way into the narrow gap between Blaney and Suárez. All three cars were side-by-side as they entered the final turn and there was nothing to separate them as they barreled down the final straightaway to the finish line.

Blaney, Busch and Suárez crossed the finish line at virtually the same time, with only modern technology able to discern who had won the race. The win went to Suárez, who was a mere 0.003 of a second ahead of Blaney. Busch was just 0.007 behind Suárez. That’s seven one-thousandths of a second separating first and third place. Truly inconceivable.

Watch the thrilling finish here. Here’s an astonishing photo from above the finish line that shows just how close the three cars were.

“It was so damn close, man,” Suárez said after the race. “It was so damn close. It was good racing. Ryan Blaney there, Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric also was doing a great job giving pushes. In the back straightaway, he didn’t push me because he knew I was going to (screw) his teammate, but, man, what a job.

“We wrecked (on) Lap 2. The guys did an amazing job fixing this car. I can’t thank everyone enough, Trackhouse Racing, Freeway Insurance, Chevrolet, all the amazing fans here. Let’s go!”

Blaney explained that he picked the inside lane because he thought “it was the safest place to be,” but Suárez, running along the wall, managed to edge him out.

“What a cool finish,” Blaney said. “Appreciate the fans for sticking around. That’s a lot of fun. That’s always a good time when we can do that, race clean, three-wide finish to the end. Happy for Daniel. That was cool to see. Fun racing with Kyle. I can’t complain; I’ve won them by very, very little, too, so I can’t complain too much when I lose them by that much.”

It wasn’t just the wild finish that made the race a thriller. The lead changed a whopping 48 times over the course of the 260-lap race, which, according to The Athletic, is a track record for Atlanta Motor Speedway, a venue that has hosted 120 NASCAR races since 1960. Suárez led only nine laps, while Blaney led 31 and Busch led 28. Cindric, who finished fourth, led 32 laps. Todd Gilliland led 58 laps before a flat tire derailed his race. He finished 26th.

That sort of action-packed racing is exactly what AMS officials envisioned when they reconfigured the track before the start of the 2022 season. Atlanta is a 1.5-mile track, and the renovations increased the banking of the turns and narrowed the track, leaving less room for passing. That made the track more similar to superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega, but on a smaller scale. Those two true superspeedways are more than a mile longer than Atlanta. Drivers weren’t thrilled with the idea of a superspeedway configuration on a shorter track.

“I wish a f---ing tornado would hit that place,” one anonymous driver told The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck earlier this month.

But it’s tough to argue with the results. The new configuration led to such an exciting race that it’s got non-NASCAR fans talking about stock car racing.

The best of Sports Illustrated

Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union/USA TODAY Network (left); Jim Dedmon/USA TODAY Sports (right)

• After Kyle Filipowski’s injury, Pat Forde argues that it’s time for college basketball officials to do something about dangerous court stormings.
• Bob Harig breaks down what Augusta National’s decision to invite LIV golfer Joaquin Neimann to this year’s Masters means in the larger context of LIV’s ongoing battle for world rankings recognition.
• Matt Verderame’s NFL free agency preview continues with the best fits for edge rushers Brian Burns and Josh Allen.
• Albert Breer answers the 10 biggest NFL draft questions ahead of this week’s scouting combine.
• Stephanie Apstein has a fun story about the pickleball-inspired game the Phillies are using to improve their defense.
• Cody Bellinger, one of the top MLB free agents left unsigned as spring training began, agreed to a three-year contract to remain with the Cubs.
• Jen Pawol is the first woman to umpire an MLB spring training game since 2007.

The top five...

… things I saw yesterday:

5. Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn’s powerful throw to nail a runner at first.

4. Lionel Messi’s give-and-go with Jordi Alba for the game-tying goal in stoppage time.

3. Victor Wembanyama’s tenacious defense on this play against the Jazz.

2. Rangers rookie Matt Rempe’s fight against the Blue Jackets’ Mathieu Olivier. He’s now been in three fights over his first five NHL games, playing 20 minutes of ice time while serving 32 penalty minutes.

1. This comical inside-the-park home run by the Rays’ Kameron Misner after a Tigers player accidentally kicked the ball into no man’s land.

SIQ

Thirty-five years ago this week, on the same day that he bought the team, new Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones fired coach Tom Landry, who had led the team for how many years?

• 18
• 23
• 29
• 34

Friday’s SIQ: New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo, who turned 38 on Feb. 23, is one of two members of the Patriots’ 2008 draft class who went on to become an NFL head coach. Who is the other one?

• Mike Vrabel
• Kevin O’Connell
• Kliff Kingsbury
• DeMeco Ryans

Answer: Kevin O’Connell. The Patriots took him in the third round out of San Diego State and he spent one season on the roster as the backup to quarterback Matt Cassel following Tom Brady’s torn ACL in the 2008 season opener. O’Connell threw six passes in garbage time appearances in two games and was released before the start of the next season.

He bounced around the league after that, spending time on the rosters of the Detroit Lions, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and San Diego Chargers, before beginning his coaching career. In 2022, he was hired as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.