NASCAR at Atlanta 2015 Results: Winner, Standings, Highlights and Reaction

When Jimmie Johnson took the lead on Sunday, he was dominant. On the final restart, the six-time champion got out front and easily ran away from the field to claim his first win of the season in Atlanta.      

The victory was Johnson's 71st win at the Sprint Cup level and his fourth in Atlanta in just his 24th race at the track.

Johnson faced adversity in Atlanta, beginning with him not getting a lap in during qualifying. That would cause Johnson to start 37th, but he quickly got to near the top of the leaderboard before committing a penalty in the pits.

Even those setbacks weren't enough to hold Johnson back thanks to a fast car, as he pointed out after the race:

Just like he started out the season in Daytona, Kevin Harvick was the bridesmaid again in Atlanta. Though he ran up front for a race-leading 116 laps, Harvick couldn't quite hold off Johnson.

Dating back to last season, Harvick has either won or finished second in the last five races. Heading into Atlanta, second-year driver Kyle Larson noted how prominent he would be on Sunday, via Jeff Gluck of USA Today:

Similar to the Daytona 500, Harvick was followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who clinched his second top-five finish of the 2015 season. Rounding out the top five were 500 winner Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth.

Two massive wrecks down the stretch would also shape the way the race finished. Both Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart were involved in the melees, ending the day early for the two veteran drivers.

Here's a look at the results and standings following the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. Full results can be found at NASCAR.com.

Pos.	Driver	Laps Led
1	Jimmie Johnson	92
2	Kevin Harvick	116
3	Dale Earnhartdt Jr.	1
4	Joey Logano	84
5	Matt Kenseth	10
6	Martin Truex Jr.	0
7	A.J. Allmendinger	0
8	Brett Moffitt	1
9	Brad Keselowski	2
10	Ryan Newman	0
11	Aric Almirola	0
12	Carl Edwards	0
13	Paul Menard	0
14	Kasey Kahne	0
15	Casey Mears	0
16	Danica Patrick	0
17	Regan Smith	0
18	David Ragan	0
19	Trevor Bayne	0
20	Justin Allgaier	0

Pos.	Driver	Points	Wins	Top 5	Top 10
1	Joey Logano	88	1	2	2
2	Jimmie Johnson	87	1	2	2
3	Kevin Harvick	86	0	2	2
4	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	84	0	2	2
5	Martin Truex Jr.	75	0	0	2
6	Casey Mears	68	0	0	1
7	Kasey Kahne	65	0	0	1
8	AJ Allmendinger	62	0	0	1
9	Aric Almirola	62	0	0	0
10	Clint Bowyer	58	0	0	1
11	David Gilliland	56	0	0	0
12	Sam Hornish Jr.	55	0	0	0
13	Greg Biffle	54	0	0	1
14	Carl Edwards	54	0	0	0
15	David Ragan	53	0	0	0
16	Danica Patrick	51	0	0	0

Similar to the qualifying round on Friday, the Sprint Cup race in Atlanta got off to a slow start. This time around, it had nothing to do with problems in the garage.

Weather delayed the race and became a story early on with slick conditions for some of the drivers. NASCAR implemented a competition caution after 25 laps to let the field reset and get used to conditions. It couldn't have come out at a more perfect time for at least one driver:

Tires were getting chewed up on several cars, eventually causing Austin Dillon to suffer a flat tire and bring out the first true caution. Because he wasn't ruled as the cause of the caution, he earned the Lucky Dog and stayed on the lead lap.

Dillon would later lose a left rear tire again and brought out a caution after spinning out. He then received a penalty before heading to the garage to repair the damage, via Bob Pockrass of ESPN.com:

Needless to say, it wasn't a great afternoon for Dillon.

Regardless of the conditions on the track, one thing was very consistent—Logano remained up front. Starting from the pole, the No. 22 car stayed atop the leaderboard through the start of the race. Not only was the car fast, but Logano was also consistently one of the first drivers out of the pits as well.

Logano led every green flag lap during the first 87 laps before he was overtaken by Harvick. Even though he had to change his engine after an issue on Saturday, Harvick charged back up to the front quickly and took control away from the Team Penske driver.

The No. 4 car was clearly the fastest one in the field, retaking the lead after multiple restarts. However, he would battle with Johnson after the midway point of the race.

Johnson had to overcome issues earlier in the race to make his way back to the front after starting near the back like Harvick. When he eventually took the lead, crew chief Chad Knaus shared his thoughts on the effort from the Hendrick driver, via Dustin Long of NBC Sports:

While Sunday was a strong performance for Johnson, it was another frustrating one for teammate Gordon. The No. 24 car was near the front for most of Daytona before getting caught up in a wreck. He would meet a similar fate in Atlanta.

Denny Hamlin got loose on Lap 257, turning sideways before hitting Ryan Newman, collecting Gordon and Jamie McMurray. Only Newman remained on the track, with the other three cars heading straight to the garage. The No. 11 eventually returned, but only to accrue more points.

NASCAR passed along a look at McMurray's car after the massive wreck:

Gordon's car sustained the brunt of the damage from his collision with a concrete wall rather than a SAFER barrier. Kyle Busch suffered a broken leg one week before during an Xfinity race after hitting a similar wall at Daytona.

Just days after Gordon berated NASCAR for its handling of a qualifying round, he was critical again on Sunday:

The Hendrick driver has been met with some tough luck during the first two races of his final season, but there's still a long road ahead. He still has several of his best tracks lying ahead, including Las Vegas, where he won back in 2001.

Another huge wreck would take place, taking out another three-time champion in Stewart. Eight cars were involved in the accident, including Greg Biffle and Kyle Larson, but Stewart was the most notable casualty after exiting early in the Daytona 500 the week prior. 

Johnson now virtually has a spot in the Chase secured, relieving some of the pressure for the rest of the season. Heading into Las Vegas for the third race of the season, the need for a victory will still be there for everyone else in the field.    

The No. 48 driver leads all active drivers with four wins in Vegas, but it was Brad Keselowski who clinched his first checkered flag at the track last season. Several of the biggest stars in the sport will be looking to rebound in Nevada with a long season still ahead before NASCAR's postseason begins.

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