'Rowdy' came back from the tail end of the field at Atlanta to wind up third, and now heads to his home track, where he's always just that much more determined to win, a year after missing the race completely.
The sting from a third straight dominant Atlanta performance that resulted in another driver celebrating should subside later this week as Harvick defends a race title of an event in which he dominated -- and sealed the deal.
Johnson wrapped up 2015 with a late win at an intermediate track (Texas), had a win at the first intermediate track of 2016 (Atlanta) and now heads to another one this weekend in Las Vegas. See where I'm going with this?
MORE: Johnson wins Atlanta, ties Earnhardt
Your Daytona 500 champ couldn’t open the '16 season with back-to-back wins, but did top final Atlanta practice and seems to be one of the early drivers to have a decent handle on the low downforce package.
Truex had an epic battle with Harvick for the lead late in Sunday's race. Neither won, but don't be surprised if the No. 78 and No. 4 are passing the lead back and forth again in Vegas -- with one of them holding it as the checkered flag waves.
Newsflash: we're going to see a lot of top-five finishes from Earnhardt Jr. this year. His No. 88 is super strong, he likes the lower downforce package and things are clicking into overdrive in Year Two with Greg Ives.
MORE: Dale Jr. praises rules package
Logano has started on the front row at Vegas the past two seasons, resulting in two top-10s. After struggling to find footing at Atlanta -- both figuratively and literally -- it's hard to reason that the 22 will be strong in Nevada.
Started on the Atlanta pole, led 62 laps, finished in the top five and now heads to his hometown track -- what's not to like? Well, maybe his record of just three top-10s and zero wins in 14 tries at the Las Vegas facility.
Unlike his Team Penske teammate, Keselowski appeared to have the lower downforce package down more than some of the other drivers, and has three straight top-10s at Vegas, including a win in 2014.
He wanted it, he got it. Edwards was one of the biggest proponents of the '16 package and it's already paying off. Look no further than his top-five at Atlanta. It should continue all season.
It's early, but Sunday was a messy showing for the No. 20 team after enduring heartbreak in the 500. If they don't turn it around at Vegas, the "Is it just one of those years?" questions will start to pop up.
MORE: Kenseth hot post-penalty
Elliott wound up with his first career top-10 finish in a race many vets struggled in, and now heads to the race in which his car sat on the pole a year ago, albeit with that other guy who drove the No. 24.
MORE: Elliott notches solid finish at home track
Dillon had one of the best runs we've seen him make in the Cup Series -- and it came after he and his RCR cohorts had some parts confiscated pre-race. Too early to call Dillon a Chase dark horse?
MORE: RCR cars have parts confiscated
Tough to say what happened to Larson in the race itself after looking good in practice. Guess we'll have to see what happens to he and CGR teammate Jamie McMurray (who is equally as puzzling) at Vegas to know if Atlanta was just a misstep.
Speaking of missteps, the No. 5 team was completely off at Atlanta. Kahne noted his car was "slow" in a post-race tweet, but there are still few reasons for why a rookie with limited Cup experience should be out-running his veteran teammate in the early going.
Unofficially official Power Rankings rule: When your car is engulfed in flames at the end of the race and you still come away with a top-15, you move up a spot. Aric Almirola, the "King" of top-15 finishes.
MORE: Almirola burns up after wreck
For the third straight Atlanta race, Newman finished worse than where he started. And each finish has gotten progressively worse.
Menard said earlier in the weekend that Atlanta is his favorite race track. Hard to see why, given he has just one top 10 there in his past seven races. Interested to see how he feels about Vegas, where he has three in his last four.
Blaney was on pace for a better finish before a last-lap crash derailed that hope, but thus far, there's little to complain about for the rookie driver.
Stenhouse had three top-10 finishes all of last season. After Atlanta, he's on pace for 18 (18!). OK, OK. We're only two races into a 36-race slate. Still, positive mojo for Roush Fenway Racing and Stenhouse.
MORE: Early yet, but Roush Fenway Racing trending up