The NASCAR Cup Series concluded the weekend at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway) on Sunday night in the Quaker State 400. Team Penske was on the front row with Ryan Blaney on the pole, and Joey Logano starting second.
Ryan Blaney led the opening 62 laps in a caution-free event to win the first stage. During the second stage, Ryan Blaney continued to lead when the caution came out for rain. The race was delayed for three hours and nine minutes. It did not resume until midnight. Blaney picked up where he left off to win the second stage.
The final stage had all kinds of drama. On lap 195, Michael McDowell made contact with A.J. Allmendinger, sending him around on the frontstretch with a front right tire failure. Allmendinger would also bring out the next caution when he crashed at Turn 2, finishing in 37th place.
Late in the race, Kyle Larson made contact with Denny Hamlin on lap 243, sending him into the grass, but he did not get any significant damage. However, the two would get caught in another wreck on lap 256 when Hamlin turned Larson, triggering a multi-car crash that also involved Chase Briscoe, Austin Hill, Riley Herbst, and Alex Bowman. The race went to overtime.
In overtime, Carson Hocevar got a push from behind for the lead. Ryan Blaney got a great run at Turn 1 for the lead, while Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Ty Gibbs, Erik Jones, and Shane van Gisbergen were all battling for the win. Blaney got a push from Bell, and Blaney went on to win his second race of the season by 0.068 seconds over Christopher Bell. Blaney led a race high 171 of 260 laps.
Carson Hocevar, Ty Gibbs, and Erik Jones rounded out the top five. Shane van Gisbergen, Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, and Chris Buescher completed the top ten. Bubba Wallace was issued a penalty for going below the yellow line and finished in 29th place. Click here to view the full standings.
The Cup Series heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway next Sunday at 7 pm on TNT.
