HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) 鈥� A late brush with the wall wasn’t enough to send Ryan Blaney to pit row.
The decision paid off with a dominant victory.
Blaney emerged from a three-wide battle on the final lap of overtime in the weather-delayed NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta early Monday.
Blaney won every stage of the race and led 171 laps after starting on the pole, but the Team Penske Ford driver had to fight off challenges from Bubba Wallace and Christopher Hill, who finished second, on the final lap. Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top four.
Wallace was penalized for passing below the double yellow lines and finished 29th instead of second.
There was a delay of 3 hours, 9 minutes because of rain and lightning. The raced ended at 1:45 a.m. at EchoPark Speedway.
Blaney won the first two stages but brushed the wall with 29 laps remaining, causing possible damage on his right side, after he was cut off by Wallace. Blaney remained on the track despite telling his crew he felt a 鈥渢errible鈥� vibration.
鈥淚 tried to make a move and just got loose and hit the fence,鈥� Blaney said. 鈥淵ou know I think it鈥檚 just concrete in the wheels and paint and stuff like that but luckily it still drove really decent. … It wasn鈥檛 too bad. Luckily it wasn鈥檛 enough damage we couldn鈥檛 keep running.鈥�
Blaney’s crew chief Jonathan Hassler said his team was able to view photos of the right side of the car and determine the best chance to win was to remain on the track.
鈥淭here were 30 cars on the lead lap at that point and not a lot of laps left,’ Hassler said. 鈥漁ur best chance to win was to stay out there.”
Multiple drivers, including Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe and Riley Herbst, were involved in a wreck with five laps remaining to set up the overtime.
There had been concern about approaching rain before lighting within eight miles of the 1.54-mile oval track near Atlanta led NASCAR officials to order cars off the track and advise fans to exit the grandstand. Rain began soon after the race was delayed. Following some caution laps and pit stops, the race went back to green at 12:02 a.m.
Blaney said he 鈥渢ook a nap and ate a little food鈥� during the delay. Larson said the resumption of the race a few minutes before midnight 鈥渋s definitely past my bedtime.鈥�
Blaney and his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano joined him on the front row. A third Team Penske driver, Austin Cindric, moved up to third early in the race for an early strong showing for the Fords.
Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin, who qualified 28th, finished 12th. Tyler Reddick was eighth.
Reddick, who in February as part of his string of five wins in the season’s first nine races, qualified only 31st on Saturday. By the 35th lap he already had moved up to fourth, proving early that he again would be a factor in Atlanta.
Clean start
The weather delay was the first caution for cause in the race, a dramatic departure from the weekend鈥檚 first race.
There were a track-record 13 cautions in Saturday night鈥檚 O鈥橰eilly Auto Parts Series race won by Justin Allgaier. That total included four red flag incidents, creating an ominous preview for the Cup Series race.
The first caution for an incident on the track in the Cup Series race came when AJ Allmendinger lost control of his Chevrolet with 67 laps remaining. Allmendinger blew a tire and hit the wall with 25 laps remaining to cause another caution.
Design to drive
This was Chase Elliott鈥檚 10th year of his Design to Drive program with Children鈥檚 Healthcare of Atlanta. He gave credit to the baseball-themed design of his No. 9 Chevrolet to two patients, 8-year-old Maximus Peace and 9-year-old Noelle Springer.
The program raised $545,500 for Children鈥檚 Healthcare of Atlanta in its first nine years. Elliott finished 13th.
Another strong start for Team Penske
Blaney鈥檚 Stage 1 win gave Team Penske Fords yet another strong start in Atlanta. Team Penske drivers have won Stage 1 in six of the last eight races at the track.
Blaney held off Reddick, who finished second in the first stage after qualifying 31st.
Up next
The Cup Series moves to North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, next weekend. Christopher Bell edged Joey Logano at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the on May 18, 2025.
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