ECHOPARK SPEEDWAY (Hampton, Ga.) — Ryan Blaney dominated the Cup race Sunday night that lasted until early Monday morning.
But as is typical for the 1.5-mile high-banked track, he needed to make a late move for the win.
Blaney — thanks to pushes by Bubba Wallace and then Christopher Bell — got by Carson Hocevar on the outside on the final lap and was able to remain out front as the drivers behind him battled to earn his second victory of the season.
The Team Penske driver led 171 of the 263 laps.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Long Night, Deserving Winner
Ryan Blaney ended up getting the gutsy win in Atlanta.
The race featured a rain interruption of 3 hours, 9 minutes — which resulted in a race that didn’t finish until 1:45 a.m. ET on Monday.
Blaney was good in the laps before the rain on Lap 109 and afterward. He was good even after he hit the wall after getting pinched into it late in the race by Bubba Wallace. He felt a vibration, but it was only paint and cement in the wheel well and Blaney’s car was still a rocket.
“I tried to make a move and just got loose and hit the fence,” Blaney said in his television interview after the race. “I think it’s just concrete in the wheels and paint and stuff like that.
“Luckily, it still drove fairly decent. I’m happy we were able to make back up for it.”
2. Wallace Disputes Last-Lap Penalty
Bubba Wallace’s late penalty resulted in a 29th-place finish.
Wallace crossed the finish line in second but was ruled to have advanced his position by going below the double-line that separates the apron from the racing surface.
The 23XI Racing driver was dropped to the last car on the lead lap, costing him 27 points, as he placed 29th.
Wallace contended that, while he went below the yellow line, he remained in third long enough before getting second at the finish line. NASCAR determined the move allowed him to improve his position from third to second.
“[The rule] says ‘advancing your position,’ which I did not do,” Wallace told me and other reporters after the race. “I stayed third, and I was all over the brakes to make sure I did not advance. As soon as I turned, I’m like, ‘I’m going to wreck’ and got on the brakes and kept underneath me and stealing it up side by side [with the lead pack].
“That move should have propelled us to the lead, and it didn’t because I knew it was wrong because my car did not like that move. My car did not like that move. … I stayed third from entry to [Turn] 3 all the way until 50 yards away [from the finish line].”
3. Hocevar Has No Friends
It was lonely at the top for Hocevar in Atlanta.
Carson Hocevar was leading going into the final lap and finished third. However, he doesn’t view Atlanta as a race that slipped away.
He didn’t have any friends on the final lap and knows he likely wouldn’t because of the way he has raced and frustrated other drivers. Also, there were no Chevrolets in the lead pack.
“I look in my mirror, man, it’s all Toyotas,” Hocevar said. “I don’t know where the Chevys were, but it was just me. I was all alone. … People basically are going to choose who is going to win the race. They sure aren’t going to pick me.”
4. Bell Finished Second … Again
Christopher Bell ended up being the bridesmaid yet again in ATL.
Christopher Bell finished second for the fifth time this year.
But while Bell was in the mix late in the race, he didn’t have a race-winning day.
“I just felt like I didn’t quite have the speed to be up there with Ryan,” the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said in a broadcast interview after the race. “I could be up there in second or third, but it seemed like a couple of guys with faster cars could always get by me.”
4 ½. What’s Next: North Wilkesboro
NASCAR heads to North Wilkesboro for the track’s first points race in 30 years after having the All-Star event there the last three seasons. Drivers will compete for 450 laps on the 0.625-mile oval.
There are six races left in the regular season. Only two of the 16 spots in the postseason Chase have been clinched; Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick clinched spots at Atlanta.
The races remaining: North Wilkesboro, Indianapolis, Iowa, Richmond, New Hampshire and Daytona.
