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Ryan Blaney became the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series’ sixth winner in six races and roared in the 317th of 325 laps past a dominant Kyle Larson to win at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday.
Blaney led 25 laps in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. His no. 12-man team, Penske Ford, was 2,083 seconds ahead on the checkered flag when he achieved his first victory in Atlanta and the fifth victory in his career in the Cup Series.
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Larson swept both innings, taking the best 269 laps on the race and driving home second in the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet No. 5. But his solid performance faded into the final series as Blaney slipped past.
Alex Bowman, a teammate of Larson, took third place. A few more teammates finished fourth and fifth, with wicketkeeper Denny Hamlin ahead of Kyle Busch.
Former Atlanta winner Kurt Busch was one of the earlier exits and got the worst of a reboot when Phase 2 began. A collision from Hamlin sends his number 1 chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet into the outside wall in turn 1 and ends his day after only 113 laps, leaving him last in the 39-car field.
Hometown favorite Chase Elliott did little better. Problems with the pre-race inspection sent his 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet back into the field. He climbed to the top 10 at the points of the race, but engine failure put him off after 220 laps. Elliott finished 38th.
The next event of the Cup series is the Food City Dirt Race scheduled for next Sunday (15:30 ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM) on the dirt surface of Bristol Motor. This is the first race on NASCAR’s highest division since 1970.
Notes: Blaney’s victory extended Ford’s series of victories in Atlanta to five in a row. … The Cup Series returns to Atlanta Motor Speedway on July 11th. This is the first time since 2010 that the track has held two annual events for the series.
This article will be updated.