Ryan Blaney turned on the afterburners in the closing laps to overtake Kyle Larson to give Penske Racing their first Playoff ticket Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
ATLANTA – March 21, 2021 – ANTHONY HOLBROOK
The NASCAR Cup Series traveled to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. This event will be the 6th points scheduled race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Season.
Denny Hamlin will start on the pole in quest to secure his first win of the 2021 campaign. Also, a playoff ticket will be awarded to the victor for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 – Stage 1 recap:
Kyle Larson tasted the lead for the first time on Lap 31, sweeping past pole-sitter Denny Hamlin on a restart. Larson would proceeded to dominate the first half of the race. Multiple green-flag pit-service stops allowed Larson’s car the opportunity to resume the lead for the final laps of Stage 1.
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 – Stage 1 results:
- KYLE LARSON
- KYLE BUSCH
- RYAN BLANEY
- KURT BUSCH
- DENNY HAMLIN
- ALEX BOWMAN
- MARTIN TRUEX JR
- CHASE ELLIOTT
- CHRIS BUESCHER
- WILLIAM BYRON
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 – Stage 2 recap:
Stage 2 restart stacks the field as Denny Hamlin punts Kurt Bush into the safer barrier wall with only 8 laps into the 2nd Stage.
A Daniel Suarez pit stop circulates the lead back to Kyle Larson with 49 laps to go in Stage 2. Ryan Larson would build a 10 second lead over eventual race winner Ryan Blaney as Stage 2 came to a close.
Bowman, Kyle Busch and William Byron round out the top five.
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 – Stage 2 results:
- KYLE LARSON
- RYAN BLANEY
- ALEX BOWMAN
- KYLE BUSCH
- WILLIAM BYRON
- MATT DIBENEDETTO
- AUSTIN DILLON
- CHRIS BUESCHER
- DENNY HAMLIN
- DANIEL SUAREZ
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 – Final Stage recap:
Kyle Larson continues to own the race holding on to a 3-second lead with only 40 laps remaining in the contest.
As Larson checked off his 269 of 315 led laps, Ryan Blaney would enter into Larson’s rear view mirror.
Ryan Blaney’s racing team’s strategy to dial Blaney’s car in for long green-flag lap runs , would help Blaney to track down Kyle Larson during the finale.
Quiet evident Kyle Larson was losing the handle on his car late in the race. This opportunity opened the door for Ryan Blaney to muscle his way unto to the lead.
Ryan Blaney kept the field in check the remaining 8 Laps to capture his 5th career NASCAR Cup win.
Kyle Larson finished a disappointing second, followed by Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Bush rounding out the top 5.
The victory ended a 28-race winless drought for the No. 12 Ford dating back to last June 2020.
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 – Final Stage results:
| 1. | Ryan Blaney |
| 2. | Kyle Larson |
| 3. | Alex Bowman |
| 4. | Denny Hamlin |
| 5. | Kyle Busch |
| 6. | Austin Dillon |
| 7. | Chris Buescher |
| 8. | William Byron |
| 9. | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 10. | Kevin Harvick |
| 11. | Matt DiBenedetto |
| 12. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 13. | Ryan Newman |
| 14. | Ross Chastain |
| 15. | Joey Logano |
| 16. | Bubba Wallace |
| 17. | Daniel Suarez |
| 18. | Cole Custer |
| 19. | Michael McDowell |
| 20. | Aric Almirola |
| 21. | Cody Bell |
| 22. | Austin Cindric |
| 23. | Chase Briscoe |
| 24. | Erik Jones |
| 25. | Ryan Preece |
| 26. | Tyler Reddick |
| 27. | Anthony Alfredo |
| 28. | Brad Keselowski |
| 29. | Corey LaJoie |
| 30. | Justin Haley |
| 31. | Cody Ware |
| 32. | James Davison |
| 33. | Quin Houff |
| 34. | B.J. McLeod |
| 35. | Joey Gase |
| 36. | Timmy Hill |
| 37. | Josh Bilicki |
| 38. | Chase Elliott (DNF) |
| 39. | Kurt Busch (DNF) |
The NASCAR Cup Series’ next event is the Food City Dirt Race, scheduled next Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM) hosted on Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt surface.