Ryan Blaney won Sunday’s (July 12) Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway, holding on in overtime after making a last lap pass on Carson Hocevar.
Blaney started from the pole and swept the stages, leading 171 of 263 laps.
“Pretty wild. Bubba [Wallace] gave me a really good shove on the restart. We got a huge run down the frontstraightaway, I was able to get a run on Carson,” Blaney told TNT Sports. “I really have to shout out Christopher Bell for being on my bumper through (turns) three and four. “
Christopher Bell, Hocevar, Ty Gibbs and Erik Jones completed the top five while Shane van Gisbergen, Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Chris Buescher rounded out the top 10.
The race was sent into overtime after a crash with six laps to go involving Riley Herbst, Kyle Larson, Austin Hill and Chase Briscoe.
Blaney held off Reddick to win stage one after Reddick made a furious charge to get up to him.
The caution flew for lightning on lap 108, prompting a three-hour, nine-minute long red flag before the race resumed.
Blaney also won stage two after Wallace spun on the exit of turn 4 off the nose of Gibbs.
The yellow came out on lap 194 after AJ Allmendinger spun on the frontstretch.
The caution came out once again with 29 laps to go for Allmendinger as Bubba Wallace blocked Ryan Blaney, leading Blaney to scrub the wall in turn 1.
The yellow flew shortly after the restart with 19 to go after Larson was sent spinning through the infield grass.
Blaney’s victory is the second of the season and 19th of his career.
A member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Samuel also covers NASCAR for Yardbarker, Field Level Media, and Heavy Sports. He will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2025.
Great to see Austin Hill show some restraint and not retaliate against Shane…Oh wait, he never saw Shane.
Hat tip to the folks in the stands that tolerated the weather and stayed to the end. I went to bed because, ya know, it’s Sunday night and most of us have to be at work on Monday.
What Mike said. Hat tip to the attendees. I skipped it, as I have to be at work early during the week, and didn’t see the point in watching the beginning when I knew I wouldn’t be up for the end of the race.
I’m so tired of missing the end of races because start times and predictable rain delays go well into the next morning.
I stayed up until the end. Best race of the season. Great racing and an exciting finish.
BTW, that pink and lime-green #12 is one ugly, ugly car.
Disagree.
Who is the brain child that scheduled a race in Atlanta in July? It rains a lot in the southeast during the summer. Do people not understand this? Also, was this the same brain child that thought yet another Sunday night race was a good idea? Combine both of those scenarios and you got a predictable result.
Can’t wait to see the ratings for this one.
Are you questioning the decisions of the NA$CAR brain trust?
i knew when it started after 7 i wouldn’t see the end of it. all i remember seeing is follow-the-leader racing in the first segment.
There was a lot of passing and jockeying for position during most of the race. Hocevar, Wallace, and Blaney all kept the intensity level pegged. There were near-wrecks and miracle-saves galore. And even though Blaney dominated, it was obvious that other cars had the speed to keep pace with him. Just my meager recollection, flawed as it may be.
I watched up until the rain delay as I knew that I wouldn’t be able to see the rest of the race. What I saw was pretty good racing. Too bad not many people saw the end, especially on the east coast.
The talk has always been Kyle Larson’s talent and maybe so but give Ryan Blaney a fast car and his talent is next to none. What a drive last night. It took some time to learn some things in a Cup car but boy is he there.
If the product had started at 1 it would have ended about 4:30 without the quagmire in the parking lots. Was the weather conducive for that time frame?
TV, unfortunately, rules the schedulers. It’s only fair that the networks suffer when rain delays mess up their ratings. Karma for them, but frustration for us.
That said, TNT is doing a pretty good job of broadcasting their stretch of races.