Kevin C. Cox | Getty Images
Ryan Blaney became the sixth winner of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series in six races, overtaking the dominant Kyle Larson on the 317th of 325 laps to win on Sunday at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Blaney led 25 laps in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. His No. 12 team, Penske Ford, was 2,083 seconds ahead of the checkered flag when he scored his first victory in Atlanta and the fifth victory in his Cup Series career.
RELATED: Unofficial Results | Cup Series Schedule
Larson swept both stages, led the best race in 269 laps and returned home in second in Hendrick Motorsports’ Chevrolet # 5. But his solid performance weakened in the final stretch when Blaney passed him.
Alex Bowman, a Larson teammate, came in third. Another pair of teammates was fourth and fifth, with pole star Denny Hamlin ahead of Kyle Busch, who recovered from a penalty for speeding in the finals for a result in the top five.
Former Atlanta winner Kurt Busch was among the first outs, getting the worst of a restart stack when Stage 2 started. A bump from Hamlin sent his Chevrolet Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1 to the outer wall at Curve 1, ending his day after just 113 laps and placing him last in the 39-car field.
Hometown favorite Chase Elliott did a little better. Pre-race inspection problems sent his Chevrolet No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports to the back of the field for the start. He rose to the top 10 at some points in the race, but an engine failure took him out after 220 laps. Elliott finished 38th.
The next event in the Cup Series is the Food City Dirt Race, scheduled for next Sunday (15:30 ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM) on the Bristol Motor Speedway’s ground surface. It is the first race on earth for the NASCAR main division since 1970.
Grades: Blaney’s victory extended Ford’s winning streak in Atlanta to five in a row. … The Cup Series returns to the Atlanta Motor Speedway on July 11th. It is the first time since 2010 that the track has held two annual events for the series.
This article will be updated.