Ryan Blaney Narrowly Evades Crash To Finish Third And Take Points Lead
4 weeks agoAlthough Ryan Blaney failed to win Sunday's Quaker State 400 at Atlanta, he ran well there as usual, earning a third-place finish. Blaney was the first driver to make a pass for the lead in the race, overtaking pole-sitter Michael McDowell on Lap 30 and leading the rest of Stage 1. Although he never led again after the pit stop on the Stage 1 caution, he finished second in Stage 2 as well, giving him a race-high 53 points and the lead in the playoff points standings. He suffered one scare when Chris Buescher broke loose and hit Blaney, who slid down the track and collected Martin Truex Jr. However, Blaney was fortunate to only have cosmetic damage in a wreck that ultimately took Buescher and Truex out of the race. His rally to third after the crash was impressive, indicating his championship defense is going quite swimmingly.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference