Ryan Blaney ensured that the 2021 Cup Series season had six different winners by winning the race at Atalanta Motor Speedway.
He did so not by dominating the race but snatching the lead from Kyle Larson with just eight laps to go. Larson led 269 out of 325 laps but could only finish second as Blaney got the better of him when it mattered.
.@Blaney was tracking down @KyleLarsonRacin for a long time and pounced when the moment was right! pic.twitter.com/ZZHkdVjDyf
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 21, 2021
Blaney later spoke about the move that got him his first win of the 2021 season. He said:
“We had a great long run car all day. It took a little bit to get going. I was pretty free all-day, we made a really good change to tighten me up where I needed it,” Blaney said right after his win.
“It looked like Kyle was getting loose. I’m happy it worked in our favor that there were a couple of long runs at the end, that let us kind of get there.”
How close was the No. 5 to winning, @Blaney? pic.twitter.com/s4YWWKwx4K
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 21, 2021
Having led so many laps, Larson was disappointed to not get his second win of the 2021 season.
“He just got a lot better there in the last stage and it kind of changed up my flow of the race a little bit.
“Hate to lead a lot of laps and lose, but a really good car we brought to the track. The Hendrick cars Chevy was super fast there for a long time,” Larson said after the race.
While Larson may not have won this race, but his performance so far this season in his comeback year with NASCAR has a lot of positives take.
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