Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series race that stretched into early Monday morning at Echo Park Speedway near Atlanta.
A rain delay and an overtime finish pushed the race to just before 2 a.m. Blaney dominated much of the night, leading 171 of 263 laps to secure his second victory of the season.
After the race, Blaney said the win reflects steady improvement during the summer stretch and could help position his team as the playoffs approach.
“Yeah, maybe. Let’s keep doing what we’re doing,” Blaney said. “We’ve done a great job of managing the summer here, trying to get better at the intermediate tracks and just making decent days out of them. Maybe we haven’t been able to contend for a top four or five, but we grind it out and scrounge out a top 10.”
With six races remaining before the playoff field is set, Denny Hamlin leads the overall standings by 24 points over Tyler Reddick.
NASCAR heads next to North Wilkesboro Speedway for its first points race at the track since 1996. The speedway has hosted the All-Star Race for the past three years.
