Winners: Ryan Blaney (Cup); Justin Allgaier (Xfinity); Kyle Busch (Trucks)
Ryan Blaney win the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500
All of Ryan Blaney's NASCAR Cup Series wins have come with a move in the final 10 laps of a race.
The 27-year-old did it for a fifth time Sunday, ripping the victory away from Kyle Larson with eight laps to go in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Blaney's previous best finish at the 1.5-mile quad-oval track was fourth. He started 10th and lurked until he found an opening to pounce.
"Gosh, we had a great long-run car all day," Blaney said. "It took us a little bit to get going, but I was pretty free all day. We made a really good change to tighten me up where I needed it and it looked like Kyle was getting loose.
"I'm happy it worked in our favor that there were a couple long runs at the end that helped us get there. We're been good this year and had some bad breaks so it's nice to close out a race like that. That was awesome."
Larson led 269 of the 325 laps, but quickly lost touch with Blaney once the pass was executed. He was bidding to become the first repeat winner this season. Instead, Blaney became the sixth driver to take a checkered flag.
Classy. Ryan @Blaney just made a fan for LIFE. What a cool memory for that kid. pic.twitter.com/iwI5evcGHf
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 21, 2021
Allgaier Pilots EchoPark Machine to Victory Lane in EchoPark 250
Hounded by Martin Truex Jr. for a tense final 13 laps, Justin Allgaier held off the veteran to win the EchoPark 250 on Saturday evening at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Allgaier won for the first time this season and the first time at AMS. His No. 7 EchoPark team struggled mightily in the first four races of the 2021, but finished in the top 10 last week and broke through for the checkered flag Saturday.
"We have had a rough go at it," Allgaier said. "Today was more about digging deep and persevering. I knew Martin was going to be coming at the end of the race there.
"It's really special. I'm just proud of the guys. We had great pit stops all day and made great adjustments all day. At the end, we put ourselves in the right spot."
Truex charged to the lead after starting 18th. Truex, who last competed in the Xfinity series in 2010, overtook the top spot on Lap 7. He held it until a penalty on Lap 114 of 163.
What. A. Day. Humbled, thankful & blessed to finally get the 🏁 @amsupdates! Thanks to @AxaltaRacing & @echopark for coming on board yesterday. The guys @JRMotorsports gave me a fast hotrod!
— Justin Allgaier (@J_Allgaier) March 21, 2021
Loved the makeshift VL @AshleyAllgaier, Harper & I made in the bus. pic.twitter.com/LTn8Ym7a32
Kyle Busch dominates the Fr8Auctions 200
Kyle Busch dominated the last 30 laps and finished more than four seconds ahead of the field to win the Fr8Auctions 200 on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
It was his 60th Camping World Series Truck race victory.
"It's always cool to get back to victory lane," Busch said. "And it's good to see John Hunter come home with a top-3 today, too. Obviously him racing for a championship, that's important."
John Hunter Nemechek, as the standings leader, started on the pole. The 23-year-old was coming off a win in Las Vegas on March 5 where he held off his team owner, Busch. It set up another showdown between the two Toyotas in Atlanta.
At least until Busch began to pull away from the field in the final stage. Nemechek finished third.
"I was hoping to beat Kyle, but I didn't have anything for him at the end," Nemechek said with a little laugh.
It’s a new week and a new day. Saturday was fun, but all eyes 👀 ahead to this weekend at Bristol. #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/NyPEdmz0MK
— Kyle Busch Motorsports (@KBMteam) March 22, 2021
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