A three-hour rain delay didn’t keep Ryan Blaney and the No.12 Team Penske Ford from finishing where he started – at the front of the pack winning the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, GA.
Blaney claimed the pole position and led 171 of 263 laps, including eight of the fastest. The Ohio native won both stages, followed closely by Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano.
Only Ty Gibbs (32 laps), Carson Hocevar (25 laps), and Bubba Wallace (11 laps) led the race with double-digit laps.
Blaney led a trio of Team Penske cars in a takeover of the top three spots on the eighth lap with Logano and Austin Cindric in close pursuit.
Kyle Larson in the No. 5 HendrixCar.com Chevy slipped by Cindric to take over third place on lap 46. Larson wasn’t done passing Logano on the next lap to set up a challenge for the lead. Blaney fought off a challenge from Larson and Tyler Reddick’s No. 45 Chumba Casino Toyota to win stage 1.
Reddick held the lead for the first four laps after the restart (Lap 69). It was short-lived as both Blaney and Larson went by him in Turn 2.
Hocevar, Blaney and Larson took turns at the front over the next 11 laps. Reddick No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet fought his way back to the top to challenge Hocevar for the lead. The 23-year-old got under Hocevar but wasn’t able to make it work and faded back to the fifth spot.
Blaney made his run at the lead outside in Turn 4 work before lightning in the area brought out the yellow caution flag. Yellow turned to red, forcing all cars off the track.
Night racing turned into early morning racing as the green flag waved one minute after the stroke of midnight.
Wallace drove his way to the front alongside Blaney for the restart. The pair ran neck and neck until Blaney pulled ahead down the backstretch.
More yellow caution flags opened an opportunity for the Joe Gibbs team of Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric and Chris Buescher. Excellent coordination by the pit crews allowed the teammates, led by Gibbs, to get out in front of the pack.
Another yellow resets the order of things with Blaney once again out front. A new car entered the challenge group as Chase Elliott in the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts/CHOA Chevrolet slipped into the second spot.
Hocevar regained the lead with a little push from Wallace a lap into the restart at lap 247. Wallace helped a couple of drivers with a push, including Blaney in the final lap that clinched the win.