Ryan Blaney bypasses dominant Larson at Atlanta, lands first Cup Series win of 2021 - NASCAR

Ryan Blaney became the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series’ sixth winner in six races, roaring past a dominant Kyle Larson on the 317th of 325 laps to go on to win Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Blaney led 25 laps in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. His No. 12 Team Penske Ford was 2.083 seconds ahead at the checkered flag as he posted his first Atlanta win and the fifth victory in his Cup Series career.

RELATED: Unofficial results | Cup Series schedule

Larson swept both stages, led a race-best 269 laps and drove home second in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. But his solid performance faded in the closing stretch as Blaney slipped by.

Alex Bowman, a teammate to Larson, placed third. Another pair of teammates went fourth and fifth, with pole-starter Denny Hamlin ahead of Kyle Busch, who rallied from a final-stage speeding penalty for a top-five result.

Former Atlanta winner Kurt Busch was among the early exits, getting the worst of a restart stack-up as Stage 2 began. A bump from Hamlin sent his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet into the outside wall in Turn 1, ending his day after just 113 laps and leaving him last in the 39-car field.

Hometown favorite Chase Elliott fared little better. Trouble in pre-race inspection sent his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to the back of the field for the start. He rallied up into the top 10 at points of the race, but engine failure sidelined him after 220 laps. Elliott finished 38th.

The Cup Series’ next event is the Food City Dirt Race, scheduled next Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM) on Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt surface. It’s the first race on dirt for NASCAR’s top division since 1970.

Notes: Blaney’s win extended Ford’s streak of Atlanta victories to five in a row. … The Cup Series returns to Atlanta Motor Speedway on July 11. It’s the first time since 2010 that the track has held two annual events for the series.

This article will be updated.

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