Blaney Wins Thrilling Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway
- Tim Moore
- 12 hours ago
- 4 min read
HAMPTON, G.A. - Ryan Blaney was dominant in the Quaker State 400, Sunday, July 12, as he earned his second win of 2026. In a race that had shades of the 2015 Daytona summer race, rain delayed the race just before halfway causing the race to carry over well past midnight. Regardless of the weather, Blaney was superior from start to finish in his victory as Blaney swept the stages earning near maximum points, only missing the fastest lap.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The race went 109 laps before being red flagged for three hours and nine minutes with a unique style in the early portion of the race. Early on the Penske trio was dominant as they were able to pull away from the field for majority of the opening stage, stringing things out.
It would not stay that way as eventually defending EchoPark Speedway winner Tyler Reddick would join the challenge along with Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson as they all showed strong long run pace. But come the end of the stage, Blaney kept his car clean up out front winning stage one with relative ease.
After the rain delay in the second stage, it remained evident that both Blaney and Reddick had the best long run pace. Blaney maintained the point, meanwhile Reddick had to work his way through the field. Similar to the end of the first stage, Reddick produced a late charge, this time getting closer to taking the lead. That did not stop Ryan Blaney though as he edged the sweep of the stages.
The final stage saw the first caution for incident on lap 195 when AJ Allmendinger went for a spin out of turn four. For Allmendinger he exited the scene without damage, but his race had a tragic ending on lap 233 as his troubles were not over.
Exiting turn four Allmendinger cut down a right front tire pounding the outside wall. The damage was irreparable and AJ finished the race 37th place. The finish was a huge blow as Allmendinger was just on the outside of making the playoffs entering the race but leaves Atlanta -50 points to the cutline.
Afterwards there were two more incidents. On lap 243, similar to Allmendinger's first incident, Kyle Larson went for an innocent spin. An then on lap 256, tragedy happened, as a seven-car accident including Larson ended his day just before the finish. Larson finished 34th.
As for the finish, to nobodies surprise the race went to overtime.
On the restart, Carson Hocevar controlled the way and led coming to the white flag. The issue for Hocevar, he had to big of a gap, and with the aid of Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney got a huge run exiting turn two, allowing him to get to the top side of Hocevar.
Behind, Bubba Wallace forced Hocevar and Blaney three wide. Blaney was the first driver to receive help as he was pushed by Christopher Bell, propelling him to the win, Fords 750th!
THE BIG PICTURE:
Unfortunately for Blaney, his win as it turned out was not the biggest story. Rather his best friend Bubba Wallace, who was black flagged by NASCAR for making an illegal move below the double yellow line. The penalty was detrimental.
Wallace initially crossed the line 2nd just short of beating Blaney. After the penalty, Wallace was scored 29th. Rather than scoring 36 points, Wallace earned only 9. A 27-point swing, that could have major consequences come the end of the regular season. Wallace, could have exited EchoPark speedway with over a race's worth of points in advantage to the cutline but instead sits +55 to the cutline.
As for Ryan Blaney, his 75-point day was massive! Blaney leaves Atlanta right back in the regular season championship mix, as he trailed Denny Hamlin by just 65 points with his win. The race for the regular season title is now a three-horse race, and the battle for the cutline of who will make it into the playoffs is simply unpredictable.
OTHER NOTABLES:
Todd Gilliland was the Little Engine Who Could as he advanced with a little bit of luck in the In Season Bracket Challenge. Gilliland spent majority of the day a lap down after early struggles in the opening stage and did not get back on the lead lap until lap 233.
With Bowman being involved in the crash prior to the green-white-checkered attempt, he did not have enough time to catch Gilliland to make a charge. GIlliland bested Bowman with a 19th place finish compared to Bowman's 22nd and will face off against Chase Elliott in the semi-finals.
As for the other bracket, Christopher Bell pushing Ryan Blaney secured his opportunity to advance in the tournament along with Blaney. Both drivers will face off against each other at North Wilkesboro next weekend.
UP NEXT:
As mentioned, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to North Wilkesboro for the series first points race at the facility in 30 years. Previously the series held the All-star race at the facility with Christopher Bell being the previous winner. Coverage of the race can be found on TNT and is slated for a start time of 7:00 P.M. ET.