Ryan Blaney swept the NASCAR Cup Series weekend as he won the pole, each of the first two stages, and then capped it off by delivering Ford its 750th all-time NASCAR Cup Series win in a thrilling overtime finish at EchoPark Speedway.
The race was delayed more than three hours due to rain, which pushed the event into the wee hours of Monday morning after it restarted shortly before midnight Eastern time.
But even the weather couldn’t stop Blaney, who led all 60 circuits in winning Stage 1 and went on to hold the top spot 14 times for a race-high 171 laps.
A variety of drivers ended up swapping the lead with Blaney, who won for the second time this season, but none of them could stay in front for long. First, it was Chase Elliott who exchanged the lead multiple times and then Bubba Wallace, but in the end it was Carson Hocevar that provided the biggest challenge in the closing laps. Blaney and Hocevar exchanged the lead four times down the stretch before the Team Penske driver survived a chaotic final lap to win by .068 seconds.
Joey Logano finished ninth and Chris Buescher 10th as Ford had three drivers in the top 10.
Ford won its first NASCAR Cup Series race on June 25, 1950 when Shirtless Jimmy Florian beat the stars of the day at Dayton Speedway.
Ned Jarrett is Ford’s all-time wins leader with 43 victories while Bill Elliott is second with 40. Overall, 91 drivers have won at least one series race.
The NASCAR Cup Series continues next Sunday, July 19 at North Wilkesboro Speedway (7 p.m. ET, TNT, PRN, SiriusXM).
Ford Unofficial Finishing Results
1st – Ryan Blaney
9th – Joey Logano
10th – Chris Buescher
14th – Austin Cindric
19th – Todd Gilliland
24th – Ryan Preece
25th – Josh Berry
26th – Brad Keselowski
27th – Noah Gragson
30th – Zane Smith
33rd – Chad Finchum
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 BodyArmor Flash I.V. Ford Mustang Dark Horse – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW –
“It was definitely, honestly, a pretty awesome night. I mean, having a really fast car and sitting on the pole, winning both stages and leading a ton of laps and just in a position to win the race. You never know how these things are gonna end, honestly. There are a couple of things I probably could have done better, but we were able to stick around and just how the last couple laps played out we were able to get the lead back and just barely hold on. It’s a pretty cool day when you have weekends like that. You can’t ask for a better weekend – sit on the pole, sweeps the stages, win the race. That’s a dream weekend right there. These guys are great. They brought a rocket ship and it was nice that we were able to close it out.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang Dark Horse –
“That was a battle. We got some good stage points and then a top 10, so we got the points we need, which is very crucial right now, especially when you come to a track like this because you just don’t know what’s gonna happen. I wish I had something to go win with, but once we got back there I couldn’t get back to the front. That’s about as good as I could have done there.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Kroger/Heinz Ketchup/Artesano Brioche Ford Mustang Dark Horse –
“That was a fight by everybody on this team to get back to 11th. We got up there and drove to the front through some good strategy, but ultimately had to keep working on it all night to even get to the point where we were able to be in the hunt for a top 10, but it was a tough night. I’m still trying to get a handle on this place. To be honest, I miss the old Atlanta, but I’m trying to get this one figured out.”
TODD GILLILAND, No. 34 Ruedebusch Development & Construction Ford Mustang Dark Horse –
YOU’RE MOVING ON IN THE IN-SEASON CHALLENGE.
“Yeah. Somehow, someway. It was not our night tonight, but that is why I love this team. No matter what, we just don’t give up, whether that means we’re running well or just barely grinding out a top 20, sometimes you’ll have those days. We’ve been just barely skating by and two more rounds. Two more really good races stand between us and a million bucks. We were just saying, I didn’t have the best night, but in two weeks that would make me feel a lot better. We’ve got the best of the best still in it and it’s time to go beat them.”
