Winners and losers from stunning midnight NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta

Motorsport photo

Race day started just after 7pm, local time, with Ryan Blaney pacing the field from pole position. Then we spent over three hours waiting out the weather mid-race, with Blaney still in control. Finally, just before 2am, Blaney claimed the checkered flag in the marathon race and proceeded to ride his newly won motorcycle around the track.

And while Blaney’s name dominated the pylon, this race was far from predictable, with nonstop action and plenty of drama around the track some like to call Atlanta-Dega these days. Surprisingly though, there wasn’t much carnage as drivers expertly battled around one another for several hours.

Here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers from a very late-night race at EchoPark Speedway:

WINNER: A dominant Blaney and a formidable Team Penske

Watch: Blaney prevails with EchoPark win in wild OT

Ryan Blaney didn’t just win at Atlanta, he dominated. The No. 12 Team Penske Ford led 171 of 263 laps — the most at any drafting track since Richard Petty’s 1964 Daytona 500 win. It was also the 750th win for Ford, but Penske’s good day didn’t end with Blaney. Teammate Joey Logano scored a top ten finish and was top five in both stages, while Austin Cindric earned a top 15 finish while also securing top fives in both stages. It was a big points night for all three cars, and critical for Cindric and Logano as they are right in the middle of the battle to make the Chase.

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LOSER: Bubba Wallace crosses the line second, but loses it all

Watch: Wallace questions penalty, addresses Gibbs run-in

What a frustrating night for the 23XI Racing driver. At the end of Stage 2, he spun from inside the top five, denying him any Stage 2 points. But at the end of the race, he had a legitimate shot at the win, and battled three-wide to the line, finishing a close second. Unfortunately, NASCAR determined that he advanced his position by going below the yellow line, penalizing him. Wallace was sent to the tail of the lead lap, finishing 29th. “Just another race for Bubba Wallace and company,” he said post-race. Wallace also had an issue with Toyota ‘teammwork’ and the fact that Ty Gibbs didn’t cut him a break at the end of Stage 2 when he was sent spinning. Just a night to forget for the No. 23, despite spending most of it at the front of the field…

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Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Fifth for Jones and sixth for SVG was huge for them on Sunday night. While it doesn’t look like they gained a lot of ground in the Chase, those impressive runs prevented them from falling far behind against the Penske duo of Cindric and Logano. Van Gisbergen is now +31, and Jones keeps himself from getting booted back below the cut-line. SVG later told Motorsport.com that “nothing” in his career prepared him for this style of racing, and we’re talking about a driver that has raced on no fewer than four continents in his life. That makes it even more impressive when you realize he walked away from Atlanta 2026 with a pair of sixth-place finishes.

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LOSER: Kyle Larson makes a mistake, derailing late-race charge

Kyle Larson spins, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Larson spun late in the race after a big check-up in the top line, but that wasn’t the end of his hopes, nor was it his fault. Larson made a valiant charge through the pack, passing almost twenty cars before he reached Denny Hamlin. Unfortunately, Larson moved up at the exit of Turn 2 when he wasn’t clear, squeezing Hamlin and putting himself in the wall. It was the only major multi-car crash of the race, dropping Larson to 34th for the second consecutive race.

WINNER: Todd Gilliland advances into semi-finals of In-Season Challenge

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet; Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

The underdog story lives on! No. 25 seed in the In-Season Challenge advanced into the semi-finals of the bracket tournament, with rival Alex Bowman glued to his bumper across the finish line. Gilliland now stands among true titans now, facing 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott at North Wilkesboro. On the other side of the bracket, Christopher Bell will face off against Blaney. To put this all into perspective, Elliott has more career race wins than Gilliland has top tens, so what a story it would be if the Front Row Motorsports driver can go all the way and secure that $1 million prize.

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LOSER: AJ Allmendinger as the biggest loser in the standings

A.J. Allmendinger spins, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Allmendinger has been doing a lot with a little this year, as Chevrolet has cut off Kaulig Racing due to their arrangement with Ram in the Truck Series. Despite that, Allmendinger is within striking distance of a Chase spot, and a drafting track was a great opportunity to level the playing field. However, that’s not what ended up happening in the end. A mistake while battling Michael McDowell sent Allmendinger spinning. He was dejected on the radio, and soon after, a blown tire sent him careening into the wall. He scored just one point after finishing 37th, and was the biggest loser in the championship standings, dropping three positions.

WINNER: Carson Hocevar, even though he had no friends at the end

Watch: Hocevar jokes he may have earned respect at EchoPark

Hocevar has fully embraced an ‘IDGAF’ attitude, as displayed in recent interviews. If there was ever any sugar-coating before, it’s gone now. He wants to be loved by the fans, and doesn’t care if he’s hated by the drivers. He even bragged about ignoring the advice of his team owner mid-race during the rain delay, but hey, whatever he’s doing on track continues to work for him. Hocevar sliced through the field with ease on more than one occasion, and was leading in overtime. While circulating under caution in the final moments of the race, he actually started to sing over the radio and laugh with the team. The only downside for him is that Atlanta is a place where you’re going to need a friendly push if you want to win, and he had no friends as he was flanked by the duos of Blaney/Bell and Wallace/Gibbs. But he kept it clean, never wrecked anyone, and walked away with a third-place finish. He didn’t get the race win, but he has a lot to smile about after Atlanta.

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LOSER: Those who sadly couldn’t stick around until 2am

Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

Asking people to stay up until 2am on Sunday night is a difficult task, and I feel for those both at the track and at home who didn’t get to witness this race live. It was sensational, with the late-hour adding to the insane grip and making for nonstop action. Stage 1 and Stage 3 looked like completely different races with the way the track drove. While I applaud NASCAR for sticking with it and finishing it under the lights, maybe more people would feel inclined to stick around if this unfortunate delay unfolded on a Saturday night, instead of Sunday…just a thought.

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