Daniel Suárez sped to his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season Sunday, prevailing in a three-wide photo finish to win the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Suárez continued after a Lap 2 crash and led just nine of the 260 laps in the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, holding on for an 0.003-second margin of victory over Ryan Blaney at the finish. His first win at the 1.54-mile Georgia track was the second of his Cup Series career.
Blaney drove home as the runner-up in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, with Kyle Busch in third place — just 0.007 seconds back of the race winner as the trio finished three-abreast on the dash to the checkered flag.
Austin Cindric placed fourth with Bubba Wallace rounding out the top five.
A massive Lap 2 crash thinned the field of more than a dozen potential contenders after the outside lane bottled up shortly after the start. A total of 14 cars were listed on the official scorer’s report, but Josh Williams’ No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet was the only immediate retiree.
Joey Logano dropped from his second starting spot to the rear of the field for Sunday’s green flag after NASCAR officials revealed that he used unapproved protective gloves during the race weekend. He also served a pass-through penalty on pit road after the start, but the Lap 2 wreck mitigated the punishment and the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford was able to stay on the lead lap as he rejoined the event.
Logano crashed at the end of Stage 2, squeezing Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Ford into the wall and snaring Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota in the melee.
Daytona 500 winner William Byron finished 17th, with his bid for a second consecutive Cup Series victory hampered by a Stage 2 tangle with pole-sitter Michael McDowell. The two slowed for pit-road entry during an exchange of green-flag stops on Lap 135, and McDowell’s No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford skidded out of control and collected the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy of Byron. Both cars lost a lap but continued, with McDowell winding up eighth.
The Cup Series’ next race is scheduled Sunday, March 3 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
