In a frenzied final lap, Daniel Suárez clinched his spot in the NASCAR Cup Series postseason after a wild photo finish win over Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday.
Suárez edged out Blaney by 0.003 seconds at the finish line, with Busch coming in third, 0.007 seconds behind the winner. It was the third-closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history.
“It was so damn close, man. It was so damn close,” Suárez said after the race, per NASCAR-provided video. “It was good racing. Ryan Blaney there, Kyle Busch. Austin Cindric also was doing a great job giving pushes. In the back straightaway, he didn’t push me because he knew I was going to block his teammate, but man, what a job.”
Blaney thought he picked the right lane by going to the bottom and could manage the track.
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“I thought I laid back enough in (turns) 1 and 2 to not let both lanes get that big of a run,” Blaney said after the race, per NASCAR-provided video.
“What a cool finish. Appreciate the fans for sticking around. That’s a lot of fun. That’s always a good time when we can do that, race clean, three-side finish to the end. Happy for Daniel. That was cool to see. Fun racing with Kyle. I can’t complain. I’ve won them by very, very little, too, so I can’t complain too much when I lose them by that much.”
A multi-car crash involving 14 cars almost ended Suárez’s day in Atlanta, but luckily for him, his No. 99 Chevy was able to continue.
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“We wrecked on Lap 2. The guys did an amazing job fixing this car,” Suárez said. “I can’t thank everyone enough … all the amazing fans here. Let’s go!”
Of the 14 cars collected in the crash, only Christopher Bell and Josh Williams could not complete the race.
NASCAR Cup Series heads to Las Vegas next weekend for the Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube.
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Featured image via David Yeazell/USA TODAY Sports Images
