{"id":5847,"date":"2026-07-13T16:36:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847"},"modified":"2026-07-13T16:36:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:36:32","slug":"ryan-blaney-is-only-65-points-out-of-nascars-points-lead-following-dominant-weekend-in-atlanta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Blaney is only 65 points out of NASCAR\u2019S points lead following dominant weekend in Atlanta"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) \u2014 His thick moustache wasn\u2019t the only feature that made Ryan Blaney look like Richard Petty in a dominant performance at EchoPark Speedway.<\/p>\n

Read more The White Sox and Rays \u2014 2 division leaders \u2014 also had the top 2 picks in baseball\u2019s draft<\/a><\/p>\n

Blaney drove like NASCAR\u2019s King while ruling the Cup Series race from qualifying through every stage in a weather-delayed victory which left the Team Penske Ford driver in contention for the points championship.<\/p>\n

Blaney won every stage after starting on the pole and led 171 laps in his win. The race was delayed 3 hours, 9 minutes by rain and lightning and ended at 1:45 a.m. on Monday.<\/p>\n

The 171 laps led are the most at a drafting-style track since Petty led 184 of 200 laps for his first Daytona 500 win in 1964.<\/p>\n

As a result, Blaney is third in the NASCAR points race, only 65 behind leader Denny Hamlin. Tyler Reddick is second.<\/p>\n

Even Blaney was shocked to learn he is in the thick of the championship race heading into Sunday\u2019s race at North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. <\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d Blaney asked when told he is only 65 points out of the lead. \u201cWow! Wow!\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a race to remember for Blaney and Team Penske. Blaney\u2019s dominance began when he won the pole while joined by Team Penske teammate Joey Logano on the front row. He then survived the long weather delay to answer every challenge while winning Stage 1, Stage 2 and then surviving a three-wide battle on the final lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t ask for a better weekend,\u201d Blaney said. \u201cSat on the pole, won both stages and won the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy car was incredibly fast, leading. I could defend moves without having to throw, like, low-percentage blocks. I just never really did that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Former Spanish leader is criticized for comments about France\u2019s World Cup team<\/a><\/p>\n

Blaney knew he had the speed to recover if he briefly lost the lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome moves are kind of unbeatable to defend as the leader,\u201d he said. \u201cI would just let people get to my inside. If they passed me, great, I think I can probably develop a run to get them back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blaney\u2019s crew chief, Jonathan Hassler, made the crucial decision to keep the No. 12 Ford on the track after Blaney brushed the wall with 29 laps remaining. Blaney worried he felt a \u201cterrible\u201d vibration following the contact with the wall but Hassler was able to quickly determine there was no serious damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were able to get some pictures really quick, see that the damage wasn\u2019t too bad,\u201d Hassler said. \u201cObviously we saw there was a little bit. \u2026 We looked at it, there were 30 cars on the lead lap, not a lot of laps left. Our chance to win was to stay out, take a little bit of a risk. Fortunately it worked out for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blaney fought off challenges from Bubba Wallace and Christopher Hill, who finished second, on the final lap. Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top four. Wallace was penalized for passing below the double yellow lines and finished 29th instead of second.<\/p>\n

Blaney said he didn\u2019t have the best-handling car but enjoyed being able to rely on his superior speed with the race on the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was kind of a fun dynamic of my car is really fast, handles a little worse than theirs,\u201d Blaney said. \u201cTheir car handles better but isn\u2019t quite as quick down the straightaway. Fun how all that played out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Blaney will continue to chase the Toyotas of Hamlin and Reddick for the points lead. Blaney\u2019s strategy is simple: \u201cJust keep doing what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if he can win the championship, Blaney said \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s out of the question. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe just have to keep doing what we\u2019re doing. That surprises me we\u2019re that close. I think before San Diego I was like 160 out. It shows you how quick things can kind of ebb and flow. \u2026 Never know when we can get there or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Former grocery delivery man Joe Dean earns the final spot in British Open<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP auto racing: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/auto-racing<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) \u2014 His thick moustache wasn\u2019t the only feature that made Ryan Blaney…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nRyan Blaney is only 65 points out of NASCAR\u2019S points lead following dominant weekend in Atlanta - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ryan Blaney is only 65 points out of NASCAR\u2019S points lead following dominant weekend in Atlanta - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) \u2014 His thick moustache wasn\u2019t the only feature that made Ryan Blaney...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-13T16:36:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5847#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5847\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"headline\":\"Ryan Blaney is only 65 points out of NASCAR\u2019S points lead following dominant weekend in Atlanta\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-13T16:36:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5847\"},\"wordCount\":717,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5847#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/40397885e500e89a33cff26ee02f01f9.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5847#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5847\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5847\",\"name\":\"Ryan Blaney is only 65 points out of NASCAR\u2019S points lead following dominant weekend in Atlanta - Raleigh Moving News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5847#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5847#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/40397885e500e89a33cff26ee02f01f9.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-13T16:36:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5847#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5847\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5847#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/40397885e500e89a33cff26ee02f01f9.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/40397885e500e89a33cff26ee02f01f9.webp\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":853},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5847#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ryan Blaney is only 65 points out of NASCAR\u2019S points lead following dominant weekend in Atlanta\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Raleigh Moving News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ryan Blaney is only 65 points out of NASCAR\u2019S points lead following dominant weekend in Atlanta - Raleigh Moving News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ryan Blaney is only 65 points out of NASCAR\u2019S points lead following dominant weekend in Atlanta - Raleigh Moving News","og_description":"HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) \u2014 His thick moustache wasn\u2019t the only feature that made Ryan Blaney...","og_url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847","og_site_name":"Raleigh Moving News","article_published_time":"2026-07-13T16:36:32+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"headline":"Ryan Blaney is only 65 points out of NASCAR\u2019S points lead following dominant weekend in Atlanta","datePublished":"2026-07-13T16:36:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847"},"wordCount":717,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/40397885e500e89a33cff26ee02f01f9.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847","name":"Ryan Blaney is only 65 points out of NASCAR\u2019S points lead following dominant weekend in Atlanta - Raleigh Moving News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/40397885e500e89a33cff26ee02f01f9.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-13T16:36:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/40397885e500e89a33cff26ee02f01f9.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/40397885e500e89a33cff26ee02f01f9.webp","width":1280,"height":853},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5847#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ryan Blaney is only 65 points out of NASCAR\u2019S points lead following dominant weekend in Atlanta"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/","name":"Raleigh Moving News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}