Close, but no cigar.
How close was the 0.003-second finish between the No. 99 Chevrolet of Daniel Suarez and the No. 12 Ford of Ryan Blaney this past Sunday?
Probably the length of a cigar — or maybe just the butt, it was THAT close of a finish.
The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion came up short by just a few inches in Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Blaney finished second in a close three-car finish with winner Daniel Suarez and third-place finisher Kyle Busch that was the third-closest finish in Cup Series history.
Blaney, who is a strong contender to reach victory lane this Sunday in Las Vegas, led 31 laps in the wild race at Atlanta, that featured a track record 48 lead changes between 14 different drivers. Blaney had the lead as the cars raced into the backstretch on the final lap, but Busch and Suarez made their moves, creating an epic three-car race to the finish that made the race an instant classic.
“I’m sure it was close,” Blaney said. “I’ve won some by a few inches and lost some by a few inches. It was a fun night, fun racing. I didn’t think they’d get that big of a run on me. I thought I did a good job of getting close off of (turn) two to where I kind of had some of their energy.