The second NASCAR Cup Series race of 2024 lived up to the wild start that fans witnessed at the season opener. The Ambetter Health 400 was sprinkled with crashes at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. In fact, just after the cars were shown the green flag, trouble brewed. Lap 2 witnessed a massive wreck entangling 16 cars, marking the biggest crash in Atlanta history, and setting the stage for more chaos. But Ryan Blaney came out of this crash-filled race with a smiling face for a change.

The intense battle for the Atlanta trophy was topped off by a bright red cherry at the end. The race ended with a picture-perfect, gorgeous finish entailing three supercharged drivers: Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, and Daniel Suarez. But Suarez claimed the checkered flag in the end. While Blaney only came agonizingly close, he acknowledged that he had a lot of fun.

Ryan Blaney salutes the thrill of the Atlanta race

Nothing stings like a narrow shave to victory. But celebration would still not elude them if the battle was well fought and fair. Ryan Blaney posited a similar situation after the photo finish that marked the end of the 2024 Ambetter race. 

Talking to Fox immediately after the race, he opened up about some technical aspects. “I thought I laid back enough for 1 and 2 to kinda not let him, both lanes get a big of a run. I did that like three laps before the end, and I was able to kinda manage it fairly well. They just got both lanes shoving super hard. I just chose the bottom and safest place to be, so.”

But Blaney waxed praises for the amazing performance of his fellow winners. “What a cool finish. Appreciate the fans for sticking around, that’s a lot of fun. Always a good time when we can do that, you know race clean, three-wide finish to the end. So happy for Daniel. That was cool to see. Fun racing with Kyle. Yeah, I won him by very, very little too, so can’t complain too much for not losing that much.”

The defending Cup Series champion led six times in 31 laps. But he was outsmarted by Daniel Suarez by a close margin of 0.003 seconds. Another 0.004 seconds behind was Kyle Busch, who got caught in between the other two drivers. All three cars provided fans with a visual spectacle at the end.

Meanwhile, Daniel Suarez drove into Victory Lane, seizing the attention of ecstatic fans both in the US and back home in Mexico.

Daniel Suarez choosing not to bask in glory galore

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Grabbing his second Cup Series victory in 253 Cup races, Daniel Suarez consolidated his previously uncertain future with Trackhouse Racing. He has earned a spot in the playoffs with this spectacular victory, but he is not satisfied. 

Daniel Suárez Utterly Disappointed After Two DNFs at Daytona, Attempting 800 Miles

“Some people actually told me you can relax, now you’re in the playoffs,” Suarez said. “Hell no! My goal is to win more than one race. This is not relaxing here. … The goal is for you to not be surprised when the 99 is in victory lane.”

The race finish at Atlanta was the third-closest in NASCAR Cup Series history. Previously, a Talladega race in 2011 and a Darlington race in 2003 both ended with a 0.002-second margin of victory.

Atlanta handed us a marvelous finish to relish. Now we are looking forward to more brilliant races in the weeks ahead.