{"id":49783,"date":"2025-02-22T13:00:43","date_gmt":"2025-02-22T19:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=49783"},"modified":"2025-02-23T10:49:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-23T16:49:21","slug":"ryan-blaney-wins-the-pole-for-cup-race-at-atlanta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/22\/ryan-blaney-wins-the-pole-for-cup-race-at-atlanta\/","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Blaney wins the pole for Cup race at Atlanta"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

HAMPTON, Ga. \u2013 Ryan Blaney won his first pole position of the season \u2013 11th of his career – Saturday morning at Atlanta Motor Speedway \u2013 his two Team Penske teammates, Austin Cindric and Joey Logano also earning front-of-the-field starts for Sunday\u2019s Ambetter Health 400 (3 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

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Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Zero Sugar Ford, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 22, 2025 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The Penske team \u2013 whose three cars combined to lead the most laps in the season-opening DAYTONA 500 a week ago – will take the field to green on the 1.5-mile Atlanta high banks.<\/p>\n

Blaney\u2019s lap of 179.371 mph in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford was a slight .002-second faster than Cindric and only .040-second quicker than Wood Brothers Racing driver Josh Berry, in a Penske-affiliated Ford Mustang himself. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big testament to our whole group, Team Penske and Wood Brothers to be the top four,” the 31-year old 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Blaney said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just shows you how similar all our cars are being right there together so hope it translates to the race tomorrow in handling and we\u2019ll find out,” he added. \u201cPretty cool day.”<\/p>\n

Fords clearly dominated the qualifying session earning 10 of the first 11 positions on the grid. Logano was fourth fastest, followed by Front Row Motorsport’s Todd Gilliland \u2013 one of three FRM cars to advance to the 10-car final qualifying round. His teammates Zane Smith and Noah Gragson were seventh and 10th fastest.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Zero Sugar Ford, signs the Busch Light Pole Award backdrop after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 22, 2025 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The lone Chevrolet among the top positions was Kyle Busch, whose No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro will roll off sixth. He was runner-up to Trackhouse Racing\u2019s Daniel Suarez in the closest three-wide finish in series history last year at Atlanta. Suarez will roll off 29th in the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. Blaney was the third driver in that historic trio.<\/p>\n

There were only two Toyotas to crack the top-20 in Saturday\u2019s time trials \u2013 23XI Racing teammates Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, who will start 14th and 18th respectively. The perennial championship-favorite Joe Gibbs Racing team did not fare too well with Chase Briscoe 25th, Christopher Bell 32nd, Ty Gibbs 36th and Denny Hamlin 37th on the 39-car grid.<\/p>\n

Despite his promising showing Saturday, Blaney conceded this style of small superspeedway-type racing at Atlanta creates a lot of drama similar to the bigger drafting tracks like Daytona and Talladega, Ala. Meaning anything is possible no matter the grid outlook.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the start and hopefully it stays that way, but things are going to change during the race,” Blaney acknowledged, \u201cBut it\u2019s kind of nice that at least the start of the race through the first stage you can control. It\u2019s not going to be that way the whole race. You\u2019re going to get shuffled at some point and strategy is going to come into play so it\u2019s how do you react to that. But it\u2019s nice to all start together.”<\/p>\n

Blaney said there is always a lot of discussion among his team about how to keep the cars together, up front and out of danger.<\/p>\n

\u201cFast cars and teamwork like that is the reason you see all of us leading a bunch of laps and contending for these wins, so it\u2019s nice to be around each other at first but I\u2019d like it to be like that at the end,” he said smiling.<\/p>\n

NOTEBOOK:<\/b><\/p>\n

*Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe conceded he\u2019s been through a range of emotions in the last week after winning his first ever DAYTONA 500 pole position then his No. 19 team was penalized after further inspection last week. In technical inspection back in Charlotte after the race, NASCAR officials found a problem with the Toyota\u2019s spoiler showed an illegal \u201cmodification of a single source supplied part.”<\/p>\n

The penalty was a four-race suspension for Chase\u2019s crew chief James Small, the loss of 100 driver and owner points and a $100,000 fine. The team is appealing the penalty, but NASCAR has not yet announced when it will hold the hearing.<\/p>\n

Briscoe remembers getting the call that the penalty announcement was forthcoming. But he remained optimistic that once NASCAR hears the team\u2019s case, it may be rescinded or at least, adjusted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t win the appeal, you\u2019ve kind of used up your mulligans, you kind of have three or four times when you can have a DNF in the season and still make the Playoffs,” Briscoe said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t win the appeal, I\u2019ve already used those up and I won\u2019t have any weekends I can do badly [in the race].<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have to win. If you want to be a championship contender you have to win a race anyway to get into the Playoffs and hopefully that\u2019s what we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI already feel like there\u2019s a lot of pressure this year anyway, but certainly if my back\u2019s up against the wall I don\u2019t hate that feeling,” he continued. \u201cI feel like I do better almost in those situations a lot of times. Hopefully we win the appeal, but if not, we\u2019re just going to try to go win races.”<\/p>\n

*Austin Cindric\u2019s first career NASCAR Cup Series win came in the most dramatic and historic ways \u2013 a victory in the 2022 Daytona 500. Last week the driver of the Team Penske\u2019s No. 2 Ford was again at the front of the field in the Daytona. He\u2019s led laps in six of his eight starts on the big track. And Cindric\u2019s 59 laps led last week was the most of any driver, yet he was collected in an accident in the closing laps and rallied to an eighth place.<\/p>\n

This weekend\u2019s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway is considered a smaller drafting track but still along the lines of Daytona and the 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. And Cindric\u2019s performance on these kind of tracks was publicly praised this week by fellow competitor, three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin \u2013 a pat-on-the-back not so common in the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it is a very high compliment,” Cindric said. \u201cIt is not often times you get to earn the respect but also hear the level of respect your competitors have for you. As superspeedway racing goes, Denny has been one of the best for the last couple of decades. For him to have a high opinion like that is pretty cool. I think that is what made the end of the race significant and special to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cindric said his work \u2013 and success on the big track \u2013 is something he takes pride in. And he answered his good work at Daytona with a front row qualifying spot for Sunday\u2019s race at Atlanta.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything you work hard at, you certainly want to see the progress whether it is from your competitors, from within yourself or from your own team,” Cindric said. \u201cI can remember the first two Truck races I did on superspeedways. I hated it! I hated it because I didn\u2019t understand it. When we did the first race here, after they re-paved it, I hated it. But that is because I didn\u2019t understand it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I feel like I look forward to it. That is a huge evolution. That is not just allowing it to happen and understanding that you have to get better to enjoy it. I only have fun if I am out there trying to be successful. If there is an impact on others out there around me, either positive or negative, so be it, but it is a challenging thing to make progress at a level this high.\u201d<\/p>\n

*A fan favorite everywhere he goes, Dawsonville, Ga.-native Chase Elliott is especially beloved racing at his home state track in Atlanta. And he\u2019s happy to be back at it on the superspeedway-style 1.5-mile track whose high banks and configuration create a similar style of competition to the bigger tracks at Daytona and Talladega.<\/p>\n

Elliott finished 15th last weekend in the DAYTONA 500, leading two laps, even though his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was collected in one of the multi-car accidents. And although that was frustrating because he had a solid and encouraging race week otherwise, Elliott says it\u2019s simply best to accept and embrace the kind of driving style and competition necessary at the big tracks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t necessarily know that it\u2019s my favorite style of racing to participate in, but it is definitely a style of racing that you really have to learn to at least accept and try and learn how to get better at, and really just understand that there\u2019s not just two or three on the schedule anymore,” Elliott said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look at the schedule, you have two Atlanta\u2019s, two Daytona\u2019s, two Talladega\u2019s, right? When you come to that conclusion, it\u2019s like — well we better really try and race this, improve and figure out a way to make these races count for the better because, if not, you\u2019re just throwing too much of the season away. So, I think that, historically, you could kind of get away with not worrying about the speedway races with where they fell on the calendar and the fact there wasn\u2019t as many of them. But I don\u2019t really think that\u2019s the case anymore.”<\/p>\n

*It was a week of praise and celebration for last week\u2019s DAYTONA 500 winner, Hendrick Motorsports William Byron. After becoming only the fifth driver in the race\u2019s 67-year history to win back-to-back 500s, Byron was whisked off on a nationwide media tour that included stops in New York City, at The Weather Channel, a WWE event and the opportunity to turn donuts in his Chevrolet in the outfield of the Atlanta Braves Truist Park stadium leading into this week\u2019s race.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that was pretty fun,” Byron smiled of the Braves\u2019 burnouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I mean I got to do a lot more than I feel like last year, especially with the circumstances of last year\u2019s race being on a Monday. So for us, Monday Night RAW was a really fun, unique, experience. I had never been to a wrestling match, so I really enjoyed that, honestly. And then obviously going to New York and then we were here yesterday doing a bunch of stuff with the Braves, the Weather Channel and CNN. It was cool. It\u2019s been a crazy week, but that\u2019s what you want. You don\u2019t think about all that stuff when you\u2019re trying to win the race. I think it\u2019s cool that we won. It\u2019s cool that we got the chance to really go and do some fun stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

*Joey Logano\u2019s start at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday will give him the new longest consecutive start streak in the NASCAR Cup Series, with the previous holder of that mark, Martin Truex Jr. ending his own at 685 straight starts \u2013 sixth on the all-time list.<\/p>\n

Truex, the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion, retired from fulltime competition at the end of 2024, but started last week\u2019s season-opening DAYTONA 500. His mark began with the 2006 DAYTONA 500.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s obviously a long way to go to catch those guys, but it\u2019s kind of cool it\u2019s happening at Atlanta because I grew up racing Legends cars here,” said Logano, who will make his 578th start and remembers parking his Legends Series car outside Atlanta\u2019s media center as a kid hoping to race in the NASCAR Cup Series one day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the dream and now pretty cool to see that come full circle here in Atlanta.”<\/p>\n

Logano\u2019s former Penske teammate, Brad Keselowski, now an owner driver with Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing is next behind Logano at 546 consecutive starts.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

NCS Pole Winner – Ryan Blaney (No. 12 Team Penske Ford) –<\/p>\n

William Byron (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NCSAMS1WilliamByron22225.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NCSAMS1ChaseElliott22225.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Ty Gibbs (No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NCSAMSTyGibbs022225.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Austin Cindric (No. 2 Team Penske Ford) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NCSAMSAustinCindric022225.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Cody Ware, Corey LaJoie and Rick Ware (Rick Ware Racing) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NCSAMSRickWareRacing022225.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Austin Hill (No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NXSAMSAustinHill022125.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Justin Allgaier (No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet)<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NXSAMS1JustinAllgaier22125.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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