BLANEY RECOVERS FROM SPEEDING PENALTY FOR TOP-10 FINISH IN ATLANTA

Ryan Blaney rallied to a top-10 finish in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta after a speeding penalty in the second Stage set the No. 12 BODYARMOR SportWater Ford Mustang two laps down. Blaney started the 260-lap event from third, reporting that the car was free in the opening laps. He maintained his speed at the front of the pack for the race's first 60 laps to secure a fourth-place finish in Stage 1. Four fresh tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment during the Stage break helped Blaney's efforts towards the lead, although his next scheduled green-flag stop did not produce the same results; Blaney was clocked speeding at 50.07 mph off pit road, seven hundredths over the limit. The result was a drive-through penalty that relegated Blaney to a race low 33rd, two laps down. The driver of the No. 12 refused to let the speed of his Ford Mustang go to waste, and he slowly propelled himself to the lead-lap with enough time left in the final Stage to battle for position. Working together with his teammates and avoiding multiple multi-car wrecks, Blaney succeeded and was scored as high as third in the final Stage before a hard-fought battle in the finals laps forced him to settle for seventh.