Stage 2 recap (race under weather delay)
Ryan Blaney leads the NASCAR Cup Series race at EchoPark Speedway (TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) after 109 laps, as the event is under an inclement weather delay.
Bubba Wallace is second, followed by Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott. Erik Jones, Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar, Joey Logano and Ty Gibbs round out the top 10 as they run.
RELATED: Live leaderboard | At-track photos
The first lead change of the evening came during the Stage 1 caution, as Tyler Reddick — the EchoPark springtime winner — exited pit road first. But that didn’t last long. Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney each took turns leading early in the second frame, before Carson Hocevar rocketed past both at Lap 83 for his first lead of the night.
Hocevar led the next 12 circuits as intensity picked up, with inclement weather potentially threatening. Blaney returned to the top spot at Lap 95 with good friend Bubba Wallace right behind him.
At Lap 108, the caution came out for lightning in the area. The pace car led the field down pit road a lap later, and the race was officially halted.
Stage 1 recap
Ryan Blaney earned a wire-to-wire Stage 1 victory in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at EchoPark Speedway (TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The pole starter led all 60 laps in the opening frame, fending off Tyler Reddick — who started outside the top 30 — in the closing circuits.
Reddick held on for second, followed by Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and Austin Cindric. Carson Hocevar, Austin Dillon, Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace rounded out the top 10 and early points earners.
RELATED: Live leaderboard | At-track photos
In the opening moments, Brad Keselowski got loose in Turns 3 and 4 and brushed the wall, plummeting back through the field and eventually falling a lap down.
After just 10 laps, Team Penske ran 1-2-3 with Blaney pacing Logano and Cindric, who started eighth. They, along with Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson, broke ahead from the rest of the field. By Lap 26, Spire Motorsports’ Hocevar climbed from a 14th-place starting position up to third, briefly breaking up the blue oval brigade for the first time.
MORE: Full Stage 1 results
But as the opening stage reached the halfway mark, the field retightened as drivers gained feel for their cars. There was no practice for Sunday’s race, so the opening stint of the 260-lapper was the first time all weekend that teams worked together in the Peach State draft.
Stage 1 was completed without a caution.
This story will be updated.