TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Ryan Blaney held on to the lead after a restart with two laps to go Monday and earned his second straight win at Talladega Superspeedway on a day that began with NASCAR drivers throwing their support behind Bubba Wallace.
Blaney nipped Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at the finish line for his fourth win and first since Talladega in October, albeit this time before a mostly empty venue.
It was a race marked by support for Wallace, one day after a noose was found in his garage stall, instead of another Big One at Talladega, though there was mayhem behind Blaney on the final lap, and he pushed Erik Jones into the wall near the finish.
"Just trying to block, block the best we could," Blaney said. "Block the top, block the bottom ... just beating and banging to the line."
Aric Almirola spun at the end and crossed the line almost backward.
Ford has now won nine of the last 10 Cup races at Talladega, and all three Team Penske drivers have won this season.
The race began with Martin Truex Jr. on the pole, and Tyler Reddick won the first stage, which ended in a weather caution that lasted 58-plus minutes.
The crowd dwindled significantly from Sunday, when up to 5,000 fans were allowed into Talladega, making this only the second race with fans since NASCAR returned from the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.