Photo Finish! Daniel Suarez Wins Atlanta by.003 in a Thrilling Three-Car Battle

For the second week in a row, fans had to wait for the official call to know which driver was victorious in the NASCAR Cup Series. This time as Daniel Suarez beat Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch to the line by a margin of.003 and.007 seconds respectively.

Suarez's victory enters the records book as the third smallest margin in NASCAR Cup history.

"It was so damn close man," Suarez said after climbing out of the car. "It was so damn close. It was good racing."

The smallest margin of victory in a NASCAR Cup Series race is.002, which has happened twice before first at 2003 Darlington when Ricky Craven won over Kurt Busch and at Spring Talledaga in 2011 when Jimmie Johnson beat Clint Bowyer to the line.

Blaney was leading the closing laps while playing defense to two lines barrelling behind him. After losing a push going into the final corners both Busch and Suarez found themselves within striking distance of the leader. To the naked eye, the three cars crossed the line in unison.

"I can't complain. I've won them by very very little too," Blaney told Fox Sports after the race. "I can't complain too much when I lose them by that much."

Suarez was running third and took the chance on the high side as Busch battled in the middle.

This win means a lot to Suarez, after the Trackhouse driver missed the playoffs last year there's speculation that his seat might be at risk going forward as co-owner Justin Marks and Pitbull spent the end of the 2023 season and the off-season signing multiple promising upcoming competitors to the organization.

When questioned after the race Marks said that he couldn't image Suarez ever not being a driver for his team. While the pressure is not gone, those words have to be music to the driver of the No. 99 ears.

After finishing in third, Busch talked about racing with and helping out Suarez during the race. Notoriously, Busch has had problems making friends and holding alliances on the track. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Suarez has built a brand around being an 'Amigo', both in reference to his Mexican heritage and friendly demeanor.

"It was good to see Daniel get a win," Busch told NASCAR on FOX. "We were helping each other being Chevy team partners. It shows that when you do have friends and can make alliances they do seem to work and that was a huge part of today."

Countless fans and accounts online were quick to draw the comparison between this finish and the famous scene in Pixar's Cars where the animated character Lightning Mcqueen wins by sticking out his tongue while racing Chick Hicks and Strip 'The King' Weathers.

Atlanta has been recently reconfigured and fans and drivers are getting familiar with the "New Atlanta". Many love it and many watched the race today begrudgingly. Before this historic finish, there were 42 lead changes; the most in Atlanta's 120 race history, nine cautions, one red flag, and a first-of-its-kind glove penalty. It was an action-packed race already and a three-wide battle just put the cherry on top.

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