Blaney started on the outside of two-time defending series champion Matt Crafton, but was able to blow by on a set of newer tires as Crafton sputtered and quickly dropped to a seventh-place finish.
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“We had a chance and that’s all you can ask for is a chance,” Blaney told reporters after the race. “Obviously, the inside isn’t the preferred line on the restart, but we got a good jump and were able to pull away.”
Blaney was black-flagged on Lap 37 for jumping the restart, forcing a pass-through penalty, giving the lead to Cole Custer.
Custer led 111 of 200 laps on the night, but was involved in a wreck while trying to go around lapped traffic with just 40 laps to go.
“I really don’t know what happened,” Custer said afterwards. “I was committed to the top and was going as hard as I could. The truck is all messed up. It’s a shame. We had the thing won.”
Crafton gained the lead on Custer’s misfortune and was ahead with 25 laps remaining when green-flag racing resumed from a rain delay that lasted nearly an hour.
Pole-winner Kyle Busch finished in second and figures to see a lot more of Blaney, who will also compete in the Xfinity Series race on Friday, as well as Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race.
John Hunter Nemechek, Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones to round out the top five. For Nemechek, the third-place finish was a career best.
With an eighth-place finish, Tyler Reddick remains on top of the points standings, six points ahead of Crafton and seven points ahead of Erik Jones, who finished in sixth.
Results for the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway
Blaney Busch Nemechek Hemric Jones Erik Jones Matt Crafton Tyler Reddick Johnny Sauter Dalton Sargeant John Wes Townley Timothy Peters David Gilliland JJ Haley Ben Kennedy Cole Custer Tyler Young Cameron Hayley Travis Kvapil Justin Jennings Ray Black Jr. Spencer Gallagher Ty Dillon Norm Benning Jennifer Jo Cobb Wendell Chavous Korbin Forrister Ryan Ellis Mason Mingus Daniel Suarez Caleb Holman Tyler Tanner
