Ryan Blaney wins NASCAR All-Star race, $1 million prize

FORT WORTH, Texas — Ryan Blaney needed two extra laps after thinking he had already won the NASCAR All-Star race and $1 million, staying in front through a green-white-checkered finish after a caution came out just yards before he got to the line the first time.

Blaney's crew was already celebrating the victory in the pit, and the driver had already lowered the window net of his No. 12 Ford after crossing the start-finish line.

«Everybody thought the race was over,» said Blaney, who then had to gather himself and get the window net back in position to finish the race.

The All-Star race has to finish on a green flag, and the caution flag initially came out just before Blaney had crossed the line because Ricky Stenhouse Jr. slammed into the outside wall going into the backstraight.

Pushed by his Penske teammate Austin Cindric on the restart, Blaney was able to stay in front and hold off Denny Hamlin, who finished 0.266 seconds behind.

Cindric was third, and Joey Logano, another Team Penske driver, was fourth. Daniel Suarez, who got into the main event like Stenhouse through a 16-car open qualifier earlier in the day, finished fifth.

Former NASCAR All-Star winners Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson all crashed out in the second stage.

It was the fourth All-Star race victory for Roger Penske's team. The last had been Logano in 2016.

Busch, the polesitter and 2017 winner, was leading when he had a flat right rear tire coming out of the fourth turn on lap 48 late in the second stage. He was slowing and going toward the bottom of the frontstretch when he was hit from behind by Ross Chastain, who was going about 185 mph.

Chastain's No. 1 car went almost all the way on its left side after the rattling collision, before