In a race where the Fords demonstrated their speed at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney emerged as the best, marking the start of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Blaney, Cup champion in 2003, led 116 laps with his number 12 Mustang, including the last 39. However, he had to defend against the attack of Josh Berry, who finished in second place. Berry got close to a few car lengths with 10 laps remaining, but went off a curve.
Blaney secured the victory by 0.937 seconds on Sunday, achieving his third win of the season and the sixteenth of his career.
That was probably the 20 toughest laps I’ve driven. I was trying to maintain my position and push Josh a little, then he really started to close in. I had to push myself to the limit to keep him at bay, trying new lanes. It was a good, clean race. I thank Josh for not using the bumper when he could have.
Blaney, who is seeking to reach the season finale for the third consecutive year, became the first driver to secure a spot in the third round of the playoffs.
It was definitely an incredible day. Congratulations to Ryan at the end. All of our cars were very strong, and Ryan did a great job there. Honestly, I was surprised to be able to hold him off at the end.
Josh BerryThe Fords backed up their impressive performance in Saturday’s qualifying, where Penske star Joey Logano took the pole position, completing a top-three sweep with Blaney and Berry. The same trio led 273 of the 301 laps on Sunday. William Byron was the highest-finishing Chevrolet driver, finishing in third place.Logano finished fourth after leading 147 laps in the No. 22 Ford. The Middletown, Connecticut native started from the pole for the first time at New Hampshire, which he considers his home track.It was a good day overall. The Penske guys were really fast. I felt like they were on another level.
William ByronAfter qualifying in 27th place, the last among the 12 playoff drivers, Chase Elliott finished in fifth place. Christopher Bell finished sixth as the highest-finishing Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, which remained undefeated in the first round of the playoffs. Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain finished in seventh and ninth place respectively, with the playoff drivers occupying eight of the top ten positions on the 1.058-mile oval. The race became tense for Joe Gibbs Racing on lap 110 when Denny Hamlin caused his teammate Ty Gibbs to hit the wall in turn 2 while they were competing for 11th place. Gibbs, the only JGR driver who did not qualify for the playoffs, seemed to be hindering the progress of his teammates Hamlin and Christopher Bell when the incident occurred.[Blaney] was very fast in practice, and he showed it again in the race. Obviously, we got a lot of points today, so we did what we had to do, but I’d rather win. That’s the greed in me, especially when it’s at home.
Joey LoganoDoes Ty know we’re racing for a championship?
Denny HamlinAfter the accident, Hamlin questioned whether the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs was receiving preferential treatment. “They’re afraid to talk to him. That’s what I feel,” Hamlin said over the radio to his team. “They’re just afraid of him.” Ty Gibbs briefly returned to the track before being forced to enter the garage due to the damage to his Camry. He finished in 34th place and refused to address the incident or what Hamlin said when directly asked about both.After finishing in 12th place, Hamlin had a post-race conversation with Joe Gibbs and JGR’s competition director, Chris Gabehart, before speaking with the media.It’s unfortunate, but I’m excited to race next week and I’m looking forward to it.
Ty GibbsAfter dominating the first round with three consecutive victories, Joe Gibbs Racing surprisingly faltered in the first stage at New Hampshire, where the team had won the last three Cup races and six consecutive stages. The team failed to score any points in the first stage on Sunday, as Hamlin, Bell, and Chase Briscoe finished outside the top 10 in the 70-lap segment. The second race of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is Sunday at Kansas Speedway. Kyle Larson won at the 1.5-mile track on May 11.It’s very unfortunate that he went off track there, and obviously the contact came from us. I have no comment other than that. We’ll sort it out and everything, but we’ll see how it goes. But, honestly, it’s unfortunate that the contact happened.
Denny Hamlin
