In a race where Fords dominated the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney prevailed as the best of the class, marking the start of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Blaney, driving his No. 12 Mustang, led 116 laps, including the last 39. Despite the intense pressure from Josh Berry, who got dangerously close within a few lengths, Blaney managed to maintain the lead and secure the victory. Blaney crossed the finish line with a 0.937-second lead, earning his third win of the season and the sixteenth of his career.
This victory not only secures him a place in the third round of the playoffs, but also makes him the first driver to advance to one of the eight available positions in the next phase.They were probably the 20 hardest laps I’ve driven. I was trying to hold my position and attack Josh, but he really started to push. I had to give it my all to keep him at bay, trying new lines. It was a clean and good race. I thank Josh for not using the bumper when he could have.
Ryan Blaney
The Fords’ performance was backed by their performance in Saturday’s qualifying, where Joey Logano, also from Penske, took the pole position. The trio of Blaney, Berry and Logano led 273 of the 301 laps of the race. William Byron, the highest-ranked Chevrolet driver, finished third. Logano, for his part, took fourth place after leading 147 laps.It was an incredible day. Congratulations to Ryan at the end. All our cars were really strong, and Ryan did a great job there. Honestly, I was surprised to be able to keep him at bay at the end. It’s a shame to finish second, but after the last few weeks, it feels good. Definitely, this is what we are capable of, and I hope we can continue like this.
Josh Berry
Chase Elliott, after qualifying in 27th place, achieved an outstanding fifth position. Christopher Bell, in a Toyota from Joe Gibbs Racing, was sixth. The race also saw an incident between Joe Gibbs Racing teammates on lap 110, when Denny Hamlin spun Ty Gibbs into the wall. Hamlin questioned the situation over his team radio, asking if Gibbs was receiving preferential treatment. Ty Gibbs briefly returned to the track before being forced to enter the garage due to the damage sustained. He finished in 34th place and refused to comment on the incident. Hamlin, after finishing in 12th place, had a conversation with Joe Gibbs and JGR’s director of competition, Chris Gabehart, before speaking with the media.[Blaney] was incredibly 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 prefer to win. That’s the greed in me, especially when I’m at home.
Joey Logano
The next NASCAR Cup Series race will be held at Kansas Speedway.It’s very unfortunate that it went sideways there, and obviously the contact came from us. I have no comment other than that. We’ll fix it and everything, but we’ll see how it goes. But honestly, it’s unfortunate that the contact happened.
Denny Hamlin
