Blaney Dominates at NH: Key Victory and Playoff Advancement in NASCAR

In a race where the Fords proved to be the fastest at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney took the victory in the first race of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Blaney, driving the number 12 Mustang, led 116 laps, including the last 39, and had to defend against the attack of Josh Berry, who finished in second place. Blaney earned his third win of the season and the sixteenth of his career, beating Berry by 0.937 seconds.

That was probably the 20 toughest laps I’ve driven.

Ryan Blaney

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.

Berry, whose Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford has an alliance with Penske, recovered from a spin on lap 82 and his elimination in the first round.

It was an incredible day.

Josh Berry

The Fords continued their good performance from Saturday, when Joey Logano, also from Penske, won the pole position, completing a dominance of the top three places with Blaney and Berry. The same three drivers led 273 of the 301 laps on Sunday. William Byron, in a Chevrolet, finished in third place.

Penske’s guys were super fast. I felt like they were on another level.

William Byron

Logano, who led the most laps (147) with his number 22 Ford, finished fourth. Blaney was incredibly fast in practice, and he showed it again in the race. Chase Elliott, after qualifying 27th, finished fifth. Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson finished in sixth and seventh place respectively, while Ross Chastain finished ninth.

Conflict between teammates

The race had a tense moment on lap 110 when Denny Hamlin caused his teammate Ty Gibbs to crash into the wall. Hamlin questioned by radio if Gibbs was receiving preferential treatment. Gibbs briefly returned to the track before retiring due to damage to his vehicle and finished 34th, declining to comment on the incident. Hamlin, after finishing 12th, spoke with Joe Gibbs and JGR’s competition director, Chris Gabehart.

It’s very unfortunate that he was hit there, and obviously the contact came from us.

Denny Hamlin

The Joe Gibbs Racing team, which had dominated the first round, had a disappointing performance in the first stage at New Hampshire. The next race of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs will be on Sunday at Kansas Speedway.