Blaney dominates NH and Penske shines in NASCAR Playoffs

In an exciting race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where the Fords proved to be the fastest, Ryan Blaney took the victory in the first race of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Blaney, driving his No. 12 Mustang, led 116 laps, including the last 39, and withstood the strong attack of Josh Berry, who finished in second place. Blaney secured his third win of the season and the sixteenth of his career, with a lead of 0.937 seconds.

“They were probably the 20 most difficult laps I’ve driven,” declared the Team Penske driver. “I was trying to measure my strength and pull away from Josh a bit, but then he really started to close in. I had to give it my all to keep him at bay, trying new lines. It was a good, clean race. I thank Josh for not hitting me when he could have.”

Ryan BlaneyThis victory allows Blaney to advance to the third round of the playoffs, becoming the first driver to secure a spot.

Josh Berry, despite a spin on lap 82, showed a great recovery and finished in second place. “It was an incredible day,” Berry said. “Congrats to Ryan at the end. All of our cars were really strong, and Ryan did a great job there. Honestly, I was surprised I was able to hold him off at the end.” The day was particularly noteworthy for Ford, with Joey Logano securing the pole position and completing a dominance in the starting positions alongside Blaney and Berry. William Byron was the highest-finishing Chevrolet, ending in third place.

“It was a good day overall,” Byron commented. “The Penske guys were super fast. I felt like they were on another level.”

William Byron

Logano, who led the most laps (147), finished in fourth place.

“[Blaney] was incredibly fast in practice, and he showed it again in the race,” Logano said. “Obviously, we got a lot of points today, so we did what we had to do, but I’d rather win. That’s just the greed in me, especially when it’s at home.”

Joey LoganoChase Elliott, after qualifying in 27th position, made a remarkable comeback to finish in fifth place. Christopher Bell, the highest-ranked Toyota, finished sixth. Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain also stood out, taking seventh and ninth place respectively. The race was also marked by an incident between teammates from Joe Gibbs Racing. In lap 110, Denny Hamlin spun Ty Gibbs, causing the latter to crash into the wall.

“Does Ty know we’re competing for a championship?” Hamlin said on the radio to his team shortly before the contact. “What the (expletive) is he doing?”

Denny Hamlin

Gibbs, after the incident, had to retire from the race and finished in 34th position. Hamlin, after talking with Joe Gibbs and Chris Gabehart, stated:

“It’s very unfortunate that he’s gone, and obviously the contact came from us,” Hamlin said. “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 HamlinThe next race of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs will be at Kansas Speedway.