In a race where the Fords demonstrated their speed at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney prevailed as the best in the opening of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Blaney, Cup champion in 2003, led 116 laps with his No. 12 Mustang, including the last 39. Despite this, he had to defend himself from the attack of Josh Berry, who pursued him closely, getting within a few meters before going off a curve. Blaney secured the victory with a 0.937-second lead, achieving his third win of the season and the sixteenth of his career.
Blaney, who is seeking to reach the championship final for the third consecutive year, became the first driver to secure a spot in the third round of the playoffs.They were probably the 20 toughest laps I’ve driven. I was trying to manage my pace and pull Josh a little bit, but then he started to get really close. I had to push myself to the limit to keep him at bay, trying new lines. It was a good, clean race. I thank Josh for not using the bumper when he could have.
Ryan Blaney
The Fords backed up their impressive performance in Saturday’s qualifying, where Penske star Joey Logano took the pole position, completing a sweep of the top three spots with Blaney and Berry. This 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. After qualifying in 27th place, the last among the 12 playoff drivers, Chase Elliott achieved a fifth place. Christopher Bell placed sixth as the highest-ranked Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, which was undefeated in the first round of the playoffs. Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain finished seventh and ninth, respectively, with playoff drivers occupying eight of the top ten positions on the 1.058-mile oval.It was an incredible day. Congratulations to Ryan at the end. All our cars were very strong, and Ryan did a great job there. Honestly, I was surprised to be able to keep him at bay at the end.
Josh Berry
Incidents between teammates
The race took an unexpected turn for Joe Gibbs Racing on lap 110, when Denny Hamlin caused his teammate, Ty Gibbs, to crash into the wall of turn 2 while they were competing for 11th place. Gibbs, the only JGR driver who failed to qualify for the playoffs, seemed to be hindering the progress of his teammates Hamlin and Christopher Bell when the incident occurred.After the accident, Hamlin questioned whether the team owner’s grandson, Joe Gibbs, was receiving preferential treatment. Ty Gibbs briefly returned to the track before being forced to enter the garage due to damage to his Camry, finishing in 34th place. Gibbs declined to comment on the incident or on what Hamlin said. Hamlin, after finishing in 12th place, spoke with Joe Gibbs and JGR’s director of competition, Chris Gabehart, before speaking with the media.Does Ty know we’re competing for a championship?
Denny Hamlin
After 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 points in the first stage on Sunday, with Hamlin, Bell, and Chase Briscoe finishing outside the top ten in the 70-lap segment. The second race of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs will be held on Sunday at Kansas Speedway.It’s very unfortunate that he spun out there, and obviously the contact came from us. I have no further comment 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
