In a race where the Fords proved to be the fastest at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney took the victory in the opening of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Blaney, driving the number 12 Mustang, led 116 laps, including the last 39, but had to withstand the strong push from Josh Berry, who finished in second place. Berry got dangerously close, within striking distance, with ten laps to go, before going off a curve.
Blaney held on and won by 0.937 seconds, securing his third win of the season and the sixteenth of his career.
“Those were probably the 20 hardest laps I’ve driven,” said the Team Penske driver. “I was trying to maintain my pace and pull away from Josh a bit, then he really started to push. I did everything I could to keep him at bay, trying new lanes. It was a good, clean race. I thank Josh for not using the bumper on me when he could have.”
Blaney, 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.
The Fords backed up their impressive performances in Saturday’s qualifying, where Penske star Joey Logano won the pole position, completing a top-three sweep 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.“It was definitely an incredible day,” said Berry, who led 10 laps. “My respects to Ryan at the end. All our cars were really strong, and Ryan did a great job there. Honestly, I was surprised I was able to keep him honest at the end.”
Josh Berry
“It was a good day overall,” said Byron, who is the highest-ranked driver behind Blaney in the playoff standings, with two races remaining in the second round. “The Penske guys were super fast. I felt like they were on another level.”
William ByronLogano finished fourth after leading 147 laps, the most of the race, 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 finished fifth. Christopher Bell finished sixth as the best Toyota driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, which remained undefeated in the first round of the playoffs. Kyle Larson finished seventh and Ross Chastain ninth, as the playoff drivers occupied eight of the top ten positions on the 1.058-mile oval.“[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 LoganoClash between teammates
The race became tense for Joe Gibbs Racing on lap 110, when Denny Hamlin spun his teammate Ty Gibbs into 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.“Does Ty know we’re racing for a championship?” Hamlin said over his team radio shortly before they made contact. “What the (expletive) is he doing?”
Denny HamlinAfter the crash, Hamlin questioned whether the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs was receiving preferential treatment. “Are they afraid to talk to him? That’s what I feel,” Hamlin communicated by radio to his team. “They’re just afraid of him.” Ty Gibbs briefly returned to the track before being forced to 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 heading to the media.“It’s unfortunate, but I’m excited to race next week and I’m looking forward to it,” said Gibbs, the 2022 Xfinity Series champion, who remains winless after 117 Cup series races.
Ty Gibbs“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 HamlinAfter 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.
