In a race where the Fords demonstrated their speed 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 Ford Mustang, led 116 laps, including the last 39, and had to defend against the fierce 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 hardest 20 laps I’ve driven,” said the Team Penske driver. “I tried to maintain my pace and pull away a bit from Josh, but then he started to close in. 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 on me when he could have.”
Ryan BlaneyBlaney, who is seeking to reach the championship final for the third consecutive year, became the first driver to secure a spot among the eight available for the third round of the playoffs.El piloto de la NASCAR Cup Series, Ryan Blaney (12), celebra después de ganar el Mobil 1 301 en el New Hampshire Motor Speedway.Josh Berry, with the number 21 Ford of Wood Brothers Racing, overcame a spin on lap 82 and recovered from elimination in the first round.
“It was an incredible day,” Berry commented, who led 10 laps. “Congratulations to Ryan at the end. All of our cars were very strong, and Ryan did a great job. Honestly, I was surprised I could hold him off at the end.”
Josh Berry
The Fords backed up their impressive performance in Saturday’s qualifying, where Penske’s Joey Logano took the pole position, completing a sweep of the top three spots with Blaney and Berry. This trio led 273 of the 301 laps on Sunday.William Byron, the highest-ranked Chevrolet, finished third.
“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, who led 147 laps, finished fourth.Chase Elliott, after qualifying in 27th place, finished fifth.Christopher Bell finished sixth as the best Toyota driver for Joe Gibbs Racing.Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain finished seventh and ninth respectively, with eight of the top ten positions being occupied by playoff drivers.The race had a tense moment for Joe Gibbs Racing on lap 110 when Denny Hamlin caused his teammate Ty Gibbs to hit the wall in turn 2 while they were competing for 11th place. Gibbs, the only JGR driver who didn’t 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 asked his team over the radio shortly before the contact. “What the (expletive) is he doing?”
Denny Hamlin
After the incident, Hamlin questioned whether the team owner’s grandson, Joe Gibbs, was receiving preferential treatment.
“Are they afraid to talk to him? That’s what I feel,” Hamlin said on the radio to his team. “They’re afraid of him.”
Denny Hamlin
Ty Gibbs briefly returned to the track before being forced to go 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.“It’s unfortunate, but I’m excited to race next week and I’m looking forward to the race,” said Gibbs, the 2022 Xfinity Series champion who remains winless after 117 Cup series races.After finishing in 12th place, Hamlin had a post-race conversation with Joe Gibbs and JGR’s competition director, Chris Gabehart, before speaking with the media.
“It’s very unfortunate that they spun him there, 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 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, as Hamlin, Bell, and Chase Briscoe finished outside the top 10 in the 70-lap segment.
