Penske’s Blaney Dominates in NH and Secures NASCAR Playoffs Victory

In a race where the Fords proved to be the fastest at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney prevailed as the best in class in the opening of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Blaney, Cup champion in 2003, led 116 laps in his No. 12 Mustang, including the final 39, but had to withstand the strong attack of Josh Berry, who followed him closely until a mistake in a turn prevented him from competing for the victory. Blaney secured the victory by 0.937 seconds, earning his third win of the season and the sixteenth of his career.

It was probably the most difficult 20 laps I’ve driven. I was trying to manage my race and pull away from Josh a bit, then he really 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 pushing me when he could have.

Ryan Blaney

Blaney, who is seeking to reach the season finale for the third consecutive year, became the first driver to advance to one of the eight available positions in the third round of the playoffs.

Berry, whose No. 21 Ford from Wood Brothers Racing has a competitive alliance with Penske, recovered from a spin on lap 82 and rallied after being eliminated in the first round.

It was definitely an incredible day. Congratulations to Ryan at the end. All our cars were really strong, and Ryan did a great job there. Honestly, I was surprised to be able to keep up at the end.

Josh Berry

The Fords backed up their impressive performances in Saturday’s qualifying, where Penske star Joey Logano won 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.

It was a good day overall. The Penske guys were super fast. I felt like they were in another league.

William Byron

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.

Blaney was incredibly fast in practice, and he showed it again in the race. 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 ambition in me, especially when it’s at home.

Joey Logano

After classifying 27th, last among the 12 playoff drivers, Chase Elliott reached the finish line in fifth place. Christopher Bell finished in sixth place, being the highest-ranked Toyota from Joe Gibbs Racing, which remained undefeated in the first round of the playoffs. Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain finished seventh and ninth respectively, with the playoff drivers occupying eight of the top ten positions on the 1.058-mile oval.

Clash 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 impeding the progress of his teammates Hamlin and Christopher Bell when the incident occurred.

Does Ty know we’re competing for a championship?

Denny Hamlin

After the accident, 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. They’re just afraid of him.

Denny Hamlin

Ty Gibbs briefly returned to the track before being forced to enter 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 it.

Ty Gibbs

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 it was spun there, and obviously the contact came from us. 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 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 on Sunday at Kansas Speedway.