Penske’s Blaney Dominates in NH and Secures Spot in Next NASCAR Round

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 number 12 Mustang, including the last 39, but had to withstand the fierce attack of Josh Berry, who finished in second place. Berry got within a few meters with 10 laps to go, before overshooting a turn. Blaney secured the victory by 0.937 seconds, achieving his third win of the season and the sixteenth of his career.

That was probably the 20 toughest laps I’ve driven.

Ryan Blaney

Blaney, who is 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.

Berry, with his number 21 Ford from Wood Brothers Racing, overcame a spin on lap 82 and recovered from his elimination in the first round.

It was an incredible day.

Josh Berry

The Fords backed up their performance in Saturday’s qualifying, when Penske’s Joey Logano won the pole position to complete a sweep of the top three spots with Blaney and Berry. The same trio led 273 of 301 laps on Sunday. William Byron was the best-performing Chevrolet driver, finishing in third place.

Penske’s 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. After classifying 27th, last among the 12 playoff drivers, Chase Elliott reached fifth place. Christopher Bell was sixth as the best Toyota driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, which remained undefeated in the first round of the playoffs. Kyle Larson was seventh, and Ross Chastain was ninth, with the playoff drivers occupying eight of the top 10 spots.

Teammate Showdown

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 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?

Denny Hamlin

After the crash, 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 with damage to his Camry, finishing in 34th place. After finishing 12th, Hamlin had a post-race conversation with Joe Gibbs and JGR’s director of competition, Chris Gabehart.

It’s very unfortunate that he spun out, and obviously the contact came from us.

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 on Sunday at Kansas Speedway.