In a race filled with speed at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney emerged as the best in the opening of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
The 2003 Cup champion led 116 laps in his No. 12 Mustang, including the final 39, but had to fend off a fierce attack from Josh Berry, who closed to within a few meters with 10 laps to go before going off a turn.
Blaney secured the victory with a 0.937-second lead, earning 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 conserve my resources and stretch Josh a bit, but then he started closing in. I had to give it everything to keep him at bay, trying new lines. It was a good, clean race. I thank Josh for not hitting me when he could have.”
Blaney, who is looking 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 sweep of the top three spots with Blaney and Berry. The same trio led 273 of the 301 laps on Sunday. William Byron was the best-performing Chevrolet driver, finishing in third place.“It was definitely an incredible day,” said Berry, who led 10 laps. “Congratulations to Ryan at the end. All of our cars were very strong, and Ryan did a great job there. Honestly, I was surprised I was able to hold him off at the end.
Josh Berry
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.“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 in another zip code.”
William Byron
“[Blaney] was very 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 LoganoAfter classifying 27th, last among the 12 playoff drivers, Chase Elliott finished in fifth place. Christopher Bell finished sixth as the highest-ranked Toyota 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 10 positions on the 1.058-mile oval.Tension 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 as they were competing for 11th place. Gibbs, the only JGR driver who didn’t 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 racing for a championship?” Hamlin said over his team radio shortly before making contact. “What the (expletive) is he doing?”
Denny HamlinAfter the accident, Hamlin questioned whether the grandson of the team owner, Joe Gibbs, was receiving preferential treatment.Ty Gibbs briefly returned to the track before being forced to go to the garage due to damage to his Camry. He finished 34th and refused to address the incident or what Hamlin said when directly asked about both.“Are they afraid to talk to him? That’s what I feel,” Hamlin relayed to his team over the radio. “They’re just afraid of him.”
Denny HamlinAfter finishing 12th, Hamlin had a post-race conversation with Joe Gibbs and JGR’s competition director, Chris Gabehart, before speaking with 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 is still winless in 117 Cup series races.
Ty GibbsAfter 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.“It’s very unfortunate that he went off track 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
