Penske’s Blaney Dominates NH and Advances in NASCAR Playoffs

In a race where the Fords proved to be the fastest at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney took the victory in the first race of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Blaney, Cup champion in 2003, led 116 laps with his No. 12 Mustang, including the last 39. Despite this, he had to defend against the fierce attack of Josh Berry, who finished in second place. Blaney secured the victory by 0.937 seconds, earning his third win of the season and the sixteenth of his career.

“They were probably the hardest 20 laps I’ve driven,” commented the Team Penske driver. “I was trying to conserve and pull away from Josh a bit, but then he started closing in. I had to push to the limit 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.”

Ryan Blaney

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.

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

“It was 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

The Fords backed up their impressive performances in Saturday’s qualifying, where Penske star Joey Logano won the pole position. William Byron, was the highest-ranking Chevrolet driver, finishing in third place.

“It was a good day overall,” commented Byron, who is the highest-ranked driver after 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 Byron

Logano finished fourth after leading 147 laps with the No. 22 Ford. “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.” Chase Elliott, after qualifying in 27th place, finished in fifth place. Christopher Bell finished sixth as the best Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain finished in seventh and ninth place, respectively, with eight of the top ten positions occupied by playoff drivers. The race became tense for Joe Gibbs Racing on lap 110 when Denny Hamlin caused his teammate, Ty Gibbs, to hit the wall in turn 2. “Does Ty know we are racing for a championship?”, Hamlin said on the radio to his team. Ty Gibbs briefly returned to the track before being forced to go to the garage. He finished in 34th place and refused to comment on the incident.

“It’s unfortunate, but I’m excited to race next week and I’m looking forward to it,” Gibbs said.

Ty Gibbs

Hamlin, after finishing in 12th place, had a post-race conversation with Joe Gibbs.

“It’s very unfortunate that he was hit there, and obviously the contact came from us,” Hamlin said. “I have no comment other than that. We’ll sort it out and see how it goes. But honestly, it’s unfortunate that the contact happened.”

Denny HamlinThe second race of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is on Sunday at Kansas Speedway.