Blaney is Phoenix Bound After Martinsville Triumph

Photo by Peter Stratta/TSJSports

NASCAR

Ryan Blaney Wins into First Championship 4 After Martinsville Mastery

RIDGEWAY, Va. – For the first time in his career, Ryan Blaney is heading to the Championship 4. The Team Penske No. 12 was the class of the field in the Martinsville cutoff race, taking a dominant victory after leading 145 laps. In a second-straight season, a Penske Mustang heads to Phoenix Raceway gunning for the Cup Series title.

Stage 1 was a back-and-forth battle between Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas in need of a strong day. Polesitter Martin Truex Jr and Denny Hamlin both swapped the lead amongst themselves, with the first Stage win going to the 11.

Following some intense crossing over for the lead, Ryan Blaney came out on top of Hamlin for the Stage 2 win. When the Stage 2 checkers waved, Hamlin was in the Championship 4 on a tiebreaker over William Byron, who was struggling mid-pack.

Alternate pit strategies gave both Chase Elliott and Aric Almirola the lead for part of Stage 3. The fastest car slowly began driving forward though, with Ryan Blaney retaking the lead on lap 478. From that point onward it was all the No. 12’s show, even with Denny Hamlin trying to rally late. Hamlin would finish third behind Blaney and Almirola, but fall seven points short of advancing onto the Championship 4.

“It’s awesome,” Blaney said of the win. “I grew up in High Point (North Carolina), not too far from here. Closer to High Point honestly, Martinsville than Charlotte. Really cool. Wanting to win here for a long time. Been super close for many years. Awesome to close it out.”

“I felt like we put together really strong Playoffs. Especially the Round of 8, we had a good run in the whole Round of 8. Yeah, just overall really proud of the whole effort. Awesome to have Discount Tire on the car, Menards, Ford, Advance Auto Parts, BODYARMOR, DEX Imaging, WURTH, Wabash, everything they do. It wouldn’t be possible.” 

“RP couldn’t be here, unfortunately, but I know he’s watching. This is awesome. Can’t wait to get to Phoenix next week.”

Blaney and Byron are the last two into the Championship 4, going alongside Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. At the age of 31, Larson is the oldest of the 2023 championship contenders. This marks the youngest Playoff finale field yet for the NASCAR Cup Series.

Behind Blaney, Almirola and Hamlin, the top-five were rounded out by Chase Briscoe and Joey Logano. The rest of the top-10 were: Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric, and Todd Gilliland. Hear from a few of these drivers below.

Career win number 10 is a perfect 10 performance for Blaney, locking him into his first ever Championship 4. The No. 12 Ford also has back-to-back runner-up results at Phoenix. Being one spot better next week will make Blaney a NASCAR champion.

The Cup Series Championship will be decided in Phoenix next Sunday. The desert duel for the Bill France Cup will begin at 3:00 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Which of the top dogs will stand alone on the championship stage? A very unique mix of hungry young drivers will battle it out for NASCAR’s ultimate prize.

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Peter Stratta/TSJSports