Reigning NASCAR Cup Collection champion Ryan Blaney returned to the positioning of his first profession NASCAR Cup Collection win and pulled away from the sector within the closing laps of Sunday’s The Nice American Getaway 400 at a sold-out Pocono (Pa.) Raceway to ship a powerful reminder to the competitors that he’s primed to contend for one more season trophy.
Blaney’s No. 12 Crew Penske Ford held off the observe’s all-time winningest driver Denny Hamlin within the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota by 1.312s to present Blaney his second victory of the season – each coming in simply the final month — and the twelfth win of the 30-year previous’s profession.
“Hell yeah boys, let’s go!” an elated Blaney screamed to his staff as he crossed the historic Pocono end line.
With the victory, Blaney strikes as much as fifth place within the championship standings and due to his first win of the 12 months at Iowa Speedway in June, he’s one in all solely 5 drivers with a number of victories on the season.
“Really feel like we’ve gotten to an excellent tempo and pace the final couple months. Actually thought we let a pair races slip away from us I assumed we must always have received,’’ Blaney mentioned, including, “It’s simply so cool to win right here once more. Received right here seven years in the past for my first Cup win, so superior to be again.’’
Though he ran among the many high 10 for a lot of the race, Blaney in the end took the lead on a restart with 44 laps remaining and by no means relinquished it regardless of two extra restarts and a highly-motivated Hamlin lining up both alongside him or immediately behind him on every of these inexperienced flags.
Final week’s race winner, Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, stuffed Blaney’s mirrors for a lot of the closing laps till getting handed by Hamlin with seven laps remaining. Bowman completed third together with his Hendrick teammate William Byron and Blaney’s Crew Penske teammate Joey Logano rounding out the highest 5.
“Observe place was simply such a giant factor and when that No. 12 [Blaney] jumped on that stage we received, that put them in entrance of us and definitely have been going to be arduous to cross,’’ mentioned Hamlin, a seven-time Pocono race winner who received Sunday’s second stage.
“Simply not sufficient laps of inexperienced there on the finish, however hats off to them, nice run. He stored up nice tempo at there on the entrance and arduous for me to even rise up there shut sufficient to attempt to reel him in.’’
23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, Roush Fenway Keselowski’s Brad Keselowski, JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. (the opening stage winner), Hendrick’s Chase Elliott and 23XI’s Bubba Wallace rounded out the highest 10. Each Elliott’s and Wallace’s finishes, particularly, have been impactful on the championship standings.
The 2020 collection champion Elliott took over the championship lead from his teammate, 2021 collection champ Kyle Larson and takes a slim three-point benefit atop the common season standings with solely 5 races remaining earlier than the Playoffs. The common season champion receives a helpful 15 further Playoff factors to hold with him by way of the 10-race Playoff run.
Wallace’s high 10 was additionally essential in his quest to grow to be championship eligible for the second consecutive 12 months. He’s now ranked seventeenth, solely 27 factors behind sixteenth place Ross Chastain with the highest 16 drivers following the Sept. 1 race at Darlington, S.C. eligible for the championship.
Chastain, one in all 4 drivers contained in the NASCAR Cup Collection Playoff subject with no win however based mostly on factors, completed thirty sixth on Sunday. His No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet slammed the Flip 1 wall on lap 53 and the staff needed to retire the automobile.
Further replays of this 8-car crash at Pocono Raceway on the restart involving Kyle Busch.
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Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch was concerned in a multi-car accident with 39 laps remaining and completed thirty second Sunday. He’s now completed twenty seventh or worse in 4 of the final 5 races and is ranked nineteenth within the standings, 102 factors behind sixteenth place Chastain. The 2-time collection champion will not be solely making an attempt to make the Playoffs however lengthen a profession profitable streak to 19 seasons.
The NASCAR Cup Collection strikes to the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Brickyard 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Race Community, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Entrance Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell received final 12 months’s Indy race, but it surely was on the highway course. The final driver to win a race on the two.5-mile speedway is just lately retired driver Kevin Harvick in 2020.
