Livescore
Ryan Blaney will race for a second straight NASCAR Cup Series championship.
The 2023 champion earned a win in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway to qualify for the Championship 4 next week at Phoenix Raceway.
Blaney led 31 laps on Sunday and took the lead with a move against Chase Elliott with 13 laps to go.
“I tried to save my rear tires early,” Blaney said. “Proud of all of the effort of the 12 crew, never giving up. Having another shot at a championship is really special.”
Blaney was frustrated on lap 407 after NASCAR didn’t wave off a restart after Kyle Busch lost a tire just as the green flag was coming out. Blaney then found a way to make his way through the field, hitting
Blaney lost last week’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway when Tyler Reddick made a move on the final lap in turn 3 and took the win.
Follow sports writer Austin Chastain on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ChastainAJ or reach him via email at achastain@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Martinsville NASCAR race: Ryan Blaney wins, can defend championship
Read the full article here
Discussion about this post