Ryan Blaney Beats Kevin Harvick by 1-Foot to Win at Talladega
In a nail-biting showdown at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford clinched victory by a mere foot ahead of Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Ford. The final 10-lap dash to the checkered flag not only marked Blaney’s third win at Talladega but also secured his spot in the next round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. While Blaney led eight laps, it was his performance in the last two laps that sealed the win, especially as Harvick’s car faced disqualification in post-race technical inspection due to rule violations regarding windshield fasteners. This victory marks Blaney’s second win of the season and the ninth of his career.
Reflecting on the frantic finish, Blaney shared, “I don’t really know, pretty wild last restart, let alone last couple of laps. Kind of lost momentum, then getting it back, got clear to the bottom to kind of get to the front row and drag race it out with Kevin (Harvick). It’s so cool to win here three times at Talladega. I won it by more than I had the last couple of years,” Blaney said with a laugh. “You just don’t know. You have to drag race to the line and hope you get help. William (Byron) gave me a pretty good shove on the bottom.”
With Harvick’s disqualification, playoff contenders William Byron and Denny Hamlin finished second and third, respectively. Corey LaJoie claimed fourth place for his third career top-five finish while Austin Cindric secured fifth place.
Justin Haley, Chase Elliott, Ryan Preece, Riley Herbst (making only his fourth career Cup Series start), and Daniel Suárez rounded out the top 10.
The race was a rollercoaster of excitement, with a whopping 70 lead changes among 24 different drivers. Although Blaney’s teammate, Joey Logano, led the most laps (48), he finished 24th.
Denny Hamlin’s remarkable third-place finish was a testament to his determination, considering he faced a pit-road penalty mid-race and had to make up for being a lap down. Hamlin commented, “Not how we drew it up, but a dub (W) is a dub, and that was a dub in our book. As close as it gets to it. I made a statement, bringing me a car fast enough for us to win. And obviously, when I had to go there, I could, and just made the right moves at the right time, and a top five is a long way from where we were with about 15 laps to go.”
Blaney along with last week’s Texas winner, William Byron, hold coveted positions in the next round of the playoffs. Hamlin’s impressive comeback maintains his position at the top of the playoff standings, with a comfortable 50-point lead over the elimination cutoff.
Meanwhile, Brad Keselowski, one of the two playoff drivers who faced a DNF result on Sunday, holds a slim two-point lead over Tyler Reddick for the eighth and final transfer spot in the upcoming race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course.
Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, who was involved in an early-race accident leading to his first DNF of the playoffs, has fallen below the elimination line for the first time this round, now sitting in 11th place, 10 points behind. Chastain is one point behind Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing, a former Talladega race winner, who finished 23rd on Sunday.
Two-time series champion Kyle Busch faces an uphill battle, needing a dramatic victory at the upcoming road course race to stay in contention. He finished 25th and currently trails eighth-place Keselowski by 26 points.
Next Sunday afternoon, all eyes will be on the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course for the Round of 12 elimination race as the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs continue.
RESULTS:
- Ryan Blaney
- William Byron
- Denny Hamlin
- Corey Lajoie
- Austin Cindric
- Justin Haley
- Chase Elliott
- Ryan Preece
- Riley Herbst
- Daniel Suarez
- Chandler Smith
- Todd Gilliland
- Chase Briscoe
- Christopher Bell
- Kyle Larson
- Tyler Reddick
- Aric Almirola
- Martin Truex Jr
- Chris Buescher
- AJ Allmendinger
- Michael McDowell
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr
- Bubba Wallace
- Joey Logano
- Kyle Busch
- Erik Jones
- Ty Dillon
- Alex Bowman
- BJ McLeod
- Brennan Poole
- Harrison Burton
- Brad Keselowski
- Austin Dillon
- Ty Gibbs
- Carson Hocevar
- JJ Yeley
- Ross Chastain
- Kevin Harvick
