Ryan Blaney Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Out, demon! Denny Hamlin’s exorcism is complete. At ISM Raceway, the site of one of his biggest disappointments, Hamlin barged back into the Championship 4 with a dominating victory in Sunday’s Bluegreen Vacations 500. Hamlin joins Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch, Sunday’s runner-up, in the Nov. 17 race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The three JGR drivers will battle Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing for the trophy. After losing controlRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – In a Saturday qualifying session that provided validation that the cream rises to the top, Kyle Busch earned his first pole position of the season, as seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers claimed the top seven positions on the grid. Navigating one-mile ISM Raceway in a blistering 25.693 seconds 140.116 mph, Busch edged Joey Logano (139.752 mph) by .067 seconds for Sunday’s Bluegreen Vacations 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the race that willRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor It’s a showdown in the Arizona desert this weekend as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rolls into ISM Raceway in Phoenix for the Bluegreen Vacations 500. Just two spots are still up for grabs in the Championship 4, with six drivers still in the hunt. Martin Truex, Jr. and Kevin Harvick have already locked up their place in the season finale at Homestead, with Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott still looking to race their way in.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – The three youngest drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs – Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson – have all won races during the postseason, but for any of them to be able to take the next step and be real threats for the championship, they will have to win next weekend at Phoenix. Entering Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, all three would have liked to of taken a step forward, but for all three,Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Tex. – For Kevin Harvick, Texas is the new Phoenix. Overcoming a pit road penalty for a tire placed in his pit box too early, Harvick took control of the AAA Texas 500 as the sun set on Texas Motor Speedway and won his third straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at the 1.5-mile track in Cowtown. Locked into the Championship 4 race two weeks hence at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick can now breathe easy heading into the final Round ofRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Just this week, 25-year-old Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney took to social media to acknowledge and chide some media prognosticators, who may not have penciled him to still be Playoff-eligible and a win away from his Championship 4 debut. But he is. And more than that Blaney is liking the good vibes of his No. 12 Team Penske Ford’s Playoff showing. Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is a venue whereRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The penultimate round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs rolls on to Texas Motor Speedway after a drama-filled race at Martinsville a week ago. On Sunday, the stock car racing elite will take on the 1.5-mile track with a pair of six-shooters, a cowboy hat and a berth in the Championship 4 on the line should any of the remaining playoff drivers find themselves in victory lane when the checkered flag falls on the AAA Texas 500. First joining the circuit in 1997,Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – It took a post-race fracas on pit road to distract from the dominance of Martin Truex Jr., who led a career-best 464 laps in winning Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway and punched his ticket for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race. The 2017 Cup Series champion took the lead from pole winner Denny Hamlin off pit road on Lap 30 under the first of 11 cautions and held it the rest of the way, save for aRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The Round of 8 is on. Following a barn burner of a finish at Kansas last weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway for Sunday’s running of the First Data 500. A win by any of the eight drivers still in contention for the title and they punch their ticket to the championship race at Homestead. A mainstay on the schedule since 1949, the historic half-mile, which is also the smallest on the circuit, will test both man and machine overRead More