Ryan Blaney Takes Victory At Pocono

Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney returned to Pocono Raceway, where he secured his first career NASCAR Cup Series win, and dominated the final laps of Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400. In front of a packed crowd, Blaney showcased his readiness to compete for another championship.

Driving the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, Blaney fended off Denny Hamlin, Pocono’s most successful driver, in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota by a margin of 1.312 seconds. This victory marks Blaney’s second win of the season, both achieved within the last five races, and the 12th win of his career at the age of 30.

“Hell yeah, boys, let’s go,” yelled Blaney as he crossed the finish line.

After the race, Blaney said “Feel like we’ve gotten to a great pace and speed the last couple months,” Blaney said. “Honestly thought we let a couple races slip away from us I thought we should have won. It’s just so cool to win here again. Won here seven years ago for my first Cup win, so awesome to be back.”

Although he ran among the top 10 for much of the race, Blaney ultimately took the lead on a restart with 44 laps remaining and never relinquished it despite two more restarts and a highly motivated Hamlin lining up either alongside him or directly behind him on each of those green flags.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, last week’s race winner, filled Blaney’s mirrors for much of the closing laps until getting passed by Hamlin with seven laps remaining. Bowman finished third, with his Hendrick teammate William Byron and Blaney’s Team Penske teammate Joey Logano rounding out the top five.

“Track position was just such a big thing, and when that 12 [Blaney] jumped on that stage we won, that put them in front of us and certainly were going to be hard to pass,” said Hamlin, a seven-time Pocono race winner who won Sunday’s second stage.

“Just not enough laps of green there at the end, but hats off to them, great run. He kept up great pace at there at the front and hard for me to even get up there close enough to try to reel him in.”

23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski, JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. (the opening stage winner), Hendrick’s Chase Elliott and 23XI’s Bubba Wallace rounded out the top 10. Both Elliott’s and Wallace’s finishes, in particular, were impactful on the championship standings.

The 2020 series champion Elliott took over the championship lead from his teammate, 2021 series champ Kyle Larson, and he takes a slim three-point advantage atop the regular season standings with only five races remaining before the playoffs. The Regular Season Champion receives a valuable 15 extra playoff points to carry with him through the 10-race playoff run.

Wallace’s top-10 finish was also important in his quest to become championship-eligible for the second consecutive year. He is now ranked 17th, only 27 points behind 16th-place Ross Chastain on the provisional playoff grid. The 16 title-eligible drivers will be determined after the Sept. 1 race at Darlington Raceway.

Chastain, one of four drivers inside the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field without a win but based on points, finished 36th Sunday. His No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet slammed the Turn 1 wall on Lap 53, and the team had to retire the car.

Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch was involved in a multi-car accident with 39 laps remaining and finished 32nd on Sunday. He’s now finished 27th or worse in four of the last five races, including DNFs in five of his last seven. Busch is ranked 19th in the playoff standings, 102 points behind Chastain. The two-time series champion is not only trying to make the playoffs but extend a career winning streak to 19 seasons.

The Cup Series’ next race is the Brickyard 400, scheduled next Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, IMS Radio, SiriusXM, NBC Sports App) at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Notes: Cup Series post-race technical inspection was completed without issue, confirming Blaney as the race winner. Competition officials indicated that three cars — one from each manufacturer — would be brought back to the NASCAR Research & Development Center for further inspection: the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for driver Christopher Bell, the No. 22 Team Penske Ford for driver Joey Logano, and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for Alex Bowman. …Ty Gibbs started from the pole position and led twice for 21 laps, but his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota expired with engine failure 28 laps from the end. He finished 27th.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Pocono

Text courtesy NASCAR press release