Current:Home > NewsRyan Blaney wins, William Byron grabs last NASCAR Championship race berth at Martinsville -ProfitPioneers Hub
Ryan Blaney wins, William Byron grabs last NASCAR Championship race berth at Martinsville
View
Date:2025-04-18 13:13:33
The NASCAR Championship 4 is set following Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway, which saw one driver celebrating in victory lane and another celebrating on pit road with his team.
Ryan Blaney took the checkered flag at Martinsville in the penultimate race of the season to clinch the third berth in the 2023 championship race. William Byron, who led Cup Series with six wins this season, claimed the fourth and final spot on points after being the highest-ranked driver without a win in the third round.
They will join Kyle Larson, who won the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Christopher Bell, who won last weekend’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, as the four drivers who will race for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship, next Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Tyler Reddick and Chris Buescher were eliminated from championship contention.
Blaney's victory at Martinsville was his third of the season. He held off Aric Almirola in the closing laps on NASCAR’s oldest and smallest track to claim one of the series’ most unique prizes – a grandfather clock.
“I felt like we put together a really strong playoffs, especially the Round of eight,” said Blaney, who didn’t finish lower than sixth in the three-race round. “Can’t wait to get to Phoenix next week.”
Hamlin finished third on Sunday, but after a mechanical failure last weekend at Homestead, his points deficit was too big to overcome. Buescher finished eighth, Truex 12th, and Byron 13th – high enough to maintain an 8-point advantage over Hamlin and claim the final berth in the championshp race.
“The mechanical failure last week with the power steering, that sealed our fate,” Hamlin said. Hate we’re not in it. It’s racing, right? This is the playoffs. You got a three-race season.
Byron said his helmet fan stopped working during the race and he dropped to the ground outside his car following the race.
“It’s our worst race of the year,” Byron said. “With 50 (laps) to go, I felt really, really bad and I just had to drive the hell out of it. The guys stuck with me and just kept motivating me through, little bits and pieces, and just keeping my mind straight.”
Larson and Byron gave Hendrick Motorsports a pair of Chevrolets in the final four, Bell is in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and Blaney drives a Ford for Team Penske. Blaney can give Team Penske back-to-back titles following Joey Logano’s win for Penske last year.
Larson is the only driver in the field with a Cup title and returns to the final four for the second time in three years. Bell is back in the championship for the second consecutive year; Blaney and Byron have never raced for the Cup title.
CHEVROLET WINS MANUFACTURER TITLE
Chevrolet clinched its 42nd manufacturer championship when Sunday’s race began at Martinsville.
It marked the third consecutive year the title went to the bowtie brigade in NASCAR’s top Cup Series. Chevy already clinched both the Truck Series and Xfinity Series championships this season for its fifth national series sweep – first since 2012 that Chevy claimed all three national titles.
Chevrolet won its first manufacturer Cup championship in 1958 and later recording a streak of 13 consecutive titles between 2003 through 2015. Chevrolet has 850 Cup victories and 33 driver championships in NASCAR’s premier series, making it the winningest automaker in NASCAR’s 75-year history.
“This title is the result of great teamwork by the Chevrolet drivers, crew chiefs and teams working tirelessly throughout the season,” said Jim Campbell, General Motors U.S. Vice President of Performance and Motorsports.
UP NEXT
The season-ending championship race at Phoenix Raceway, where Larson, Bell, Blaney and Byron will race for the Cup title. The highest finishing driver among the final four claims the championship. Joey Logano won his second title a year ago by winning Phoenix, but has already been eliminated from the playoffs. Byron won in the spring.
Contributing: The Associated Press
veryGood! (7318)
Related
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- 2 Backpage execs found guilty on prostitution charges; another convicted of financial crime
- Boston Bruins forward Lucic to be arraigned on assault charge after wife called police to their home
- OSHA finds plant explosion that killed 1 person could have been prevented
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- At least 17 people hospitalized with salmonella in outbreak linked to cantaloupe recall
- Key L.A. freeway hit by arson fire reopens weeks earlier than expected
- Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Roger Page to retire in 2024
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- Michigan school shooting survivor heals with surgery, a trusted horse and a chance to tell her story
Ranking
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Chase Chrisley Debuts New Romance 4 Months After Emmy Medders Breakup
- Kansas oil refinery agrees to $23 million in penalties for violating federal air pollution law
- The messy human drama behind OpenAI
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- Ukrainians who fled their country for Israel find themselves yet again living with war
- 10 years later, a war-weary Ukraine reflects on events that began its collision course with Russia
- Shakira Reveals Why She Decided to Finally Resolve Tax Fraud Case for $7.6 Million
Recommendation
2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
Zach Wilson benched in favor of Tim Boyle, creating murky future with Jets
Cara Delevingne Says BFF Taylor Swift’s Relationship With Travis Kelce Is Very Different
Man facing murder charges in disappearance of missing Washington state couple
Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
3 teen girls plead guilty, get 20 years in carjacking, dragging death of 73-year-old woman
4-year-old girl in Texas shot by grandpa accidentally in stable condition: Authorities
72-year-old Chicago man killed in drive-by shooting after leaving family party