Ryan Blaney drove to his first victory within the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday night time at Texas Motor Speedway.
Blaney pocketed a $1 million payday, beginning second and main 84 of the 140 laps within the No. 12 Team Penske Ford. The triumph got here in his sixth begin within the annual All-Star exhibition, which was held for simply the second time at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth observe.
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Blaney needed to outlast the sector in an additional time session, pressured by Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s crash with Blaney only a brief distance from the checkered flag. The warning lights illuminated to pressure the additional laps, however Blaney — considering he had received — had lowered his window web on what he thought was the cool-down lap. After struggling to get it mounted, he held on within the closing two-lap sprint to the top.
“I do want to thank NASCAR for letting me kind of fix it and not make us come down pit road, but yeah, that was really tough,” Blaney mentioned. “Then having to do it all over again after trying to get that window net back up there. … This is cool. I know it’s not a points-winning race, but it’s going to be a lot of fun. Party is going to be pretty big.”
Denny Hamlin completed second within the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota, simply 0.266 seconds again at the checkered flag. Rookie Austin Cindric claimed third place with teammate Joey Logano fourth and Daniel Suárez fifth.
The annual occasion featured a multi-segment format, with incentives for each drivers and pit crews at every break. Team Penske teammates Cindric and Blaney received phases, incomes them front-row beginning spots for the ultimate 50-lap section. The No. 22 Team Penske Ford over-the-wall crew collected a $100,000 bonus for the quickest time on pit highway throughout a compulsory four-tire cease for all groups after Stage 2. That perk additionally positioned No. 22 driver Logano third for the final-stage begin.
Four pre-race favorites exited early throughout a chaotic second stage. Kyle Larson, winner of final 12 months’s All-Star Race, was the occasion’s first retiree after his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet clocked the Turn 4 wall on Lap 37.
Three extra contenders have been sidelined 12 laps later after a chain-reaction crash. Pole-starter Kyle Busch led the first 47 laps till his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota slowed with a flat tire off Turn 4. Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevy slammed into Busch’s automotive then skidded into Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. All three have been unharmed, however achieved for the night time.
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Suárez was the most effective finisher from the three drivers who superior from the 50-lap All-Star Open preliminary, with Chris Buescher and Stenhouse ending eighth and nineteenth, respectively. Petty GMS Motorsports’ Erik Jones secured an All-Star berth by means of a web based vote by followers; he crashed within the closing stage and completed twentieth.
The NASCAR Cup Series’ subsequent occasion can also be its longest, with the Coca-Cola 600 scheduled subsequent Sunday (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM) at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
This story will probably be up to date.