Ryan Blaney almost did it again.
Needing a Round of 8 walk-off victory for the third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series season, Blaney stormed from qualifying 31st to the front of the field before ultimately falling one spot shy of a Championship 4 spot Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.
Instead, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron scored the victory, keeping the Regular Season Champion’s hopes for his first title alive into the final weekend of the season.
RELATED: Unofficial results | At-track photos
“I’m proud of coming from where we qualified and getting to lead and leading laps and had a shot at the win,” Blaney said after Sunday’s 500-lapper in southern Virginia. “We did a good job and we got control of the race for a bit, but, gosh, [Byron’s] car was really fast. My rear [tires] started to go away pretty big on that long run and working through lap traffic, he was able to get by me. Then he got control of the race from there and his car was really fast. I never really thought I had much for him, especially as I think it got cooler. I feel like his car got even better, so he just had great rear drive and they were able to utilize it.
Blaney, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion, first took the lead on Lap 272, leading a total of 177 circuits before getting passed by Byron with 43 laps to go. A Lap 484 caution gave Blaney one last glimmer of hope, opting to go with a four-tire pit stop. However, Byron beat the No. 12 Team Penske driver and got the stronger restart with 11 laps remaining, winning the Xfinity 500 by 0.717 seconds.
The 31-year-old Blaney found himself in a must-win situation after a crash in the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and a 23rd-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend. He won three times this season, going to Victory Lane at Nashville Superspeedway in the spring and later winning the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway. His September victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway secured his Round of 8 spot.
“Going into this weekend, I just wanted a shot to win the race, and we had that tonight, and it just didn‘t really play out,” the High Point, North Carolina native explained. “I know we gave 100 percent of what we had. Nobody left anything on the table with this group, and that‘s all you can ask for. That‘s all you can do. The 24 was just a little better than us and they got the job done, so props to them, but on our side, I‘m just proud of the effort. We put up a good fight, but it just wasn‘t quite enough.”
Teammate Joey Logano finished eighth, also failing to make the finale as the organization was shut out of the Championship 4 for the first time since 2021. Penske had won the last three titles, with Logano winning in 2022 and 2024.
“It stinks we don‘t have a shot to go for four in a row for Roger [Penske],” Blaney said. “Roger was here tonight and I was really wanting to see him in Victory Lane and celebrate it with him, but we just weren‘t able to get it done and the championship streak at Penske ends. That‘s the way it goes and we just have to re-rack and try to be better for next year. That‘s all you can do.”
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