Ryan Blaney won today’s inaugural Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This was Blaney’s first win of the 2018 Monster Energy Cup Series season.
Blaney overtook Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson in the the final turn as both drivers wrecked while battling for the win.
The wreck eliminated driver No. 48’s chances at making the next round of the NASCAR Playoffs.
“I was more worried about the win than anything else,” Johnson said. “I hate that i started wheel-hoping and took Martin and i out. That’s the last thing i wanted to do. And i put pressure onto him in [Turn 3] and he washed up and i thought i was going to be in the prime braking zone going into that final turn and have a shot at it. And onto the brakes it started locking the rears and wheel-hooping and i didn’t think i hit him at first, i knew i was spinning obviously, but i guess i collected him in my spin and certainly regret doing that.”
Rounding out the top five were Jamie McMurray in second, Clint Bowyer in third, Alex Bowman in fourth and Kurt Busch in fifth.
Aric Almirola and Kyle Larson, who ended the Round of 16 tied with Jimmie Johnson in the points standings both advanced into the Round of 12.
The final restart came when a huge wreck occurred in Turn 1 with six laps remaining. It all began when Keselowski locked up his tires as he was breaking in the first turn. The wreck included Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola and Daniel Hemric.
Jimmie Johnson was among the four drivers heading home after Round 1 of the NASCAR Playoffs. The other three drivers eliminated are Austin Dillion, Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones.
The NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series will head to Dover International Speedway next Sunday in the running of the Gander Outdoors 400 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern on NBCSN. This will be the opening race in Round 2 of the NASCAR Playoffs.
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson
Stage 2 Winner: Ryan Blaney
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney
About Me: Hi, my name is Matthew I'm 17 from Charlotte, NC. Racing has been something that has interested me my whole life. As a kid my dad would always take me to each of the Charlotte races and the adrenaline you get watching NASCAR's best drivers go around is one like no other. My goal as a writer is to give you the best information possible.
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