Ryan Blaney survived three big ones to take the checkered flag in the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
After rain began to fall at the end of the first stage on Sunday afternoon, the race was postponed to Monday afternoon. Ryan Blaney spun on pit road and got hit with speeding penalty on Sunday, but used the postponed race to redeem himself.
The No. 12 Dent Wizard Ford stayed in the top 10 for the most of the day. Blaney led three different times for a combined total of 35 laps led. He managed to be in the right place at the right time when three different big ones occurred around him, escaping unscathed.
With less than 15 laps to go at Talladega, the field began to scramble resulting in an 11-car crash in Turn 3. Brendan Gaughan went upside down as many of the playoff contenders that were racing for those playoff points saw their day come to am end. When the green flag waved, Blaney was on the move to the front.
Before the race got underway, all manufacturers met to talk to the drivers to discuss manufacturer teammates getting banding together to push one another to the front. The Ford camp certainly listened and it paid off in the end.
In the closing laps, Ryan Newman got a big push, rocketing him passed Ryan Blaney. Aric Almirola drove to Blaney’s bumper and gave him the push that ultimately got him the win. Blaney took the checkered flag by 0.007 seconds over Newman, making it the sixth-closest finish in series history.
“We spun out early yesterday and missed some big ones today. We were able to weave our way through. I can’t thank Aric Almirola enough for helping me out there at the end.”
The No. 12 Dent Wizard Ford drove to victory lane for the first time this season, locking Ryan Blaney into the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola and Michael McDowell rounded out the Top 5 at Talladega Superspeedway. After a series of accidents, Bowman, Elliott, Bowyer and Byron have found themselves in a must-win situation at Kansas Speedway.
Catch the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in action again next week at Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, October 20 at 2:30PM ET on NBC.
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