Hendrick Motorsports’ perfect Martinsville plan – Sports News
Ryan Blaney is racing for his 2025 NASCAR Cup Series life in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 on the Martinsville Speedway after consecutive disastrous finishes — thirty eighth in Las Vegas, twenty third in Talladega — that harm his playoff standing.
He did not have the early benefit on Sunday: that belonged to William Byron, who led 170 of the primary 175 laps en path to a Stage 1 victory.
Both Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin entered the weekend as the one two drivers with their spots within the Championship Four for Phoenix secure, with Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson above the cut. Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott are all on the surface wanting in.
The Hendrick Motorsports trio of Byron, Larson, and Elliott exited a Stage 2 restart as a trio, executing a flawless “teammate restart” to carry off the chasing back, per Jeff Gluck.
Teammate restarts are a common strategy, particularly during the playoffs and in marquee races. Cars can line up side-by-side to stop others from passing.
Blaney sat a lot of Stage 1 within the back half of the highest 10, saying “I’m chilling” over his radio at one level, whereas in eighth place. However, he made a transfer rapidly on the Hendrick Motorsports trio.
With 227 laps to go, the 31-year-old seized the lead. He would carry into Stage 3, setting himself up for a likelihood to clinch a spot within the Championship Four for a third straight 12 months (he is the two-time reigning playoff winner at Martinsville.
One of the more well-known teammate restarts was between Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. The pair have been racing first and second, the place HAmlin selected the highest lane over Busch together with his teammate’s consent.
Hamlin went on to seize the checkered flag. “First and foremost, we agreed to it to make sure that we at least got a (Joe Gibbs Racing) car to victory lane,” Busch stated post-race.
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“They didn’t want to do it (on) the previous restart, but once he got the lead, he wanted to,” he added. “You know, it is what it is. At least we got a Gibbs car in victory lane. That’s the big picture. That’s what matters, and we move on.”
Hamlin was grateful for Busch and his workforce. “I think they came over to my spotter and said, ‘Hey, do you want to drop down in front of us? We’re open to do that,’ and when I saw him and the 22 lined up, I was like, ‘Well, absolutely, sure.’ I definitely wanted to do that,” he stated.
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