Blaney wins in Talladega, Harvick disqualified

Ryan Blaney won at Talladega while Kevin Harvick was disqualified from the NASCAR Cup Series encounter.

Harvick had initially been classified second before his car failed post-race inspection.

Aric Almirola started on the pole with defending champion Joey Logano second.

The entire first stage was run caution-free until the last lap, when Ricky Stenhouse Jr ran out of fuel on lap 60, prompting the first stage to end under caution.

This caused a multi-car pileup, resulting in playoff contender Ross Chastain, falling out of the race. Blaney would go on to win Stage 1.

The beginning of Stage 2 began with Chase Elliott and Blaney swapping the lead. Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports team-mates, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman, were there on his bumper to help him lead the early stages.

Stage 2 pit stops were a big issue for Playoff drivers as most lost positions, and Denny Hamlin was caught speeding on pit road. Austin Cindric also received a speeding penalty during the stops.

Most pit stops occurred in waves, and the manufacturers did not pit as groups (unlike Daytona).

After the pit stops, Fords ended up taking the top spots. Richard Childress Racing had Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon waiting to pounce, however, the plan failed as Busch fell back when attempting to pass.

Brad Keselowski went on to win Stage 2, a valuable result as the former-Penske driver needed to bank points to remain above above the cutoff line – he entered the race out of a Playoffs position.

After the pit stops between Stages 2 and 3, a gas can went along with Ty Dillon, prompting it to ignite and catch fire. Nobody was injured in the accident.

Stage 3 was dominated by Ford at the beginning, and Chevy was unable to gain any advantage over the blue ovals.

Logano and Keselowski were the most lethal drivers on the track during the early portion of the stage.

With 35 laps to go, an Bubba Wallace helped William Byron to the lead.

Their cooperation didn’t work for long as the pack would go four-wide with 30 laps to go and ultimately culminated in a crash on lap 162, involving Keselowski, Austin Dillon, AJ Allmendinger, Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, Harrison Burton, Ty Gibbs, and Carson Hocevar.

Keselowski was pushing Hocevar, which ultimately turned him into Gibbs and Dillon. The accident prompted a red flag in the race with 25 laps to go.

The race restarted with 20 laps to go, and the Ford brigade continued its dominance. Alex Bowman looked to stop its reign and continue his yearly winning streak, but the pack quickly started to change lines.

Harvick was the most aggressive driver after the restart, however, a debris caution would come out with 17 laps to go.

Restarting with 13 laps to go, Riley Herbst was advanced by his run pushing Logano, but it was Logano’s car that didn’t give the outside line a good start. Alex Bowman jumped to the lead with Harvick and Elliott behind him.

Harvick got a run from Blaney and Herbst, but the inside line led by Bowman and Elliott was trying to make them fight. Blaney and Harvick ultimately broke away, but the inside caught up.

The race ended with a crash on the last lap with Blaney beating Harvick by 0.012 seconds.

Blaney would punch his ticket to the Round of 8, prompting all five playoff races to be won by five different playoff drivers.

It was Blaney’s second win of the season, his third at Talladega, and his ninth career win.

Playoff Standings:

1. William Byron 1 win
2. Ryan Blaney 1 win
3. Denny Hamlin +50
4. Christopher Bell +22
5. Chris Buescher +19
6. Martin Truex, Jr. +17
7. Kyle Larson +15
8. Brad Keselowski +2
9. Tyler Reddick -2
10. Ross Chastain -9
11. Bubba Wallace -9
12. Kyle Busch -26

*Kyle Busch is in a must-win situation going into the October 8th race at the Charlotte Roval

Race Results:

1. Ryan Blaney
2. William Byron
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Corey LaJoie
5. Austin Cindric
6. Justin Haley
7. Chase Elliott
8. Ryan Preece
9. Riley Herbst #*
10. Daniel Suárez
11. Chandler Smith #*
12. Todd Gilliland
13. Chase Briscoe
14. Christopher Bell
15. Kyle Larson
16. Tyler Reddick
17. Aric Almirola
18. Martin Truex, Jr.
19. Chris Buescher
20. AJ Allmendinger
21. Michael McDowell
22. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
23. Bubba Wallace
24. Joey Logano
25. Kyle Busch
26. Erik Jones
27. Ty Dillon
28. Alex Bowman
29. BJ McLoed
30. Brennan Poole*
31. Harrison Burton
32. Brad Keselowski
33. Austin Dillon
34. Ty Gibbs #
35. Carson Hocevar #*
36. JJ Yeley
37. Ross Chastain
38. Kevin Harvick

* indicates drivers ineligible for NASCAR Cup Series points

# indicates a rookie driver

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