TALLADEGA, ALA.—Ryan Blaney emerged safely from the wreckage at Talladega Superspeedway that claimed other playoff contenders, winning by a tiny margin that was huge for his championship hopes. Blaney beat Ryan Newman in a door-to-door race to the finish line to win Monday and advance to the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs. After the win, Blaney spotted a young fan in the crowd wearing his shirt and handed the boy the checkered flag. It was Ford’s sixth straight Talladega playoff victory and Team Penske’s seventh win in the last seven Cup races at the Alabama superspeedway. Chevrolet then won at Talladega and again at Daytona in July, the two tracks where the brand alliances work.

Source: thestar October 14, 2019 22:52 UTC