Ryan Blaney wins controversial Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway
The NASCAR Championship 4 has been set after Ryan Blaney earns his second walk-off win at Martinsville in the last two years. What a performance from Blaney and his team to advance to Phoenix for a chance to defend his title.
This is the time of the year when Ryan Blaney steps up. Now he is on his way to another Championship 4. Could Blaney become the first back-to-back champ since Jimmie Johnson?
Blaney will join Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano in the Championship 4. Now we wait for NASCAR to pick between William Byron and Christopher Bell due to a controversial finish.
An absolutely drama-filled postrace. William Byron and Christopher Bell were both investigated for possible race manipulation.
Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon held up a pack of four or more cars behind Byron. Someone on Dillon’s radio asked if the crew chief for Chastain “kn[e]w the deal.” Neither the 3 or 1 car made an attempt to pass Byron on the final few laps.
Then, Bubba Wallace had an issue in his car and started to fall back on the last lap. On his radio, it was said that Byron was one point ahead of Bell. Then, the 23 had an alleged tire issue.
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NASCAR is basically investigating both Chevy and Toyota for race manipulation.
William Byron joins Ryan Blaney in Championship 4
After much deliberation, a decision was made by NASCAR. For his move that essentially led him to do half of a Hail Melon on the Turn 4 wall, Christopher Bell was scored P22, the last car one lap down. That is a move that drivers just can’t make anymore.
So, William Byron is going to join Blaney, Reddick, and Logano in Phoenix. It appears that NASCAR ignored what happened on the radios, since both teams were dabbling in a little manipulation, and penalized Bell for his wall ride.
For what it is worth, today was the best Martinsville race in years. This new softer tire really brought the action to the track. We had spins and cautions and just enough chaos to keep things interesting.
Ryan Blaney put up one of his best performances ever. He now has six wins in the last two seasons. Will he make it two championships in the last two seasons as well? Perhaps his toughest competition will be his teammate, Joey Logano. Logano has been preparing for Phoenix since his win at Las Vegas.