By Roy J. Akers-www.skyviewsports.net
With two drivers locking up the Championship 4 race at Phoenix next weekend, six drivers are looking to advance after Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick wins left only two spots among six drivers. Win and your in if you are one of the six playoff contenders. If you are trying to advance, you and your team are calculating everything. Track position, pit position and gambling on fuel. Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Kyle Larson are the top three drivers who could move on to the final race next weekend. The crazy thing is just two weeks ago, it looked like four Rick Hendrick drivers could advance to the final. Now, its possible that they could be shut out. That is why they race.
First Stage
After Martin Truex Jr. won the pole for most likely the final time in his career, he led the first 42 laps of the race before Chase Elliott takes the lead. Truex Jr. hits the pits with handling problems around lap 65 and quickly sinks and goes three laps down. Eleven drivers go at least one lap down early of the 37 drivers. Christopher Bell and Corey LaJoie have a minor collision on lap 76 bringing a caution. Most drivers pit under yellow by lap 80 and take four tires. When the green flag drops, Elliott is still in the lead with teammate William Byron right behind him. The last 54 laps of Stage one see Elliot, Byron and Chase Briscoe go one, two, three. Elliott and Byron badly need the Stage points. Five of the remaining eight drivers remaining in the playoffs are in the top ten. Christopher Bell is 23rd and needs to move up position wise or he is eliminated.
Stage Two
After Elliott leads 94 laps in Stage one, he surrenders the lead to Byron during the pace laps to start the second stage to pit. The green flag for Stage two drops on lap 141 with Byron and Elliott 1-2. Just three laps into the Stage, Daniel Hemric and Daniel Suarez bump and a caution is thrown. Kyle Busch gets his lap back. After the race resumes, Harrison Burton fish tales the 21 after Carson Hocevar spins him out. Following Byron and Elliott are Briscoe, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson. The last two names need to win as they lost key Stage One points. Martin Truex Jr. was taken out on lap 183. Daniel Hemric and John Hunter Nemechek were also involved. Elliott pits and his team screws up by forgetting to jack up the right rear tire. Elliott falls to 26th place. Ryan Blaney is now in first.
Stage Two continues with Playoff drivers increasing intensity
On lap 188, the green flag flies and Blaney, Keselowski, Hamlin and Bell are your new top four. On lap 194, Carson Hocevar and Todd Gilliland collide and the days 5th green flag caution is thrown. NBC’s Jeff Burton and Kyle Petty are critical of Hocevar and say other drivers are losing patience with him. Lap 202 goes green and Keselowski and Blaney are 1-2. Seven of the remaining Playoff drivers are in the top 14 on lap 231 with Elliott up nine positions since his last pit stop. The Stage finishes with Keselowski-Blaney and Hamlin as your top three. The final eight Playoff drivers take spots 2-6. Elliott is 12th. Bell and Byron are in if the race were over but the final Stage has plenty of drama.
Final Stage
As drivers cycle through their between stage pit stops, Kyle Larson picks up two positions. Christopher Bell loses several and is now in 5th position points wise with only four advancing. Larson has overtaken Bell in points. Keselowski leads early in the Stage with Blaney, Hamlin, Larson and Byron all right behind. The race has little change for what seems like forever. Elliott falls to 21st and he looks to be eliminated. With the leaders pitting on lap 376, Bubba Wallace is your new temporary leader. Elliott and Michael McDowell are 2-3. McDowell makes his 500 NASCAR start at Martinsville. As the pitstops cycle, Elliott is the leader with Byron, Keselowski, Blaney, and Larson your top five.
The Final Laps
Lap 397 brings out the sixth green flag caution of the day as Carson Hocevar and William Bowman collide. Larson, Byron and Ryan Preece are your top three with Elliot lurking in fourth. With Christopher Bell stuck in 19th place, 2 laps down. As the laps wind down, its Blaney, Elliott, and Larson. Less than half the field is still on the lead lap Blaney holds off the field and wins the race. He is the race winner and will race to defend his 2023 NASCAR Championship.
Checkered Flag
Ryan Blaney got better as the race entered the third stage and led the race 3 times for 32 yards. The win gives him the right to defend his 2023 Championship. Blaney said afterward. “To have another shot at the championship is really special,” Blaney said. “Try to go back-to-back next week. I’ve got nothing left. Oh my God, I’m tired.”
These Four are in the Final
Joey Logano (Las Vegas win) and Tyler Reddick (Homestead-Miami win) are in. Ryan Blaney takes the third spot after winning at Martinsville. William Byron is in on points. For the record, Blaney’s win was the 100th for Team Penske since it partnered with Ford. Logano won the title in 2022, Blaney won in 2023 and now Penske has a shot at three consecutive Cup titles.
In the Mix
Both Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson led at Martinsville for big chunks of the race. (Elliott 5-129) and Larson (1-71). They could not hold off Blaney down the stretch.
Pole Sitter- Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Truex Jr. through the first 47 laps of the race. Then, poor handling and getting rearended put him hopelessly behind in a race that looked like would be a good farewell for him. He led the first 42 laps in his Toyota until he had to make his scheduled pit stop, and Truex was flagged for speeding on pit road. The penalty dropped him three laps off the pace and ruined his race.On Saturday, Truex Jr. said this. Does winning a pole sink in more here as you close out your full-time career?
“It definitely reminds you again about how much fun it is to be successful. Reminder that if you keep working hard, good things will eventually come your way. It has been a tough stretch here lately – especially, the last three or four months – a lot of disappointing days. “
Wait until 2025
Hendrick Motorsports was thought to have four drivers in the final. They have one and it took a Christopher video game ride around Martinsville similar to Ross Chastain a few years ago. Who would have thought this would happen? Bell on the outcome. How do you process NASCAR’s decision and just the end of this race?
“It was Martinsville, and it was a round of 8 cutoff race. Unfortunately, I was on the bad side of it. Made a lot of mistakes, ran a sloppy race. It is a shame that it comes down to a ball and strike call like that. You can look at both sides of the fence – the Chevy organization had a lot of blocking going on so that the 24 (William Bryon) didn’t lose positions. I slid into the wall and kept my foot into it. I guess that is a losing move.”
Public enemy No. 77
Carson Hocevar (No.77) was involved in four incidents on Sunday. He should win the NASCAR Rookie of the Year award but drivers are pretty tired of his aggressive antics.
A Poor Showing
Tyler Reddick will race for the championship next weekend at Phoenix. He went three laps down early and 42 laps for the race. He was disappointing to say the least. He will give it his all next week but it was like he just mailed it in on Sunday.
Roy J. Akers is a multi-media reporter and covers several sports for www.skyviewsports.net
