Blaney lost sleep after last week’s loss, needs big performance at Martinsville to defend NASCAR title

Ryan Blaney already saw the checkered flag and a spot in NASCAR’s deciding race last week on the final lap of a contentious battle.

Then, out of nowhere, Tyler Reddick slid past Blaney in the final turn to snatch the win.

Reddick will compete for his first Cup Series championship next week at Phoenix Raceway.

Blaney? He needs either a win Sunday at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia or a miracle to have a chance to defend his NASCAR championship.

He admits the loss cost him sleep, especially in the hours following the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“I rewatched it when I got home Sunday night,” Blaney said. “I rewatched the whole race, rewatched the end of the race and lost a little sleep at the end of that race.”

Replay showed Blaney made the wrong defensive move while trying to hold off Reddick and Denny Hamlin – and he doubted himself for days.

“When I watch a football game, I think, ‘Why didn’t he just do that?’ Blaney said. “In that moment, when you’re that person and you’re that athlete or living in that time, it’s a lot more difficult than being outside and watching different angles on TV and things like that. decisions in real time, in the moment. You don’t have time to think and go through all the options. This all happens very quickly.

“You’re never going to score 1,000 points for making the right decision, the right decision, and that’s the challenge of sports: Can you make the right decisions? And how often do you make the right decisions?”

The loss left Blaney sixth in the playoff standings and one of six drivers vying for the two remaining spots in the winner-take-all championship race. Joey Logano and Reddick took the top two spots in the championship field with victories in the third round of the playoffs. Penske’s Blaney is 38 points below the elimination line.

However, Blaney still has a way to go: if he can make it into the championship, he will join teammate Logano with two Ford drivers with a 50% chance of winning the title. Chase Elliott came under the finish line at Martinsville in 2020, won the race and won the championship. The same thing happened to Christopher Bell, who was below the finish line at Martinsville and won the race to the championship.

Blaney is the reigning Martinsville winner and used the momentum from that victory to win his first NASCAR championship.

“I feel like the mental side is the hardest thing in our sport,” Blaney said. “It’s just how you mentally stay in it and how you adapt to what you need to do week to week and in the moment and then for the future. So I try not to dwell too much on the past, but just learn from it and move on.”

Truex on pole

Martin Truex Jr., who will retire from racing in two weeks, won the pole in qualifying Saturday at Martinsville.

Truex completed the lap at 95.951 mph, ahead of Hendrick Motorsports drivers Elliott and William Byron. Truex was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, and Elliott and Byron are trying to make it a four-way championship.

Chase Briscoe in the Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was fourth, followed by Truex’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs. Harrison Burton, who will lose his seat with Wood Brothers Racing in two weeks, was sixth. Briscoe, Gibbs, Burton and Truex have already been eliminated from the playoffs.

Hendrick’s Alex Bowman was seventh, followed by SHR’s Ryan Preece, Hendrick’s Kyle Larson and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon.

Logano, who had already finished in the championship’s top four, qualified 12th, two spots ahead of Team Penske teammate Blaney. Title contender Bell of JGR qualified 16th, Reddick, who is already in the championship race, qualified 31st.

Hamlin crashed in practice and did not complete a qualifying lap. He starts last.

Hamlin crashes out

Hamlin had a short Saturday at Martinsville Speedway when he crashed during practice with a stuck throttle. The damage to his No. 11 Toyota was so severe that Joe Gibbs Racing spent the rest of the session deciding whether the car could be repaired or whether he would need a backup.

His car was fast for 33 laps before he hit the wall and, despite the shortened session, he finished third in the speed chart.

The team decided to repair his car, but Hamlin was unable to make a qualifying attempt anyway and will start last Sunday.

Hamlin is below the relegation line and can only get into the top four with a win on Sunday or significant losses for the drivers ahead of him in the standings.

Hamlin is a five-time Martinsville winner but hasn’t been in victory lane since 2015.

“Nothing from the past is guaranteed in the future. Everyone seems to be at their best in the fall race, and we had some unfortunate circumstances late in the races that kept us from getting into victory lane,” Hamlin said. “That’s only part of the story. You just hope that the law of averages will work itself out. It’s like everything with data and analytics: one in the fight, anything can happen. You never know. You just hope you get lucky, right?

Hendrik hopes

Hendrick Motorsports completed the second round of the playoffs with all four drivers advanced to the eighth round. But Bowman’s failed check disqualified him, and Hendrick left, leaving only Elliott, Byron and Larson on the field.

Now the trio heads to Martinsville with only Byron above the elimination line and Hendrick with no guarantee of even one rider making it to the final four.

If Byron scores 49 points on Sunday, he will be back in the championship no matter what any other driver does at Martinsville. Larson and Elliott either need to win or get beaten by the drivers ahead of them in the standings, although Larson is only seven points behind Byron.

Elliott felt confident despite the difficult task ahead of him.

“Getting a must-win at Martinsville isn’t necessarily a good thing, right?” – Elliott said. “You would rather punch your ticket or be in a situation that is not the last one. The reality is that we have to come out here and perform at an extremely high level. If the weekend isn’t perfect, it should be very close.”