Ryan Blaney races to first Cup win of year at Nashville

LEBANON, Tenn. -- Ryan Blaney and Team Penske person been accelerated with his No. 12 Ford Mustang this twelvemonth lone to person races gaffe distant erstwhile it mattered most.

Not Sunday night.

Blaney ran distant down the agelong for his archetypal Cup Series triumph of the twelvemonth Sunday nighttime astatine Nashville Superspeedway, past helium celebrated with a burnout successful beforehand of the roaring fans aft what helium called a unsmooth year.

"I'm acceptable to spell celebrate," Blaney said.

The 2023 Cup champ had been racing good with 5 top-five finishes implicit the archetypal fractional of this season. He yet got to triumph lane for his 14th vocation triumph and archetypal since Martinsville successful November.

"I ne'er gave up anticipation that's for sure," Blaney said. "We've had large velocity each year. It conscionable hasn't truly been the champion twelvemonth for america arsenic acold arsenic bully fortune. But [No.] 12 boys are awesome. They instrumentality with it nary substance however it goes."

He became the ninth antithetic victor this play and the 5th operator to triumph successful arsenic galore races astatine Nashville. He besides gave Team Penske a 2nd consecutive Cup triumph astatine Nashville's 1.33-mile factual track.

Blaney, who started 15th, rapidly drove his mode to the beforehand arsenic helium won the 2nd stage. He easy held disconnected Carson Hocevar by 2.83 seconds. Hocevar matched his career-best decorativeness astatine Atlanta successful February aft complaining during the contention that his No. 77 Chevrolet was undriveable.

"Either I'm truly melodramatic oregon they're truly bully connected adjustments," Hocevar said. "Probably a small spot of both, but, yeah, arrogant of this radical arrogant of this car. A spot that is really, truly hard to pass, we're capable to spell 26th to second."

Denny Hamlin finished 3rd successful his 700th vocation Cup Series race, matching the third-place decorativeness by Jeff Gordon astatine Darlington successful 2013 for the champion decorativeness successful a driver's 700th race. Joey Logano, who won present past year, was 4th and William Byron fifth.

Hamlin was hoping for 1 much caution that ne'er came aft 7 cautions for 35 laps.

"Just couldn't tally with the 12 [Blaney] determination successful the ace agelong run," Hamlin said. "After 40 laps, I could support with him. But past aft that, helium conscionable pulled distant and stretched it connected us."

There was a sprint to the decorativeness nether greenish forcing teams and drivers to prime and take erstwhile to pit. Blaney had led 107 laps erstwhile helium went to the pits nether greenish emblem connected thigh 248. Hamlin took the pb earlier going to pit roadworthy connected thigh 256.

Crew main Jonathan Hassler said they decided connected Blaney's 5th and last pit halt to effort to marque definite helium could get backmost retired into the cleanest aerial possible.

"It was truly bully conscionable to decorativeness disconnected a race," Hassler said.

Brad Keselowski had the pb erstwhile helium went to the pits connected thigh 269. Blaney took the pb for the last 31 laps.

Waiting connected a call

Hamlin raced Sunday nighttime hoping to instrumentality vantage of his starting spot spot beside pole-sitter Chase Briscoe. Whether Hamlin would pursuit his 3rd triumph this play had been successful question with his 3rd child, a boy, owed the aforesaid day.

Hamlin practiced and qualified well, truthful helium drove his No. 11 Toyota adjacent arsenic Joe Gibbs Racing had Ryan Truex connected standby successful lawsuit Hamlin got the telephone that his fiancee was successful labor. Hamlin won the archetypal signifier and survived the last agelong without h2o oregon caller air.

Tyler Reddick bushed his brag Hamlin, a co-owner of his 23XI Racing team, to caller genitor status, which Reddick announced connected societal media earlier Sunday.

His household welcomed their 2nd lad astatine 2:20 a.m. connected May 25, past Reddick followed up hours aboriginal by finishing 26th successful the Coca-Cola 600 astatine Charlotte.

Early night

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. didn't decorativeness his archetypal contention this year. He was the archetypal retired erstwhile Hocevar tapped his No. 47 Chevrolet, spinning Stenhouse into the partition betwixt Turns 3 and 4 for the 2nd caution of the contention connected thigh 106.

Punishment and much penalties possible?

AJ Allmendinger started astatine the backmost of the tract and served a stop-and-go punishment aft the greenish emblem for an unapproved accommodation to the splitter during Saturday's practice. His No. 16 Chevrolet was sent backmost to the store and past the scanning presumption earlier signifier and qualifying.

The No. 66 Ford of Chad Finchum failed inspection doubly starring to technologist Austin Webb's ejection. The Garage 66 squad besides mislaid pit stall selection.

Up adjacent

NASCAR heads to Michigan International Speedway for the Cup Series connected June 8.