Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 NASCAR Ford Mustang will make a Championship 4 appearance this year, hot off a hard-fought win at Martinsville Speedway on October 29th, 2023.
Blaney swept the lead out from under the No. 10 NASCAR Ford of Aric Almirola on Lap 478 of 500, putting 0.899 seconds between the two Mustangs at the finish. The win marks Blaney’s third of the 2023 season after going winless in 2022, while also representing his first win at Martinsville and his 10th career Cup Series victory.
“Well, I mean, felt like we put together really strong Playoffs, especially the Round of 8,” Blaney said. “Just overall really proud of the whole effort. RP [Team Penske owner Roger Penske] couldn’t be here, unfortunately, but I know he’s watching. This is awesome. Can’t wait to get to Phoenix next week.”
He added, “I grew up in High Point, not too far from here. Really cool. Wanting to win here for a long time. Been super close for many years. Awesome to close it out.”
As such, Blaney is the sole NASCAR Ford team who will compete for a championship trophy in the final race of the 2023 Cup Series season at Phoenix this weekend. He joins Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 20 Toyota TRD Camry; William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevy Camaro ZL1; and Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Camaro, as the four drivers who will compete for the overall championship.
It’s worth noting that Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 Mustang, was eliminated from the Playoffs, despite finishing eighth.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Discount Tire Ford | 500 | 145 | Ford Mustang |
| 2 | 12 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 500 | 66 | Ford Mustang |
| 3 | 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | FedEx Toyota | 500 | 156 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 4 | 3 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mahindra Tractors Ford | 500 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 5 | 15 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 500 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 6 | 5 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 7 | 7 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | Interstate Batteries Toyota | 500 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 8 | 18 | 17 | Chris Buescher (P) | Nexletol Ford | 500 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 9 | 21 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford | 500 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 10 | 17 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Quincy Compressor Ford | 500 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 11 | 6 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Xfinity Toyota | 500 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 12 | 1 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. (P) | Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota | 500 | 47 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 13 | 16 | 24 | William Byron (P) | PODS Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 14 | 13 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Moose Fraternity Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 28 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 499 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 16 | 8 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford | 499 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 17 | 14 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 499 | 83 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 499 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 19 | 20 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/Reese's Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 20 | 9 | 41 | Ryan Preece | United Rentals Ford | 499 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 21 | 29 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Allways Rewards Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 30 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 499 | 3 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 23 | 26 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 34 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Ferris Commercial Mowers Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 25 | 23 | 34 | Michael McDowell | StageFront.VIP Ford | 499 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 19 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (P) | The Beast Unleashed Toyota | 498 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 27 | 31 | 8 | Kyle Busch | BetMGM Chevrolet | 498 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 25 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Action Industries Chevrolet | 498 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 29 | 33 | 51 | Ryan Newman(i) | Biohaven/Jacob Co Ford | 497 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 30 | 24 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 497 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 32 | 42 | Carson Hocevar(i) | Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet | 496 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 32 | 22 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 496 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 33 | 10 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | King's Hawaiian Ford | 306 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 34 | 27 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Jockey Outdoors By Luke Bryan Chevrolet | 274 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 35 | 35 | 15 | JJ Yeley(i) | IFCJ.org Ford | 271 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 36 | 36 | 78 | BJ McLeod(i) | Falk'd Up Garage Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
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