Just one week after finishing second in heartbreaking fashion at Homestead, NASCAR Ford driver Ryan Blaney blew past the competition to win at Martinsville on November 3rd, 2024. Just like last year, Blaney secured his slot in the Championship 4 by winning the final race in the Round of 8, but it wasn’t an easy fight for the No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
Blaney led for 32 laps – far from the most at Martinsville. In fact, fellow NASCAR Ford driver Brad Keselowski showed the way for quite some time, putting the No. 6 Mustang to the point for 170 laps, but he faded toward the end as Blaney muscled his way forward. As the laps ticked down, Blaney tracked down Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevy Camaro ZL1, who made a valiant attempt to hold off the hard-charging No. 12 Mustang.
Blaney had the better car and passed Elliott cleanly, winning his way into the Championship 4. However, Blaney admitted that he raced a little rougher than he normally would have, all in the name of title defense.
“The last 70 or so laps I tried to save my rear [tires] the best I could, because that’s where I started struggling later in the runs,” said Blaney. “I hated I had to lay the bumper to some guys, but I had to do it. It was nice to pass the 9 [Elliott] clean. I laid the bumper to a couple guys that I wish I didn’t have to, but I needed to get going, so it was a long night.”
He added, “I appreciate everybody for getting [the No. 12 Ford] better through the night. Thank goodness. I think that’s the most tired I’ve been after a race in a long time.”
Blaney’s victory marked the 100th for NASCAR Ford team Penske Racing at the Cup Series level. He joins fellow Penske teammate, Joey Logano, who drives the No. 22 Mustang, as one of the four drivers in the Championship 4 who will race for the 2024 title at Phoenix next weekend. At the time of this writing, William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Camaro, and Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 45 Toyota TRD Camry, are also in contention for the title, but NASCAR is investigating alleged race manipulation at Martinsville that could change that outcome.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Discount Tire Ford | 500 | 32 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 2 | 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 500 | 129 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 3 | 9 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 500 | 71 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 4 | 24 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford | 500 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 5 | 37 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | FedEx One Rate Toyota | 500 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 6 | 3 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Liberty University Chevrolet | 500 | 51 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 7 | 10 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 8 | 22 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Moose Fraternity Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 9 | 18 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | King's Hawaiian Ford | 500 | 170 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 10 | 12 | 22 | Joey Logano (P) | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 500 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 11 | 25 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Bed Bath & Beyond Ford | 500 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 12 | 29 | 16 | Shane Van Gisbergen(i) | Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 13 | 7 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 14 | 8 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Mohawk Northeast Ford | 500 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 15 | 4 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mahindra Tractors Ford | 500 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 16 | 11 | 4 | Josh Berry # | SunnyD Ford | 500 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 17 | 15 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | High Point Paint Services Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 19 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Xfinity Toyota | 499 | 6 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 19 | 21 | 43 | Erik Jones | Family Dollar Toyota | 499 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 20 | 28 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Colgate/Philadelphia Whipped Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 36 | 71 | Zane Smith # | Focused Health Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 16 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | Mobil 1 Toyota | 499 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 23 | 20 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Jockey Outdoors by Luke Bryan Chevrolet | 498 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 1 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Auto-Owners Insurance/Thank You Martin Toyota | 498 | 41 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 25 | 27 | 77 | Carson Hocevar # | Premier Security Chevrolet | 498 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 26 | 13 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Ruedebusch Ford | 498 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 27 | 33 | 15 | Kaz Grala # | Meat N' Bone Ford | 497 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 28 | 23 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet | 497 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 29 | 30 | 7 | Justin Haley | Optic Gaming/Gainbridge Sport Chevrolet | 497 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 30 | 26 | 17 | Chris Buescher | BuildSubmarines.com Ford | 497 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 31 | 32 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota | 496 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 32 | 5 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Monster Energy Toyota | 495 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 33 | 17 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Benebone Ford | 490 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 34 | 31 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (P) | Monster Energy Toyota | 458 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 35 | 34 | 51 | Corey LaJoie | Jacob Construction Ford | 365 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 36 | 6 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 347 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 37 | 35 | 66 | * Josh Bilicki(i) | 2ONE Pouches Ford | 131 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
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