‘It was a heck of a battle’: Ryan Blaney wins NASCAR race for second straight year
LOUDON, N.H. —
Through rain, sunshine, and a delay, Ryan Blaney returned to Victory Lane, winning at the Magic Mile for a second straight year at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Blaney, driving #12 Ford for Team Penske, led 115 of the 301 laps during the Dollar Tree 301.
“It’s been a wild day, you know, starting in the rain and then it ended up being an absolutely gorgeous evening by the end of the race,” Blaney told News 9 Sports. “And really once it stopped raining it was a really nice day so, yeah, just kind of battling through it.”
There was a battle down the stretch between Blaney, Bubba Wallace, and Josh Berry.
“It was a heck of a battle. Yeah, he was coming on pretty strong there at the end, and it was all I could do to hang on, get through lap traffic,” said Blaney.
The Dollar Tree 301 was Blaney’s third win of the season, and he joins Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Kevin Harvick as back-to-back winners at the Magic Mile.
Denny Hamlin, who finished seventh, clinched the number one seed for the chase, which returns to Loudon in 2027.
The Cup Series’ next race at the Magic Mile is next September.