LOUDON, N.H. (AP) \u2014 In a race in which Fords were fastest at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney barely was best in class for the second-round opener of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.<\/p>\n
The 2003 Cup champion led 116 laps in his No. 12 Mustang, including the final 39, but still had to fend off a furious charge by runner-up Josh Berry, who closed within a few car lengths with 10 laps left before overdriving a corner.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
Blaney pulled away to win by 0.937 seconds Sunday in his third victory of the season and 16th of his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was probably the hardest 20 laps that I drove,\u201d the Team Penske driver said. \u201cI was trying to kind of bide my stuff and pull Josh a little bit, then he really started coming. It was all I could do to hold him off, trying new lanes. That was good and clean racing. I appreciate Josh for not throwing me the bumper when he could have.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a cool day, what a cool weekend. Super fast car. Really have been strong through the playoffs. It\u2019s great to get a win in the first race of the round.\u201d<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
Blaney, who is trying to reach the Championship 4 season finale for the third consecutive year, became the first driver to advance into one of the eight available spots in the third round of the Cup playoffs.<\/p>\n
Berry, whose No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford has a competitive alliance with Penske, overcame a spin on the 82nd lap and rebounded from his first-round elimination after finishing last in each of the first three races in the playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was definitely an awesome day,\u201d said Berry, who led 10 laps. \u201cHats off to Ryan at the end. All our cars were really strong, and Ryan did a great job there. I was honestly surprised I was able to keep him honest at the end.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
\u201cJust a shame to finish second, but after the last couple of weeks, it feels good. This is definitely what we\u2019re capable of, and hopefully we can keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Fords backed up their impressive performances in qualifying Saturday<\/a> when Penske star Joey Logano won the pole position to cap a sweep of the top three starting spots with Blaney and Berry. The same trio led 273 of 301 laps Sunday.<\/p>\n William Byron was the highest-finishing Chevrolet driver in third.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a good day overall,\u201d said Byron, who is the highest-ranked driver behind Blaney in the playoff standings with two races left in the second round. \u201cPenske guys were super fast. I felt like they were in another zip code.\u201d<\/p>\n Logano took fourth after leading a race-high 147 laps in the No. 22 Ford. The Middletown, Connecticut, native started from the pole for the first time at New Hampshire, which he considers his home track.<\/p>\n \u201c(Blaney) was wicked fast in practice, and he showed that again in the race,\u201d Logano said. \u201cWe obviously got a ton of points today, so we did what we needed to do, but I\u2019d rather win. That\u2019s just the greed in me, especially when it\u2019s home.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n After qualifying 27th, last among the 12 playoff drivers, Chase Elliott raced to a fifth-place finish.<\/p>\n Christopher Bell took sixth as the top finishing Toyota driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, which went undefeated in the first round of the playoffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kyle Larson took seventh, and Ross Chastain was ninth as playoff drivers took eight of the top 10 spots on the 1.058-mile oval.<\/p>\n Teammates tangle<\/p>\n The race turned awkward for Joe Gibbs Racing on Lap 110 when Denny Hamlin spun teammate Ty Gibbs into the Turn 2 wall while racing for 11th. Gibbs, the only JGR driver who failed to qualify for the playoffs, seemed to be impeding the progress of teammates Hamlin and Christopher Bell when the incident happened.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cDoes Ty know we\u2019re running for a championship?\u201d Hamlin said on his team radio<\/a> shortly before they made contact. \u201cWhat the (expletive) is he doing?\u201d<\/p>\n After the wreck, Hamlin questioned whether the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs was getting preferential treatment. \u201cAre they afraid to talk to him? That\u2019s what I feel like,\u201d Hamlin radioed his team. \u201cThey\u2019re just scared of him.\u201d<\/p>\n Ty Gibbs briefly returned to the track before being forced to the garage with damage to his Camry. He finished 34th and refused to address the incident or what Hamlin said<\/a> when asked directly about both.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate, but I\u2019m excited to go race next week and looking forward to it,\u201d said Gibbs, the 2022 Xfinity Series champion who remains winless through 117 starts in the Cup series.<\/p>\n After finishing 12th, Hamlin had a postrace conversation with Joe Gibbs and JGR director of competition Chris Gabehart before addressing the media.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s super unfortunate he got spun there, and obviously the contact came from us,\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cI don\u2019t have any comment other than that. We\u2019ll work through it and all, but we\u2019ll see how it goes. But honestly, it\u2019s unfortunate the contact happened.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Streaks are over<\/p>\n