MARTINSVILLE, Va. (WDBJ) – The NASCAR Cup Series Championship Four will be set by the end of the weekend, but not after what is sure to be a lot of excitement at Martinsville.
Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin have guaranteed spots in the Phoenix race, while Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson also sit above the cut.
But on the bubble and still competing is Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, a driver who is very familiar with the Paperclip, and not just because of his recent success on the track.
“I’ve loved that place ever since I was a kid,” he remembers. “I grew up in High Point, just south of Martinsville, and I went up there a lot as a kid watching my dad race. I just thought it was such a unique place. You can kind of stand and anywhere inside or outside that racetrack and see most of what’s going on.”
If you’ve caught what’s been going on at the Martinsville late race the last two seasons, you’ll know Ryan Blaney is going for the fall-three-peat after taking the checkered flag in 2023 and 2024 to advance to the Championship Four.
Now sitting seventh in the standings, Blaney finds himself in another win-or-go-home scenario.
“Honestly it’s the same mindset as we had going into this race last year,” he recalls. “Had a bad race or two and put your backs up against a wall and you have one goal in mind. Hopefully we can rise to the occasion like we have in the past and I couldn’t think of a better place than Martinsville to go to.”
As the fall race is the second to last of the playoffs, the mile-long track requires a technically strong and precise performance from the driver who finishes in Victory Lane.
“It’s such a small place and every little detail is amplified. There’s nowhere to hide.”
Blaney’s success in this exact race over the last two seasons provides evidence to support what could be a strong performance Sunday.
But sports aren’t all science, and that’s what keeps us watching until the checkered flag waves.
“Every place we go to, I try to have the mindset of no matter how you’ve run there in the past of ‘hey, I think we can go out there and win this weekend.’ I’ve heard people say ‘the 12 car runs good at Martinsville, they’re probably going to win the race,’ but this sport is so up and down. Just because it worked for you before, doesn’t mean it’s a sure thing. We have to work just as hard as we do like normal. But it is nice in the back of your mind, but you can’t rely on that,” Blaney smiles.
The NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 begins at 2 p.m. Sunday.
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