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The biggest highlight of the NASCAR Playoffs elimination race at Martinsville came from Team Penske's Ryan Blaney. The #12 Ford Mustang driver managed to seal his spot in the final round of the postseason in the most dominant way possible.
Amid the trip to victory lane for Blaney, championship contenders such as Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. faltered, allowing the 29-year-old his first appearance in the final round.
The Xfinity 500 at "The Paper Clip" saw Denny Hamlin come closest to challenging Ryan Blaney for his bid for the championship. The two raced close to each other during the first two stages.
Blaney was seen pulling a gap to Hamlin in P3 as the final stage went underway, with Stewart-Haas Racing's Aric Almirola filling in in P2.
In an understandable show of emotion, Ryan Blaney was pumped up as he got out of his Ford at the start-finish line. The Ohio native's father shared the same sense of elation as his son, with the senior Blaney taking to social media to express his pride.
Dale Blaney tweeted about the victory from his official account and wrote:
"Yesterday was one of the coolest days I've ever had at a race track."
A former racer himself, Dave Blaney is best known for his exploits behind the wheel of a sprint car. He also made occasional Cup Series and Xfinity Series starts.
Ryan Blaney's crew chief elaborates on the #12 crew's winning ways at Martinsville
Jonathan Hassler, crew chief for the #12 crew at Team Penske, elaborated on how tense the final few moments of the race were, not only for his driver but for the team as a whole.
Continuing Penske's run in the championship after Joey Logano's victory in Phoenix last year, Ryan Blaney in the other Penske car is vying for glory this year. Hassler elaborated on the team's late-race feelings in an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and said:
"The #24 (William Byron) struggled early on in the race, we were able to get a good points cushion on him. Still, at the end, I was dreading any kind of late-race caution or anything like that because that had all the potential in the world to shake things up."
NASCAR heads to Phoenix Raceway next weekend to crown the 2023 Cup Series champion.
