Ryan Blaney edged Ryan Newman for the win in the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway to advance to the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy Cup Series Playoffs.
After the race was postponed to Monday due to rain with 57 laps complete, Blaney survived three big multi-car accidents to take checkered flag by 0.007 seconds – the sixth-closest finish in series history – over Newman.
The win was the first of the season for Blaney and the third of his career.
The frantic race to the finish followed a red flag for clean-up for a 11-car crash going into Turn 3 that saw Brendan Gaughan get upside down. Blaney led three times for 35 laps, including the final seven.
Alex Bowman (-18), Chase Elliott (-22), Clint Bowyer (-24) and William Byron (-27) are the four drivers below the cutline heading to the elimination race on Sunday (10/20) at Kansas Speedway.
More on this story at mrn.com
– story by Pete Pistone
www.mrn.com
Playoff Standings as of 10/14/2019.
1. Kyle Larson
2. Ryan Blaney
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Martin Truex, Jr.
5. Kyle Busch
6. Kevin Harvick
7. Brad Keselowski
8. Joey Logano
— Round of 12 cut-off as of race 2—
9. Alex Bowman (-18)
10. Chase Elliott (-22)
11. Clint Bowyer (-24)
12. William Byron (-27)
— eliminated at the end of Round of 16 —
13. Aric Almirola
14. Ryan Newman
15. Kurt Busch
16. Erik Jones
For the complete driver standings, please visit the official page on nascar.com.
