MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney celebrated his victory Sunday evening at Martinsville Speedway, a win that locked up a title-eligible spot for the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion in next Sunday’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
Blaney joined teammate Joey Logano, who won two weeks ago at Las Vegas Speedway to open the third round of the playoffs, and regular-season champion Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing, who clinched by winning last weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, to fill three of the four title-eligible slots.
Meanwhile, Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing and William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports waited awkwardly alongside their parked cars for a ruling from NASCAR on who would be the fourth and final driver competing for the best finish at Phoenix to decide this year’s Cup Series champ.
At issue was whether Bell had smashed his Toyota into the wall of the half-mile track on Sunday’s final lap and rode along it for momentum to give him the final pass he needed to move past Byron’s Chevrolet for the last spot in the championship. The move was quite similar to one used two years ago at Martinsville by Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain; dubbed the “Hail Melon,” it secured a title shot for the driver from a family of Florida watermelon farmers, but the maneuver was banned by NASCAR in the ensuing offseason.
So with Blaney, Logano and Reddick set, Bell and Byron were left waiting for what seemed an eternity for a NASCAR ruling.
Bell riding the wall was ultimately deemed illegal, and Byron saved Hendrick from a humiliating third round of the playoffs, which started with three of four drivers for Rick Hendrick’s team still in the field among the eight remaining contenders. Ultimately, only Byron qualified — and only because Bell was deemed to have committed a safety violation.
“We had the situation with Ross here, we went to Phoenix, there was a lot of dialog with the drivers that that’s not a move (they) want to have to make,” said Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition. “In the offseason, meeting with the industry, meeting with our drivers, to a man, that was not a move they wanted to make.”
So it was outlawed.
Bell argued he didn’t have a choice as he hit the wall trying to avoid fellow Toyota driver Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing, who claimed he had a tire going down. Bell rode a portion of it for momentum, and it got him the pass he needed to tie Byron in points for the final title-eligible spot.
“I understand that the rule is made to prevent people from riding the wall, but my move was completely different from what Ross did,” said Bell, who was denied what would have been his third consecutive appearance in the final four.
“I slid into the wall and kept my foot into it. I guess that is a losing move,” Bell continued. “I didn’t intentionally floor it and go into the fence; I slipped into the wall, and that’s all she wrote.”
Said Byron: “He rode the wall, and there’s a clear rule against riding the wall. So in my eyes, that’s what counts. If it happened in the past, it was fair game. But now the rule is against it.”
Blaney, meanwhile, passed Hendrick driver Chase Elliott with 15 laps to go to win at the Virginia short track for a second consecutive year. His victory last year propelled him to his first Cup Series title.
Now the 30-year-old Penske driver will go against 34-year-old teammate Logano, a two-time champion, and two drivers seeking a first title in Byron, 26, and Reddick, 28.
“To have another shot at the championship is really special,” Blaney said. “Try to go back to back next week. I’ve got nothing left. Oh my God, I’m tired.”
It was just a week earlier that Blaney missed out on an automatic berth into the final four when Reddick passed him in the final turn at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The victory gives team owner Roger Penske two chances to win a third series title this year: Penske teams have already won the sports car championships in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, securing the latter on Saturday.
Blaney’s win was the 100th in Cup Series competition for Team Penske since it partnered with Ford. Logano won the title in 2022, Blaney won in 2023, and now Penske has a shot at three consecutive Cups.
“A lot of momentum. It’s nice to have two Penske cars in,” Blaney said. “It’s nice to join (Logano) and have a decent shot to bring Roger another title, a third title in a row, so these guys are the best at what they do, and it’s been so much fun to get to run with them and share wins and championships.
“It’s super strong right now in our organization, and hopefully it carries over.”
Elliott finished second at Martinsville, teammate Kyle Larson was third, and Penske’s Austin Cindric — eliminated from the playoffs after the second round — was fourth. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin drove from last to fifth but was eliminated from the playoffs, and Byron was sixth and given the final spot in the championship field when Bell’s pass was ruled illegal.
Bell, who spun early in the race, finished 22nd. He had a large enough point cushion that it left him tied with Byron for the final spot in the championship field.
Blaney and Byron are in the final four for the second consecutive year, while this is Reddick’s first such opportunity.