TALLADEGA, Ala. — With a push from Penske affiliate and opening stage winner Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney handed the Wood Brothers a green-checkered flag at the end of the second stage of Sunday’s Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Blaney took the lead with a slingshot move around Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch and then paced the final 19 laps en route to his fourth stage win of the season and first in the playoffs.
For the 23-year-old, he said improving in the draft has been crucial to his recent restrictor plate prowess.
“That was a lot of fun, being able to control both lanes,” Blaney said. “That’s something we’ve been working on for a couple years … me and (spotter) Josh (Williams). He did a really good job of giving me information and our car was obviously really fast. We’ve got a good Quick Lane Ford, so hopefully we can keep up and keep having a good day.”
The second stage of Sunday’s race saw a round of green flag pit stops from lap 67 to lap 71, followed by a 12-lap stint in which Matt DiBenedetto stayed out to lead the race, catching a caution when debris on the backstretch slowed the action on the 82nd round.
The next restart came on lap 88, when Kurt Busch and defending Talladega winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led the field back to green, and it was Busch who came through to grab the top spot with a push from Blaney on the outside.
Three laps later, though, it was Blaney who dove down low and was in front to stay, taking the green-checkered flag .126 of a second in front of Keselowski and Clint Bowyer.
Chase Elliott and Kurt Busch crossed the line fourth and fifth, respectively.
Austin Dillon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin completed the top-10 and all scored points at the second stage break.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
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