AVONDALE, Ariz. — Ryan Blaney completed a sweep of the first two stages of Saturday’s Ticket Galaxy 200 at Phoenix Raceway, dominating every competitive lap of the second stint en route to his sixth stage win of the year.
Blaney held the lead off pit road from the first stage break and never trailed following a lap 68 restart, pulling away to a 2.635 second margin over Erik Jones by the time the second green-checkered flag waved over the field.
The No. 22 Discount Tire Ford has now paced the field for 84 of the first 120 laps, and the second stage was run caution-free.
Playoff contenders Daniel Hemric and Justin Allgaier crossed the line third and fourth, respectively, followed by Kansas XFINITY winner Christopher Bell in fifth.
William Byron, Cole Custer, Austin Dillon, Blake Koch and Ty Dillon completed the points-scoring drivers in the top-10 at the second stage break.
By virtue of stage points scored, Byron clinched his berth in the Championship 4 at the end of the second stage.
Playoff drivers outside the top-10 were Matt Tifft (11th), Elliott Sadler (15th) and Ryan Reed (16th).
As of the conclusion of the second stage, the provisional Championship 4 remained unchanged, with Allgaier, Byron, Sadler and Hemric holding their positions as the four drivers in on points.
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, as well as a periodic contributor to SPEED SPORT Magazine.
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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