Ryan Blaney has done it again.
For the second season in a row, Blaney piloted his No. 12 Team Penske Ford to victory in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway to make the Championship 4. After a messy and controversial finish, William Byron usurped Christopher Bell for the final Championship 4 spot on points.
Though the biggest storylines took place on the track, there was a fair share of pit road drama for both playoff and non-playoff drivers. Let’s take a look at four key drivers and how pit penalties and strategy shaped their days.
Ryan Blaney
At first, it might seem odd to have the race winner here, but Blaney’s rally to the checkered flag was not without pit road adversity.
On lap 264, following the conclusion of stage two, Blaney pitted from the second position. However, he exited pit road back in sixth following a slow 12.5-second pit stop from his pit crew, hitting the tire out of the hands of a tire carrier for Carson Hocevar in the process.
The No. 12 team kept it clean the rest of the way, and Blaney made the most of his long-run speed to get back to the front and pass Chase Elliott with 14 laps remaining to punch his ticket back to Phoenix Raceway.
Chase Elliott
Speaking of Elliott, the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet entered Martinsville in an almost certain must-win situation.
Early on, Elliott positioned himself well to do just that, starting the race from the outside pole. Elliott then backed up his qualifying speed by winning stage one.
On lap 186, Elliott’s day took a detour with a slow pit stop under caution. Pitting from the second position, the No. 9 crew had issues on the right rear tire, putting the jack down before it was fully tightened. The jackman had to go back to the right side to jack the car up to finish getting the lug nut fastened on the right rear, costing Elliott numerous spots.
That mistake put No. 9 crew chief Alan Gustafson in a position where he to get creative with pit strategy to get Elliott back in contention. Gustafson brought Elliott down pit road on lap 351, early in the green-flag cycle in hopes of catching a caution. The yellow flag came on lap 398 and Elliott was back in the picture.
Gustafson’s strategy call nearly worked to perfection as Elliott hung on to finish second behind Blaney, just one spot shy of the chance to become a two-time Cup Series champion.
Christopher Bell
Bell found himself on the wrong side of the cut line after NASCAR penalized him for a safety violation after riding the turn 4 wall on the final lap.
This section will focus not so much on the last lap but more so on the events that led to Bell needing to make a big move. Long story short, it was a combination of subpar speed and a slow pit stop.
Bell took the initial green flag back in 16th, sixth out of the remaining eight playoff drivers. Bell compounded his problems by spinning himself and Corey LaJoie out on lap 77, finishing stage one way back in 21st.
Bell stayed out for track position under the lap 186 caution pit stops, and it paid off with a sixth-place finish in stage two.
However, Bell found himself behind the 8-ball again after a disastrous pit stop on lap 264. Bell left pit road before the front tire changer could tighten the left-front wheel. Consequently, Bell had no choice but to come back to his pit stall to get the wheel tight, starting stage three at the tail end of the lead lap.
With a faster Toyota and a clean day on pit road, Bell, crew chief Adam Stevens, and the No. 20 team would not have needed a last-lap desperation move. Instead, they would probably be competing for a championship next week.
Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Truex Jr. was a non-factor in the playoff picture, but he was looking to put the Martin in Martinsville one last time before his looming retirement from full-time racing.
Truex’s final weekend at the Paperclip got off to a great start, earning the pole and leading the opening 41 laps of the 500-lap race.
After surrendering the lead to Elliott, Truex pitted from the fifth position on lap 66, only to get nabbed for speeding on pit road.
The speeding penalty under green completely derailed Truex’s day, putting him multiple laps down and forcing the driver of the No. 19 to settle for a 24th-place finish. Truex will have one final chance to go out a winner next weekend at Phoenix.
Look Ahead to Next Week
It all comes down to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race next Sunday, Nov. 10 at Phoenix Raceway. Race coverage on NBC will begin at 3 p.m.
If I could describe the 2024 Cup Series season in three words, it would be this: Expect the unexpected. The Championship 4 drivers of Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Blaney and Byron will hold nothing back in their quest for a Cup Series title.
About the author
Andrew Stoddard joined Frontstretch in May of 2022 as an iRacing contributor. He is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, the University of Richmond, and VCU. He works as an athletic communications specialist at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va.
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Isn’t it great that NA$CAR’s attempts to ensure that the driver who wins the most events wins the title is as successful as expected?
The best team doesn’t always win.
The team with the best players seldom wins. It is the players who play the best as a team. You want the team with the most wins to get the title.