The Big 6: Questions Answered After Ryan Blaney’s 11th-Hour Martinsville Clock

Who… should you be talking about after the race?

A year ago, with his back against the wall in the playoffs, Ryan Blaney drove his way to an improbable Martinsville Speedway victory. That secured him a spot in the championship race, and from there, the rest is history — and history will recall Blaney as the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion.

The clock struck won. pic.twitter.com/wmvfna8G8J

— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) November 4, 2024

But that was then and this is 2024, and once again, Blaney went to Martinsville with his back against the wall, his chances of defending that title all but zero. Starting 14th, Blaney hadn’t shown the speed some of the other contenders had.

By the end of stage one, Blaney was in the top five. By the end of stage two, he was in the top two. Blaney had the fastest car by the second half but had to overcome a couple of slow pit stops.

With under 50 laps to go, which isn’t a lot of distance at Martinsville, Blaney was back inside the top five after final pit stops and was running down the leaders at an eye-popping pace. But that looked like a mission in futility; time was running out, and as soon as Blaney wore out his tires, he wouldn’t be able to maintain his pace as Chase Elliott was also running down Kyle Larson on fresh tires.

Elliott passed Larson and set sail. But Blaney continued to close, and with 15 to go he caught Elliott. And passed him. And drove away to win the Xfinity 500.

Blaney not only passed Elliott but left him behind, opening a lead of over 2.5 seconds in just 14 laps. He’ll defend his title next weekend at Phoenix Raceway, joining Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano as winners in the Round of 8 and William Byron, who squeezed in on points after a controversial finish. Suddenly the title is no longer out of Blaney’s reach.

And don’t forget Shane van Gisbergen. After starting 29th, losing a lap early and running near the bottom of the barrel for much of the day, van Gisbergen rebounded to finish a solid 12th.

Van Gisbergen moves to the Cup Series full time in 2025, so solid finishes and strong recoveries like he had on Sunday (Nov. 10) will serve him well as he navigates Cup’s steep learning curve.

Well I’ve never really celebrated a 12th place before but after how tough I’ve found the cup series on ovals I’m pretty happy!! Great racing all day, the @AcceptanceHQ @KauligRacing Chevy was awesome and once we got near the front we stayed there! pic.twitter.com/E9Ym8YTUru

— Shane van Gisbergen (@shanevg97) November 4, 2024

What… is the big question leaving this race in the rearview?

Just another week with another officiating controversy, nothing to see here.

As Blaney was making a second improbable run to victory lane to race for the title, more playoff drama was unfolding behind him. The fourth and final spot in the title race was also up for grabs, and it came down to the final laps for Byron and Christopher Bell.

Byron was holding court in sixth, with Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon, clearly faster, leading a gaggle of cars behind the No. 24. Dillon and then Chastain had easily run Byron down and looked like they could easily pass him. But they didn’t. Bell, meanwhile, had to make one final pass to force a tiebreaker with Byron, which would have gone in the No. 20’s favor. When Bubba Wallace slowed on track on the last lap, Bell pounced on him, but in the heat of the moment, over-drove the corner and hit the wall after clearing Wallace. 

After hitting the wall, Bell hit the gas to keep from getting passed by Wallace or Erik Jones — but he stayed in the wall.

After a dramatic pause, NASCAR ruled that Bell had ridden the wall, relegating him the tail end of the lead lap and handing the last spot to Byron.

NASCAR likened the move to Chastain’s now-outlawed move in this race two years ago. Bell and his team disagreed.

Adam Stevens just told a few of us there’s no equivalency between what Bell did and what Chastain did. Said Bell was passing Bubba and got loose and into the marbles, and there was no intent to wall ride. He says SMT proves it.

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) November 3, 2024

It certainly didn’t look the same. Bell didn’t drive into the wall at full throttle like Chastain did; unable to gain traction to get off the top of the track, he simply stayed there.

Did NASCAR make the right call, or was it another fumble?

Had that been the only part of the finish that was questionable, the call might not have raised as many eyebrows as it did. But it certainly looked like Byron’s finish came with some help. Both Dillon’s and Chastain’s spotters spoke of an “agreement” among the Chevrolets, and neither made any attempt to pass Byron despite having faster cars.

That should have been a violation as well. Race manipulation is forbidden. NASCAR’s so-called 100% rule states that competitors must give their all to try and win.

Dillon and Chastain didn’t do that. They rode behind Byron, effectively sealing off the track to other faster cars behind them, keeping those cars from getting to the No. 24. Combined with the radio chatter, there was certainly grounds for a penalty, but one didn’t come.

Elton Sawyer discusses reasons for Christopher Bell penalty, praises NASCAR’s current playoff format: pic.twitter.com/5xALjguUYZ

— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) November 4, 2024

Some fans pointed to the 2013 playoff manipulation scandal with Michael Waltrip Racing, which not only saw an MWR car removed from contention but effectively ended the team. This week’s incident, while less blatant, had a similar feel to many.

Byron: Benefits from team orders whilst not doing it himself, gets to keep his final 4 spot.

Truex: Benefits from team orders whilst not doing it himself, gets ousted.

An entire interconnected web of teams manipulating for one goal is just as bad as a single team doing it.

🤨 pic.twitter.com/33HusvXmxt

— Nathan (@b1gnate_11) November 3, 2024

If NASCAR officials are going to go by the letter of the rule and not the spirit, as in Bell’s case, that’s fine — if they’re consistent about it. But they dropped that ball on the same play, choosing to overlook what sounded to many like race manipulation.

Hardball is fine, but it has to be equally hard for everyone.

Where… did the other key players wind up? 

Pole winner Martin Truex Jr. entered the race looking for one more win to cap off his career. The future Hall of Famer led the first 41 laps, but a speeding penalty on a lap 66 pit stop relegated him to the back after a stop-and-go in his pit for the violation.

Truex was never able to get those laps back (a lap 184 spin didn’t help matters), and he finished 24th.

The #Xfinity500 has not gone well for pole sitter Martin Truex Jr. pic.twitter.com/FYf0m5Au9d

— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) November 3, 2024

Active Martinsville win leader Denny Hamlin had a big blow before the race even started after a stuck throttle forced him to angle the No. 11 into the fence in practice. Hamlin’s team repaired the primary car, which had been the fastest on the charts before the crash, but he had to start in the back of the field.

Early on, Hamlin managed to gain enough spots to avoid being lapped, and a caution in the second stage allowed his team to make the call to stay on track as the leaders came in for tires. That allowed Hamlin to stay near the front for the rest of the day. Though he didn’t have the speed to win, and it became clear that he’d need the win to advance in the playoffs. Hamlin finished fifth, but his title hopes are over.

Thank you to all my friends, family, fans (and even the non fans) for the support of our 11 team during the 2024 season. Still got 1 more shot to hoist the cup next weekend.

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) November 4, 2024

When… was the moment of truth?

Drama aside, there was a lot to like about Sunday’s action. A total of 15 lead changes is a little skewed by green flag pit stops, but drivers were able to run each other down and make passes. Pit stops definitely mattered, and tire wear worked better than it has in years. 

All in all, it was the best Martinsville race since the Next Gen came on the scene.

It wasn’t a wreckfest, but there were cautions to break up the action. The leader didn’t have an insurmountable advantage. Blaney’s final run was authentic and his win well-earned. Drivers could use the bumper to move a competitor without crashing them.

It was the most authentic short track race of the Next Gen era, and that’s something NASCAR needed to have go down, especially with the other controversy the sanctioning body created.

Why… should you be paying attention this week?

The obvious answer here is that after next week, there is no next week. The champion will be crowned at Phoenix Raceway, and then the cars will fall silent for the winter.

Last year was the first since the advent of the playoff format that a driver not fighting for a title won the race, as Chastain took the last checkered flag of the season. With the contenders only worried about each other and staying out of trouble, does that open the door for someone to spoil the party again this year? 

It absolutely could. It’s Kyle Busch’s last chance to extend his season winning streak to a remarkable 20 years. It’s Truex’s last chance to wheel into victory lane as a full-time competitor. There are plenty of drivers with something still to prove who could get it done on Sunday.

How… will post-race Martinsville animosity affect the racing next week?

For the third time this weekend, the race ended with hard feelings between drivers. Sure, it’s Martinsville, and hard feelings have been a part of short track racing since the dawn of time, but will anything spill over to the title race?

In the sense that some drivers tipped their hands about how they’ll race others, yes; they’ll get raced the same way starting now. That could include teammates and title hopefuls.

Will anyone go out for straight-up revenge? That’s less of a probability, especially for drivers outside the championship races. They’ll more than likely try to stay out of that fray and avoid being part of deciding the title.

Should Carson Hocevar worry a little about how he’ll be raced in 2025? Absolutely. He was given a lot of leeway as a rookie, but once those stripes come off the car, if he continues to be overaggressive at times, he’ll get reminded not to do that anymore. 

But Phoenix isn’t the place to take out frustrations in any series. Will the contenders race each other aggressively? Absolutely. But if the past is any indication, respect should overrule revenge.