Blaney Holds Off Challenge From Berry for New Hampshire Win

Ryan Blaney knew he had a fast car after securing the runner-up starting spot for the Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse was even more excited about his race pace. After 301 laps on Sunday, Blaney was proven right as he took his third win of the NASCAR Cup Series season.

Race Results: Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire

"What a cool day. What a cool weekend. Super-fast car all weekend," Blaney said in his post-race interview on USA Network. "Can't believe the 12 boys, they're unbelievable. Really have been strong through the playoffs. It's great to get a win, first race of this round."

While he had one of the best cars in Sunday's race, Blaney, who won Stage 1 and led a total of 116 laps, had to hold off a hungry Josh Berry in the closing laps to score the win.

"That was probably the hardest 20 laps that I've [driven]," Blaney admitted. "I was trying to kind of bide my [time] and kind of pull Josh a little bit. Then he really started coming, and I started to get super free. It was all I could do to hold him off, trying new lanes. That was good racing and clean racing. I appreciate Josh for not throwing me the bumper when he could have."

While Berry drives for Wood Brothers Racing, a satellite team of Team Penske, Blaney said there were no team orders between the two organizations in the closing laps, and he fully expected Berry, who was eliminated from the Playoffs a week ago, to take him to the limit for the race win.

"No, I expect him to go out and try to win the race," Blaney explained. "I knew he wasn't going to lay over from me, but I didn't think I was ever going to get the bumper. We raced just super clean. I would do the same if I were him, right? You go and try to win the race. That's what this thing is all about."

Blaney will now be afforded to drive stress-free next weekend at Kansas Speedway and the following weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL as his 16th career NASCAR Cup Series win has automatically advanced him into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8.

Berry was disappointed that he couldn't walk away from Sunday's race with his second win of the season, but the driver was proud of the bounceback for the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing team after they were sent spinning out of the top five following contact from Shane van Gisbergen on Lap 82.

Here's the latest rough deal for Josh Berry. While running fifth, he got sent spinning. pic.twitter.com/a4o4wrmzRd
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) September 21, 2025

William Byron was able to get his run through the Round of 12 off on a good foot as the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet finished third behind Blaney and Berry. While it wasn't a win, for Byron, this marks his first-ever finish better than 11th at Loudon. He picked a good time for it.

The regular-season champion exits New Hampshire Motor Speedway 47 points above the Playoff cutline and is the most comfortable driver in the standings, aside from Blaney, who won.

Joey Logano, who came into the day one point outside of the Playoff cutline, had an incredible weekend. The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford started from the pole, led a race-high 147 laps, won Stage 2, and had it not been for getting beaten by Blaney on a strategic call in the final Stage of the race, it very well could have been the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion in victory lane.

Still, Logano was able to notch a fourth-place finish, and he will head into next weekend's race at Kansas Speedway, 24 points to the good in the championship fight.

Right behind Logano in the finishing order was a driver who didn't have the same sterling performance in qualifying this week. Chase Elliott started from the 27th position, but was able to claw his way through the field methodically all race long, and he would end the day with a top five finish. Unfortunately, Elliott was only able to nab four Stage Points due to the rough starting spot.

However, Elliott will head into the second race of the Round of 12 of the Playoffs, 14 points above the elimination line.

Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, Ross Chastain, and Chase Briscoe rounded out the top-10 in what was a mostly solid day for the Playoff contenders.

Only four drivers in Playoff contention finished outside of the top-10 on Sunday at New Hampshire: Denny Hamlin (12th), Austin Cindric (17th), Tyler Reddick (21st), and Bubba Wallace (26th).

Hamlin had a scuffle with teammate Ty Gibbs early in the race, which resulted in Gibbs getting turned and crashing into the outside wall.

Here is the incident, which led to a very awkward and uncomfortable moment for Joe Gibbs Racing. Denny Hamlin got into Ty Gibbs, which sent the 54 spinning into the outside wall. pic.twitter.com/pNF8hUZ2RU
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) September 21, 2025

After the race, Hamlin met with team owner Coach Joe Gibbs, Competition Director Chris Gabehart, and others within the Joe Gibbs Racing management team to discuss the on-track situation.

Neither Hamlin or Gibbs offered much in the way of quotes about the mid-race incident. It'll likely be an awkward weekend debrief at the JGR shop in Huntersville on Monday.

Cindric never really contended like his Team Penske teammates throughout the day. His crew chief, Brian Wilson, did make a late-race two-tire pit call in an attempt to eek out a decent finish. While Cindric was unable to maintain a finish inside the top-15, he did come home in 17th, which was better than he ran for the majority of the day.

Reddick, who was a contender inside the top 10, suffered from brake issues early in the event. He would be able to nurse his soft brake pedal home, but he had a subpar finish.

“I didn’t expect that – that’s for sure. The way the race started I thought we were going to be able to run in the top 10 all day, but between the brake issues we had and – it just got away quick," Reddick explained. "The balance went away, and then next thing you know we were trying to battle for 20th. Just a terrible day.”

And his 23XI Racing teammate, Bubba Wallace, had a very frustrating afternoon from start to finish.

“Just a miss all around, really. We couldn’t really seem to get things going," Wallace said.
"Our best run lasted for five laps, the caution came out, and then it was just right back to no good. I hate it. I felt really optimistic and marched forward at the start, and it just never really went anywhere. We kind of plateaued lap 5, and that was it. I hate that. It’s just a head scratcher. I told our team we’re way better than that. We know it. As much of a gut punch as this one is, we’ll move on. This is what we’ve got to do.”

Reddick and Wallace find themselves in the basement of the Playoff Grid heading into Kansas Speedway, a track 23XI Racing has had great performances at in the past.

Reddick is 23 points outside of the Playoff cutline, while Wallace sits 27 points out.

Next up for the NASCAR Cup Series is the Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN Bet at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, September 28. That race will be televised on USA Network, and coverage of the race will begin at 3:00 PM ET. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio broadcast of that event.

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