Ryan Blaney won Stage 1 at Talladega Superspeedway and held off Kevin Harvick in a wild finish to win the YellaWood 500 and lock in his spot in the Round Of 8.
The 29-year-old Blaney from High Point, North Carolina, led eight of 188-scheduled laps and beat Kevin Harvick by 0.012 seconds to grab his second Cup Series victory of 2023 and transfer into the Playoff's Round of 8.
The 25-year-old Byron from Charlotte, North Carolina, led the final six of 267-scheduled laps and overtook pole-sitter Bubba Wallace during a six-lap shootout to notch his sixth Cup victory of the 2023 season and deliver a milestone victory for Hendrick Motorsports.
Each year when the NASCAR Playoffs start, fans ask who will win the championship. One driver who is always in these conversations is Denny Hamlin, the driver of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
The three-time Daytona 500 champion led 142 of 500 laps and rallied from a Lap 70 pit road speeding penalty to lead the final 134 laps and win the Playoff's Round of 16 finale under the lights at Thunder Valley.
The two-time Xfinity Series champion from Corning, California, led the final two of 268 over-scheduled laps and capitalized on a late caution period to win in overtime and transfer to the second round of the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs.
The three-time Daytona 500 champion from Chesterfield, Virginia, will remain as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing on a new multi-year basis.
Denny Hamlin continued his Xfinity Series dominance at Darlington Raceway Saturday afternoon, claiming his sixth series victory at the track. The winning move came after a restart on Lap 147 of the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW forced the race into overtime, opening the door for Hamlin to overtake Austin Hill for the lead. Â
