Ryan Blaney wins, Kyle Larson out

Ryan Blaney will be racing to defend his NASCAR Cup Series name.

Blaney, the 2023 champion, won Sunday’s Xfinity 500 NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Martinsville Speedway.

Some of the most famous names in sports, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, didn’t make the Championship 4 despite leading at Martinsville. Christopher Bell crossed the finish line with a place in the Championship 4, but was penalized for a safety violation.

William Byron earned the final play-off spot after Bell’s penalty.

The championship race is set for 14:00 Kyiv time on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. Here are the winners and losers of Sunday’s NASCAR race at Martinsville.

HOW DID IT HAPPEN: Recap: Ryan Blaney Wins Martinsville NASCAR Race, Back in Championship 4

RACE RESULTS: Who won the NASCAR Cup race at Martinsville? Ryan Blaney winner plus full results

The winners

Ryan Blaney

Blaney said he lost sleep after losing to Tyler Reddick in a race at Homestead last week. Blaney responded by leading 31 laps, including the final 13, and muscled past Hendrick Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson for a chance to defend his 2023 championship.

William Byron

William Byron held off a pack of drivers in the final laps to finish sixth. When he crossed the line, it looked like Christopher Bell had clinched the final playoff spot. However, Byron finished last after Bell was penalized for a safety violation and will compete for the championship for the second consecutive year.

Team Penske

Team Penske has two drivers in Championship 4 with Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano winning for a chance to win the organization’s third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship. Logano won in Las Vegas after looking like he was out after Charlotte and Blainey battled through last week’s loss and Sunday’s upset to win.

Losers

Christopher Bell

Christopher Bell said on the last lap he got loose in Turn 3, which looked like it might be. However, he went over the outside wall in turn four, similar to Ross Chastain’s Hail Melon move in 2022, and was penalized for a safety violation. NASCAR said it would penalize drivers for similar moves after Chastain did so in 2022, and race control followed and denied Bell a chance to win the championship in 2024.

Chase Elliott

Chase Elliott dominated early in Sunday’s race, winning the first stage after leading 88 laps. He had an unfortunate pit stop under caution on lap 187 when the right rear tire was not fully inflated. Jack had to run back to the right side of the car, ending up with a 20-second pit stop. But Elliott fought back for the lead, only for Blaney to take it back with 13 laps to go.

Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson led 71 laps at Martinsville, but gave up the lead to Chase Elliott in the late stages and finished third after being passed by Blaney in the final 50 laps. Larson had a chance to win at Martinsville and move on to Phoenix for a chance to win his second NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Follow sports writer Austin Chastain on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ChastainAJ or email him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on the Nashville Tennessean: Martinsville NASCAR winners, losers, Ryan Blaney wins, Kyle Larson out