Ryan Blaney powered to a Stage 2 win in Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series showdown at Bristol Motor Speedway, sealing a Team Penske sweep of the stages in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race (live on USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Blaney has led 119 of the 250 laps in the race’s first half in Penske’s No. 12 Ford, and the stage victory helps his cause in The Chase presented by Mobil 1. A total of 500 laps make up the complete scheduled distance in the third of 10 postseason races.
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Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was second at the halfway point. Stage 1 winner and Penske teammate Joey Logano placed third at the stage intermission with Josh Berry fourth and defending race winner Christopher Bell completing the top five.
Stage 2 went green all the way until Cody Ware’s spin after a jam-up with Denny Hamlin and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ended the stage with two laps remaining in the scheduled length.
MORE: Stage 2 results
Three Chase contenders fell off the pace through the first half, dropping from the lead lap: Daniel Suárez in 18th, Chase Elliott in 25th and Tyler Reddick two laps down in 28th. The other Chase hopefuls occupied 13 of the top 14 spots at halfway.
Logano holds off Larson, rolls to Stage 1 victory
Joey Logano won the opening stage of Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series event, holding off polesitter Kyle Larson and setting the early tone in Bristol Motor Speedway’s annual Bass Pro Shops Night Race (live on USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford led 81 of the 125 laps in Stage 1, adding 10 points to his total in The Chase presented by Mobil 1. Logano, a two-time Bristol winner, went the entire stage without pitting, taking the top spot from Larson in the first pit-stop exchange.
Larson placed second at the end of Stage 1 in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Series points leader Denny Hamlin, making his 750th Cup Series start, was third, with Ross Chastain fourth and Ty Gibbs fifth.
Chase contender Tyler Reddick started 20th but faded after the green flag, going one lap down and losing 13 spots before a competition caution period on Lap 40. He ended Stage 1 in 33rd.
MORE: Stage 1 results
The only other yellow flag in the stage was prompted by Erik Jones’ solo spin on Lap 95, and both cautions set a mix of pit strategies in motion.
Stage 2 is set to end on Lap 250, with 500 making up the complete scheduled distance in the third of 10 postseason races.
This story will be updated.