TC Daily Pit Stop: Ryan Blaney Punches Ticket to 'Round of 8'; Herbst Earns Respect in Cup Garage; Highlights from Talladega; Plus Crafton Gives Account of Saturday Fight
TC Daily Pit Stop: Monday, October 2nd, 2023
Ryan Blaney Scores Third Talladega Victory in Photo Finish with Later DQ’ed Kevin Harvick
Ryan Blaney and Team Penske are headed to the ‘Round of 8’.
The 29-year-old driver broke through in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Talladega Superspeedway to take his second victory of the season, narrowly beating out Kevin Harvick at the start-finish line for his third Talladega win.
Blaney utilized a strong push from Riley Herbst to make the move down the backstretch, dipping to the inside of the No. 4 Ford Mustang, and getting to the lead of the inside line, holding back the pack for the victory.
Kevin Harvick was scored in second-place, but was later disqualified in post-race inspection for illegal windshield fasteners on his Stewart-Haas Racing entry.
William Byron would end up being credited with second-place, with Denny Hamlin, Corey LaJoie and Austin Cindric the top-five. Justin Haley, Chase Elliott, Ryan Preece, Riley Herbst, and Daniel Suarez completed the revised top-10.
RACE RECAP
RACE RESULTS
DRIVER POINTS
OWNER POINTS
INSPECTION REPORT
WATCH VIDEO OF FINISH
NASCAR Disqualifies Kevin Harvick For Illegal Windshield Fasteners at Talladega
Kevin Harvick, who crossed the line in second-place behind Ryan Blaney, in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Talladega Superspeedway, was disqualified following the race, due to issues with the windshield fasteners on his No. 4 Ford Mustang.
Officially, the team was found in violation of section 14.1.e&p of the NASCAR Rulebook, which pertains to the overall assembled vehicle rules as well as section 14.5.6.2.F, which pertains to the windshield fasteners.
According to NASCAR, the rulebook states that the windshield fasteners must stay fastened throughout the entirety of the event, which Harvick’s did not.
Harvick will be credited with a 38th-place finish.
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Riley Herbst Earns Respect of Cup Regulars with Strong Run at Talladega
Riley Herbst, a regular in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, had a strong showing in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Talladega Superspeedway, finishing ninth-place after being in contention for the victory.
In the process, the Las Vegas, Nevada-native earned the respect of several NASCAR Cup Series competitors, including race-winner Ryan Blaney, who thanked Herbst for the push that ultimately scored him the victory of the YellaWood 500.
Herbst was running inside the top-five on the final lap of the race, but was tagged in the left-rear by Corey LaJoie, spinning the No. 36 Ford Mustang and collecting several other drivers in the process.
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Video: Ryan Blaney Edges Kevin Harvick in Photo Finish; ‘The Big One’ Erupts Behind
Ryan Blaney is moving on to the ‘Round of 8’ after a photo finish in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event from Talladega Superspeedway, narrowly beating out Kevin Harvick at the start-finish line.
Behind them, a massive pileup ensued, as Riley Herbst was turned around by Corey LaJoie, collected several others including Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Daniel Suarez.
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Video: Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell Involved in Four-Car Crash to End Stage One
Ross Chastain will head to Charlotte’s ROVAL below the cutline, after a 38th (now 37th after the Harvick DQ) place finish at Talladega, due to an accident at the end of stage one, triggered by Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. running out of gas.
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Video: Brad Keselowski Triggers Multi-Car Melee at Talladega on Lap 162
Brad Keselowski, one of the post-season eligible drivers, sustained major damage in a late-race accident in Sunday’s YellaWood 500, which was triggered by an awry push to Carson Hocevar, turning the No. 42 around.
Austin Dillon, Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Harrison Burton, and Chris Buescher also sustained damage in the incident.
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Matt Crafton Objects ‘Sucker Punch’ Allegations from Nick Sanchez
Matt Crafton, the other party involved in a post-race altercation with Nick Sanchez in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series garage at Talladega Superspeedway, has given his point of view of Saturday’s incident, via a six-post thread posted to Twitter on Sunday.
Crafton, a 23-year veteran of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, began his thread regarding the incident with the lead-in of “Here is what wasn’t caught on video,” before going into detail about the events that unfolded prior to the altercation.
The 47-year-old indeed confirmed that he approached Sanchez following the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event on Saturday, but when he went to express his frustrations, by virtue of a “what the –?!”, Crafton says Sanchez “looked right at me and threatened me”.
According to Crafton, that is when things admittedly “all went to hell”. However, the three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion didn’t hold anything back in saying “I had his attention, words were exchanged, all before anything physical took place, so I did not ‘sucker punch’ the guy. There may not be video, but there were plenty of eyewitnesses.”
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