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Ryan Blaney wins at Martinsville, secures Championship Four berth
NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney (12) celebrates his win in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Ryan Blaney wins at Martinsville, secures Championship Four berth

Ryan Blaney just seems to have a clutch gene when it comes to Martinsville Speedway in the fall. 

For the second straight year, the 2023 champion drove the race of his life at the half-mile short track, passing Chase Elliott to take the lead and eventually win the race.

The victory puts Blaney in the Championship Four for the second consecutive season and gives him the chance to defend his title. 

Blaney started 14th on Sunday afternoon, and drove himself up to fifth by the end of Stage 1. Blaney finished second in Stage 2 to Brad Keselowski, and it was in the second stage where the strength of Blaney's car on the long run really showed. 

However, Blaney was fourth with 47 laps to go, and needed a miraculous drive in order to win the race and advance to the Championship Four. 

As it turns out, a miraculous drive was exactly what he turned in. 

After passing William Byron for third with 47 laps to go, Blaney ran down leaders Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson, passing Elliott for the lead on Lap 486 and never looking back. 

By the time the race ended, Blaney had extended his lead to over 2.5 seconds, making up five seconds over the last 45 laps of the race. 

"So proud of the effort by everybody on the No. 12 group, never giving up," Blaney told NBC Sports. "To have another shot at a championship is really special."

Blaney will try and defend his 2023 championship at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. 

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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Short-lived Memphis-Arkansas Speedway was a tragic piece of NASCAR history
NASCAR

Short-lived Memphis-Arkansas Speedway was a tragic piece of NASCAR history

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Five best NFL offseason value signings on offense: Bills get great deal with RB extension
NFL

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Cubs catcher lost to horrific-looking injury on same day he returns from IL
MLB

Cubs catcher lost to horrific-looking injury on same day he returns from IL

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Rory McIlroy regrets his 'horrific' purchase after cashing first PGA Tour paycheck
Golf

Rory McIlroy regrets his 'horrific' purchase after cashing first PGA Tour paycheck

Rory McIlroy has made enough money to buy whatever he wants without even looking at the price tag. The five-time major champion has banked $107 million in on-course earnings alone in his PGA Tour career, but he still regrets the first major purchase he made after cashing his first big paycheck. Ahead of the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club, a reporter asked McIlroy if he remembers how he spent his first PGA Tour paycheck. It was clear from his response that he still regrets it today. "Yes," McIlroy said without hesitation, "a watch with diamonds around it. It was horrific. I can't believe—it's like the worst purchase ever. It was so bad." McIlroy, who has a long-running endorsement deal with Omega, wisely declined to reveal which company the watch came from. "It's not the make and model that I'm sponsored by now, so I'm not going to say it," he said with a chuckle. It's hard to blame McIlroy for making an immature decision when he got his first taste of wealth. Wouldn't we all? McIlroy was just 19 years old when he made his PGA Tour debut at the 2009 WGC-Accenture Match Play, where he finished in a tie for fifth place. Anyone in his position would've splurged on a guilty pleasure after cashing a life-changing check. McIlroy can laugh about the purchase now because he has enough money to buy a million more watches if he wants. The Northern Irishman is the second-richest golfer of all time in terms of on-course earnings, and he's only $14 million behind Tiger Woods' record of $120.99 million. Considering McIlroy is just 36 years old and still has many years of great golf left in him, he's going to finish his career as the highest-earning golfer in PGA Tour history.

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