Blaney Survives Berry for New Hampshire Win, reflects on Intense Final Laps

Ryan Blaney – winner: “Yeah, probably the hardest 20 laps that I drove. I was trying to kind of bide my stuff and kind of pull Josh a little bit. And then he really started coming. I started to get super free. And it was all I could do to hold him off and try new lanes. And that was good racing and clean racing. Appreciate Josh for not throwing me the bumper when he could have.But what a cool day. What a cool weekend. Super fast car all weekend. So I can’t believe the 12 boys. They’re unbelievable.Really have been strong to start the playoffs and it’s great to get a win in the first race of this round. Oh no, I expect (Berry) to go out and try to win the race, and I knew he wasn’t going to play over for me, but I didn’t think I was going to ever get the bumper, so we raced just super clean, but I would do the same if I was him.You’d go try to win the race so that’s what this thing was all about. It was very stressful, and I’m worn out but what a what a cool weekend and look forward to going to Kansas next week.”

After being eliminated from the playoffs last week, Josh Berry rebounded for a runner-up finish at New Hampshire in a close battle with ryan blaney in the closing laps. Berry was able to “keep Blaney honest” in those final stages, pushing the race winner to his limit.

Josh Berry – second: “It was definitely an awesome day. Had a really good car. Hats off to Ryan at the end. All of our cars were really strong, and Ryan did a great job ther. I was honestly surprised. I was a little worried when he got around me as speedy as he did, but it seemed like it leveled out, and I was able to keep him honest at least at the end. All in all, (crew chief) Miles (Stanley), this whole team

NASCAR Cup Series Drivers React to New Hampshire Results

William Byron – winner: “Yeah, just really proud of this team.We had a really fast car. Just had to execute there at the end. We had a really good restart there with four to go. Over time they got back up there. That last restart, I could have restarted behind him and probably finished third in the race, but I wanted a chance to win and if I was behind the 12, I wasn’t gonna win. I whent for it and it cost us a spot, but, I’m proud of the execution. we obviously got a ton of points today. I think we got a second and a first in the first two stages and a top four finish,so we did what we needed to do. We’re plus the cut line. I’d rather win. That’s just the greed in me, especially when it’s home.”

Chase Elliott – fifth: “The day was good for the no. 9 Chevy team. Just hate we had to not pit for track position because you want to be up there in the mix. but the way it all worked out, we got some stage points there in Stage Two and got a good result with a top-five finish. We’ll go to Kansas (speedway) and try it again. No, there’s no such thing as being safe in this deal. We’ll just lay it out there again next weekend and hope for the best.”

Christopher Bell – sixth: “I think from a points standpoint we did well. I know a lot of people are going to look at me and say how can I be frustrated at Gateway and not today.Well, this weekend really was a whole different story. We just didn’t have the pace. We didn’t have the pace to run with the top competitors. We walked out of here with a lot of points, so I think it was a triumphant day. I feel good about our performance at the next two, but with that being said I felt good about our performance coming into here and it didn’t turn out. Yeah, Kansas is very similar to what we had at Darlington so hopefully we do good. I think we can. And, then surely the Roval is a road course we’re definitely strong at. Optimis

Hamlin, Dillon, and Cindric Reflect on New Hampshire Race

Denny Hamlin – 12th: “It’s super unfortunate he got spun there and obviously the contact came from us. Yeah, I don’t have any other comment other than that.Just had some contact into (turn) one. It was obviously a really rough race before that. We’ll work through it and all but just — we’ll see how it goes. But honestly, it’s unfortunate the contact happened.Just a bad restart on my part. I just couldn’t get going with the bottom lane. Every time we started on the bottom,just could not get anything going,and so obviously it cost us some positions there from where we probably would’ve finished.but just got to get a little better and certainly we didn’t come here with our best. Gotta get a little faster,gotta get the car handling better and I’ve certainly gotta do a better job.”

Austin Dillon – 13th: “Proud of the effort from our team. We fought hard for that one. The car was more rigid over the bumps and lacked rear grip at the beginning. We got on the other side of that but then were too tight.Boswell (crew chief) and the guys kept making adjustments and we definitely made it better. The top rolled on restarts to gain ground at the end and we came home with a solid finish which was needed after our last few weeks.”

Austin Cindric – 17th: “It’s probably what our average was throughout the day. I think between screwing up qualifying on my end, I thought we had a great long run car with our Ford Mustang, just weren’t able to capitalize on it. I felt like I really struggled to get going,so not enough positives to outweigh the negatives.It’s obviously a great day for the team with the 12 and the 22, but the saving grace is I think a lot of the