Ryan Blaney wins at Martinsville to reach Championship 4 with William Byron; Hamlin eliminated
Ryan Blaney advanced to the Championship 4 with an emphatic victory at Martinsville Speedway, where William Byron squeaked into the title race.
Blaney led 145 laps to earn his second victory of the season and his first at Martinsville, beating Aric Almirola by 0.889 seconds.
Denny Hamlin led a race-high 156 of 500 laps to finish third, coming up six points short of Byron in advancing to the Cup championship showdown at Phoenix Raceway.
Byron hung on for 13th in what he told NBC Sports' Marty Snider was the No. 24 team's "worst race of the season" on the 0.526-mile oval.
Blaney and Byron will join Round of 8 winners Kyle Larson (Las Vegas) and Christopher Bell (Homestead-Miami Speedway) in the Nov. 5 championship showdown at Phoenix Raceway.
Along with Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Tyler Reddick and Chris Buescher were eliminated.
