Blaney is Victor in Xfinity Race at Chilly Texas Motor Speedway

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FORT WORTH, TX – RIS – Ryan Blaney led 132 laps en route to a win in the My Bariatric Solutions 300 NASCAR Xfinity race at Texas Motor Speedway.  Blaney took the checkered flag on a chilly day and gave it to a youngster in the stands.  The No. 22 Ford Mustang has now won three straight Xfinity races, all driven by Penske Cup regulars Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Blaney.

“Whenever you can see them up close and personal and see how excited everyone is to be here it’s just bonus for us. That make us feel good, Blaney said. "It makes us feel like we put on a really good show. I appreciate them sticking around. It was cold today for those watching and they stayed out there the whole race. It was unbelievable how many kids were in the stands and at the fence and really cheering and pumped up. Hopefully they had a great time. My main thing is trying to make a memory that lasts a lifetime.”

Blaney won the pole position for the race and seemed to be the fastest car all day.  Joe Gibbs Racing is the only team in the series to win three straight races with the same car and different drivers. Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin won consecutive races in their team’s No. 20 Toyota in 2008. That car actually won four straight races when Stewart won again.

It was the seventh career Xfinity victory for Blaney, who qualified fourth for Sunday’s Cup Series race at the 1½-mile Texas track.

Christopher Bell finished second in the No. 20 Toyota. Daniel Hemric, Cole Custer and Ryan Preece rounded out the top five.

“Our Fitzgerald Glider Kits Mustang was amazing all weekend, really,” Blaney said. “We got behind a little bit getting loose on that restart (with 15 laps to go in Stage 2). With the different strategies in second stage there we had to come from behind a little bit. The car was great. … It’s finally nice to win one here in Texas.”

Blaney won the first stage, but a one-lap shootout to win the second stages was won by Brandon Jones when Blaney spun his tires on the green flag.

There were three cautions in the first 17 laps due to spins by Jamie McMurray, Vinnie Miller and Chad Finchum.  Finchum brought out his second caution late on Lap 81 when he backed hard into the Turn 2 wall.

The temperature at the start of the race was 34 degrees, making it the coldest NASCAR race run at Texas Motor Speedway. Christopher Bell, Hemric, Cole Custer, and Preece qualified to compete in the first round of the Dash 4 Cash next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Unofficial Race Results for the 22nd Annual My Bariatric Solutions 300  - Texas Motor Speedway - Saturday, April 7, 2018
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status, Tms Led, Laps Led
1) 1, Ryan Blaney(i), No. 22 Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford, 200, 1, , , 0, Running, 3, 132
2) 18, Christopher Bell #, No. 20 GameStop/Hello Neighbor Toyota, 200, 10, , , 36, Running, 2, 10
3) 35, Daniel Hemric, No. 21 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet, 200, , , , 34, Running, 1, 39
4) 10, Cole Custer, No. 00 Thompson Pipe Group Ford, 200, 7, , , 37, Running, , 
5) 13, Ryan Preece, No. 18 Ruud/RTP Toyota, 200, 4, , , 39, Running, , 
6) 36, Matt Tifft, No. 2 Surface Sunscreen Chevrolet, 200, 9, , , 33, Running, , 
7) 5, Jamie McMurray(i), No. 42 DC Solar Chevrolet, 200, , , , 0, Running, , 
8) 34, Elliott Sadler, No. 1 OneMain Financial Chevrolet, 200, , , , 29, Running, , 
9) 16, Austin Cindric #, No. 12 Mazak Ford, 200, , , , 28, Running, , 
10) 14, Spencer Gallagher, No. 23 Allegiant Chevrolet, 200, , 7, , 31, Running, , 
11) 21, Chase Briscoe, No. 60 Nutri Chomps Ford, 199, , , , 26, Running, , 
12) 7, Ty Dillon(i), No. 3 Wrangler FR/FTS International Chevrolet, 199, , , , 0, Running, , 
13) 2, Ryan Truex, No. 11 Bar Harbor/Sea Watch International Chevrolet, 199, 5, 2, , 39, Running, 1, 1
14) 4, Ryan Reed, No. 16 Drive Down A1C Lilly Diabetes Ford, 199, 6, 5, , 34, Running, , 
15) 20, Michael Annett, No. 5 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, 199, , 9, , 24, Running, 1, 5
16) 12, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet, 198, , 10, , 22, Running, 1, 1
17) 24, Dylan Lupton, No. 28 thinQ Technology Partners Ford, 198, , , , 20, Running, , 
18) 11, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 RV General Store Chevrolet, 198, , 3, , 27, Running, , 
19) 40, Kevin Harvick(i), No. 98 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford, 198, 8, , , 0, Running, , 
20) 27, Joey Gase, No. 35 Sparks Chevrolet, 196, , , , 17, Running, , 
21) 32, David Starr, No. 52 Whataburger Chevrolet, 196, , , , 16, Running, , 
22) 39, Bayley Currey(i), No. 8 CHASCO Chevrolet, 196, , , , 0, Running, , 
23) 6, Tyler Reddick #, No. 9 BurgerFi Chevrolet, 195, 3, , , 22, Running, , 
24) 30, Josh Bilicki #, No. 45 Prevagen Toyota, 193, , , , 13, Running, , 
25) 28, Spencer Boyd #, No. 76 Grunt Style Chevrolet, 193, , , , 12, Running, , 
26) 37, Kaz Grala #, No. 24 NETTTS Ford, 189, , , , 11, Running, , 
27) 19, Garrett Smithley, No. 0 FAME/fame-usa.com Chevrolet, 186, , 8, , 13, Fuel Pump, , 
28) 15, Ross Chastain, No. 4 Flex Seal Chevrolet, 147, , 4, , 16, Rear Gear, 1, 2
29) 17, BJ McLeod, No. 78 Chevrolet, 137, , , , 8, Clutch, , 
30) 38, Josh Williams, No. 90 Sleep Well Chevrolet, 112, , , , 7, Suspension, , 
31) 9, JJ Yeley, No. 38 RSS Racing Chevrolet, 109, , 6, , 11, Engine, 1, 1
32) 22, Alex Labbe #, No. 36 Can-Am/Wholey/Cyclops Gear Chevrolet, 104, , , , 5, Accident, , 
33) 3, Brandon Jones, No. 19 Toyota Service Centers Toyota, 99, 2, 1, 1 , 23, Accident, 1, 9
34) 26, Chad Finchum #, No. 40 Smithbilt Homes/TLC Resorts Toyota, 77, , , , 3, Accident, , 
35) 8, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, 70, , , , 2, Engine, , 
36) 23, Timmy Hill, No. 66 Chris Kyle Foundation/CrashClaimsR.Us Dodge, 54, , , , 1, Fuel Pump, , 
37) 25, Stephen Leicht, No. 55 Jani-King Toyota, 53, , , , 1, Electrical, , 
38) 31, Morgan Shepherd, No. 89 Visone RV Chevrolet, 33, , , , 1, Suspension, , 
39) 33, Vinnie Miller #, No. 01 JAS Expedited Trucking LLC Chevrolet, 15, , , , 1, Accident, , 
40) 29, Jeff Green, No. 93 RSS Racing Chevrolet, 13, , , , 1, Electrical, ,

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie
Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 24 Mins, 01 Secs.
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 300 Miles 
Average Speed: 124.986 MPH
Margin of Victory: 2.327 sec
Race Comments: Ryan Blaney won the My Bariatric Solutions 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, his seventh NASCAR XFINITY Series victory.
Prior to the start of the race, the following car dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason indicated: #23 (unapproved adjustements).
Failed to Qualify: (2) No. 74 Mike Harmon, No. 15 Matt Mills #.
Caution Flags: 8 for 42 laps: Laps: 3-5 (No. 40 Spin in Turn 2 [None]); 10-13 (No. 42 Incident in Turn 4 [5]); 17-20 (No. 01 Incident in Turn 2 [None]); 47-52 (Stage 1 Conclusion [38]); 72-75 (No. 23 Spin on the frontstretch [35]); 81-89 (No. 40 Incident in Turn 2 [8]); 92-97 (Stage 2 Conclusion [52]); 100-105 (No. 19 and 24 Incident on the fronstretch [None])
Lead Changes: 11 among 9 drivers: R. Blaney(i) 1-75; C. Bell # 76-83; B. Jones 84-92; J. Yeley 93; D. Hemric 94-132; R. Blaney(i) 133-142; C. Bell # 143-144; R. Truex 145; R. Chastain 146-147; J. Clements 148; M. Annett 149-153; R. Blaney(i) 154-200.
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Roush-Yates Engines,No. 22 
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Christopher Bell, No. 20
Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Christopher Bell, No. 20