STRONG MARTINSVILLE RUN FOR BLANEY AND THE 12 TEAM

Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang Dark Horse team came away with a sixth-place finish Sunday at Martinsville, marking the team's fifth top-10 result in the first seven races to start the season. After starting 12th, Blaney worked his way into the top-10 of the runner order just 12 laps in before settling into eighth where he went on to finish Stage 1 from. Following a four tire stop and a round of adjustments, Blaney restarted from the inside of row four and picked his way through traffic to reach the top-five by lap 131. As the leaders worked their way through lapped traffic, Blaney was able to complete the pass for fourth with four laps to go in Stage 2 to secure seven more stage points on the afternoon. Following the ensuing restart, the Advance Auto Parts Ford battled to third on the leaderboard before clearing the No. 54 on lap 257 for the runner-up spot and chasing the No. 11 for the lead. With the No. 12 team opting for a one stop strategy for the final run, crew chief Jonathan Hassler called Blaney to pit road under green on lap 291 - a lap after the No. 11 hit pit road - as the completion of the cycle saw Blaney scored third. A caution on lap 324 saw teams come to pit road one final time for four tire stops before Blaney lined up from the inside of row three with 78 laps to go. While battling side-by-side with the No. 11 for the third position, Blaney was forced up the track coming off of turn four and into the outside wall, causing him to lose momentum and drop to eighth in the order with 66 laps remaining. Blaney was able to get back in a rhythm over the final stretch as the race stayed green the rest of the way, working his way back up to sixth before the checkered flag flew.