Ryan Blaney won Sunday’s elimination race at Martinsville to advance to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 next weekend, Ford Performance swept the weekend’s races in the Repco Supercars Championship and Loren Healy was named the 2023 Ultra4 USA National Champion.
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FORD PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS: Blaney Wins, Advances to Championship 4
Oct 30, 2023
<2 MIN READ
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Ryan Blaney won Sunday’s elimination race at Martinsville (Virginia) to advance to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 next weekend.
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Ryan Blaney won Sunday’s elimination race at Martinsville (Virginia) to advance to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 next weekend.
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He led four times for 145 laps, passing fellow Ford driver Aric Almirola with 22 laps to go and never looked back. -
The win, Blaney’s third of the season, capped a day that also saw him finish second in Stage 1 and first in Stage 2. -
Almirola, who announced he would not be coming back to Stewart-Haas Racing next season, held on for second place. -
Other top-10 Ford finishers included: Chase Briscoe (fourth), Joey Logano (fifth), Chris Buescher (eighth), Austin Cindric (ninth) and Todd Gilliland (10th). -
Buescher, who advanced to the Round of 8 for the first time in his career, was eliminated from championship contention. -
Blaney will be part of a Championship 4 group that includes Kyle Larson, William Byron (both Chevrolet) and Christopher Bell (Toyota). -
The driver who finishes the highest from that group in Phoenix will become this year’s series champion. -
The championship race is scheduled for Sunday at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. EST, NBC). -
Tickford Racing’s Cameron Waters swept Saturday's Race 25, claiming P1 in qualifying, pole in the shootout, and led the Repco Supercars Championship race flag to flag. Grove Racing’s David Reynolds claimed victory in Race 26 on Sunday. -
Race 25 saw six Ford Mustang drivers in the top 10, including: Waters (P1), Reynolds (P3), Thomas Randle (P4), Chaz Mostert (P8), Matthew Payne (P9) and James Courtney (P10). -
Race 26 saw four Ford Mustang drivers in the top 10, including: Reynolds (P1), Waters (P3), Payne (P4), and Randle (P7). -
Mostert announced his long-term signing with Walkinshaw Andretti United through 2025. -
Courtney announced his departure from Tickford Racing. -
Three Ford Mustang Drivers sit in the top 10 for overall standings, including: Mostert (fifth), Waters (seventh), and Anton De Pasquale (eighth). -
Supercars officials granted aerodynamic changes to the Ford Mustang proposed by Ford’s homologation team, Dick Johnson Racing. -
The final Repco Supercars Championship race is the VAILO Adelaide 500, Nov. 22-26, in Adelaide, South Australia. -
Loren Healy, who was named the Ultra4 4600 West Coast Champion in late-September, secured his sixth national title in the class while also winning the inaugural event from the pole. -
Bronco has been at the top of the Ultra4 USA 4600 stock class ranks in consecutive seasons, with Brad Lovell earning the 2022 national title. -
Healy also was the pole-sitter in the 4400 unlimited class, however his day ended on the first lap due to race-ending repairs. -
AK Whatley, who purchased a 4400-spec Bronco and race support from FunHaver, finished his first series race 10th and was the only Bronco to complete the course. -
Vaughn Gittin Jr. also battled to make remarkable progress, advancing to eighth place with two laps remaining, but his run ended early due to a broken rear axle shaft. -
Jeff Waggoner, who also purchased a 4400-spec Bronco from MBRP and received FunHaver race support, was unable to complete the race. -
Cole Custer survived a chaotic final lap that saw him get wrecked short of the start-finish line, but he was still able to claim the final NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 berth. -
Custer backed across the finish line in 19th place, while Riley Herbst led Ford with a fourth-place finish. -
This marks Custer’s third series appearance in the Championship 4. -
The championship finale is scheduled to take place Saturday at Phoenix Raceway (7 p.m. EST, USA Network). -
Bob Tasca III led Ford to the finals in the NHRA Camping Word Drag Racing Series Las Vegas. -
He was originally the No. 1 qualifier after a blistering final qualifying pass but dropped back to the second seed following a failed post-run inspection. -
Tasca is vying for the championship entering the finals at Pomona, still in the runner-up position and 15 points from the leader. The Championship will be settled Nov. 9-12 at Pomona Dragstrip in California. -
Ott Tänak led Ford with a third-place overall finish in the FIA World Rally Championship, buoyed by a strong start that saw him capture the win in stage 1 of the Central European Rally. -
Adrien Fourmaux, with co-driver Alexandre Coria, claimed victory in RC2 in the Fiesta Rally2. -
Tänak earned 3 power stage points. He holds onto his fourth place standing in overall championship points. -
Pierre-Louis Loubet finished in sixth place and sits in 11th position in the overall championship. -
The series concludes with WRC FORUM8 Rally Japan Nov. 16-19
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