Ryan Blaney Passes Johnson and Truex Jr. During Wild Final Lap to Secure Second Career Victory

Ryan Blaney was able to pass Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson in the final feet of Sunday's Bank of America ROVAL 400 to pick up his second career victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Truex Jr. and Johnson battled it out during the final two laps which set up one of the greatest finishes in NASCAR history. Johnson attempted to enter the final chicane with Truex Jr. but in the process spun himself out. Truex Jr. began moving toward the finish line as Johnson came back across sending Truex Jr. into the outside wall. Blaney, who was third at the time of the accident, blasted by the two who still needed to serve a penalty for cutting the course to earn the victory.

Jamie McMurray finished the race in second, his first second-place finish since Talladega in 2017. Clint Bowyer finished third while Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five.

The spin by Jimmie Johnson and where he finished, 8th, resulted in Johnson, Almirola, and Larson being in a three-way tie. Almirola and Larson netted the tiebreaker putting Johnson on a list along with Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, and Denny Hamlin of eliminations following the round of 16.

Results from the Charlotte ROVAL


  1. Ryan Blaney
  2. Jamie McMurray
  3. Clint Bowyer
  4. Alex Bowman
  5. Kurt Busch
  6. Chase Elliott
  7. AJ Allmendinger
  8. Jimmie Johnson
  9. Kevin Harvick
  10. Joey Logano
  11. Ryan Newman
  12. Denny Hamlin
  13. Matt DiBenedetto
  14. Martin Truex Jr.
  15. Regan Smith
  16. David Ragan
  17. Chris Buescher
  18. Michael McDowell
  19. Aric Almirola
  20. Cole Whitt
  21. Daniel Suarez
  22. Ty Dillon
  23. Daniel Hemric
  24. Ross Chastain
  25. Kyle Larson
  26. Jeffrey Earnhardt
  27. Justin Marks
  28. JJ Yeley
  29. Landon Cassill
  30. Erik Jones
  31. Brad Keselowski
  32. Kyle Busch
  33. Paul Menard
  34. William Byron
  35. Trevor Bayne
  36. Darrell Wallace Jr.
  37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  38. Timmy Hill
  39. Austin Dillon
  40. Stanton Barrett
Now that the ROVAL is out of the way, the round of 12 has been set. Kyle Busch enters the round of 12 with the points lead with a five-point margin over second-place Kevin Harvick. Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Aric Almirola, and Alex Bowman will be the round of 12. 

The first round race comes on Sunday as the series heads to the "Monster Mile" for the Gander Outdoors 400. First practice for the race is slated for Friday, October 5th at 11:00 a.m. ET. The race is slated for Sunday, October 7th at 2:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN. (Koelle,2018)

Photo Credit: Christian Koelle/CCK Photography

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