It’s been all Ryan Blaney, at least as far as Stage wins go Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Through the opening 210 laps of the race, Blaney has led a staggering 101 laps and he has collected two Stage wins on the day after a Stage 2 win. Blaney had one Stage Win in 2020 before Sunday’s race.
Joey Logano ended up runner-up in Stage 2.
Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five in Stage 2.
Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Aric Almirola, Erik Jones and Kyle Busch capped off the top-10.
Almirola and Truex have rebounded from issues in Stage 1. Truex ran out of fuel during a green-flag pit sequence earlier in the day, while Almirola started the race with brake issues, and he also suffered a blend line violation upon pit exit.
Jimmie Johnson, who had been running inside the top-10 slapped the wall in Stage 2, and now sits 36th in the race.
Stage and Playoff Points Awarded in Stage 2:
| Finish | Driver | Stage Points | Playoff Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Blaney | 10 | 1 |
| 2 | Joey Logano | 9 | 0 |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | 8 | 0 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | 7 | 0 |
| 5 | Kevin Harvick | 6 | 0 |
| 6 | Martin Truex Jr. | 5 | 0 |
| 7 | Chase Elliott | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | Aric Almirola | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | Erik Jones | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | Kyle Busch | 1 | 0 |
