Who finished 7th at Martinsville Speedway?

NASCAR says Denny Hamlin – I haven’t seen them get it wrong before

But every video I’ve seen, Denny wasn’t ahead of Ryan Blaney. My eyes must be lying to me.

The ruling is final. At the line, NASCAR did review the position. It’s certainly possible they’re seeing a different video than the rest of us.

The image below might be a bit deceiving. It’s taken from an angle, the perspective can give the impression of an alternative lead car.

Ryan Blaney at Martinsville Speedway
Ryan Blaney at Martinsville Speedway

How about from the other side?

Martinsville Speedway finish
Martinsville Speedway finish

I’m sorry, but it still looks like the #21 is ahead. Though, the white line is not the line in question. The all-but blurred yellow line is the finish line.

“Transponders are in the back of the car. So even though (it seems) Ryan was ahead of Denny, the transponder wouldn’t have been,” Wood Brother Racing stated via twitter.

“To clarify: transponder, time stamp and video replay all confirmed right front bumper of 11 crossed leading edge of yellow line ahead,” NASCAR’s Kurt Culbert stated.

Leading edge, that means it’s not about who crosses the line first. That means it’s who gets the the line first. The first one to touch the yellow portion of the line, gets the position. I’m just not sure how it’s not Ryan Blaney.

I’ve seen situations like this in the past. NASCAR always gets it right. Though, there’s a first for everything. Denny Hamlin’s car was on an angle compared to Ryan Blaney. Did that effect the transponder data?

I’m sure NASCAR had a finish line camera they used to view the incident. However, was that camera blocked? Matt Kenseth was also crossing the line at about the same moment.

Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney are both in a championship battle. Every position is extremely important. Last year, Denny Hamlin averaged a 6th place finish in the playoff’s and he didn’t make it to Homestead. With that said, Wood Brothers Racing has accepted the reviewed data analysis. The position is final.

1959 Daytona 500 Photo Finish
1959 Daytona 500 Photo Finish (Photo: T. TAYLOR WARREN)

That one time they got it wrong, then not so quickly corrected the finishing order

It was the debut Daytona 500. The 1959 Daytona 500 featured and probably coined the term, photo finish. This was a time before the modern day finish line camera. Johnny Beauchamp was declared the winner that day then went to victory lane.

The other teams contested the finish. Bill France listened and declared the finish, unofficial. Post processing, Thomas Taylor Warren presented the photograph to NASCAR boss Big Bill France. That photo transitioned the winner.

3 days later, it was announced that Lee Petty had actually won the event. France purposely waited, just to keep the water-cooler conversation rolling.

Martinsville Speedway finish

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Kurt Culbert | Denny Hamlin | Ryan Blaney | Martinsville Speedway | NASCAR

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