Ryan Blaney is currently behind Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin for the fourth spot for the championship race at Homestead-Miami. Though, he will not be behind them to start this weekend's race in Phoenix.
After putting in the 5th fastest time in practice, Blaney and his team edged Denny Hamlin by just .001 seconds around the track to win the pole.
While Blaney can make the final race without winning, finishing where he will be starting is the only way to guarantee moving on. Even if he is not able to win, starting ahead of his closest competition could be the advantage he needs to close the 22 point gap between himself and Keselowski in the last spot.
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