Cup star Blaney crashes Xfinity playoffs and wins

DOVER, DEL. » With a checkered flag missing and no highlight reel burnout to be found, Ryan Blaney may at least want to keep the race trophy as a keepsake to prove he won at Dover.

Blaney crashed the Xfinity Series playoffs and the Cup regular dominated Saturday at Dover International Speedway.

“It’s really hard to get a car like that,” he said.

NASCAR imposed limits this season on how many times the elite Cup drivers can race in NASCAR’s second-tier series. But no rule could stop Blaney from reaching victory lane. Blaney made the Cup playoffs with a win at Pocono and played spoiler at Dover in the second race of the Xfinity playoffs.

Blaney, a social media darling in NASCAR, took his checkered flag and slipped it through a fence to give to a young fan. Blaney recalled he was once that same excited kid when he tagged along as the son of former NASCAR driver Dave Blaney and grandson of dirt track star Lou Blaney.

“He seemed really pumped up to be at the race,” Blaney said. “There was a lot of kids here today, which is really cool. I kind of saw a little bit of myself. I was a little kid coming here and watching races. Anything we can to do to try to keep them coming back and show them a pretty great experience at the track . ... ”

Xfinity playoff drivers took the second through six spots and nine of the top 11. Justin Allgaier was second, followed by William Byron, Daniel Hemric and Brennan Poole.

F1: Hamilton takes pole for Malaysian GP

SEPANG, MALAYSIA » Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix with another brilliant drive under pressure, while title rival Sebastian Vettel’s miserable luck continued as he quit early in qualifying after losing power on a straight.

Vettel will start from last in the latest bitter blow for Ferrari.

It was Hamilton’s fourth straight podium in Malaysia and fifth overall.