Ryan Blaney wins Martinsville to make Championship 4 with Byron; Hamlin, Truex, Buescher, Reddick eliminated

Here are the postrace NBC Sports interviews with Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., and William Byron:

Denny Hamlin: “Last week’s mechanical failure with the power steering sealed our fate. I’m incredibly proud of the entire FedEx Toyota team for stepping up when we needed them most. Despite having a mid 50-point day, they performed exceptionally well.

“The 12 car was the strongest today, so congratulations to them and the rest of the Final 4. It’s a bittersweet feeling knowing we’re not in the running with our FedEx Camry. Nevertheless, I’m satisfied with our performance today. We can’t afford to have a bad week in the Round of 8… I’m excited to prepare and strive for a win next week. Even at my age, my passion for racing remains strong because I believe I have a chance to win every week thanks to my team’s consistent delivery of fast cars.”

“This isn’t the end by any means. We still have a long way to go. Overall, I’m pleased with the year. I feel like we’ve been substantially faster at all tracks compared to last year.”

William Byron: “Obviously, we weren’t at our best. It was our worst race of the year. However, these guys deserved success. They work tirelessly. Honestly, around 50 laps to go, I felt really terrible. I had to give it my all. The team stood by me, motivating me bit by bit, helping me stay focused.

“I’m extremely grateful for them. The race was a slugfest. Everyone gave me a tough time at the end. Congratulations to Ryan. I was genuinely happy for him. He was really fast. But we had to hang on and push harder.

“When I got out of the car, I was completely exhausted. However, the result is more important than anything. The team has put in so much hard work throughout the season, and I’m incredibly proud of them. There were some challenges, like my helmet fan not working. It’s tough when your head feels like it’s in a hair dryer. But we’ve trained for this. I gave it everything I had. There was no way I was going to quit. It’s a great feeling to see our hard work paying off.”

Martin Truex Jr.: “Our car performed well. The competition is tough and the field is tightly packed. It’s difficult to maneuver in traffic, and the car’s performance suffers in those conditions. Despite a speeding penalty, we managed to make a strong comeback.

“When you’re stuck in the back, the tires wear out more quickly due to the hot and dirty track and the dirty air. It’s a tough battle.

“I don’t know. We gave it our best shot. I thought our car was really strong. I don’t think we could have beaten the 12 car. They were extremely powerful. But we were close.

“We’ll have something to work on for the next race. It’s disappointing. I felt like I left the pit box under speed, but clearly, I was speeding. We need to look into that. It’s devastating, but that’s just part of racing.”