Ryan Blaney beat Ryan Newman in a door-to-door race to the finish line to win Monday at Talladega Superspeedway and advance to the third round of NASCAR's playoffs.
Blaney's first win of the season came as he was desperately trying to remain in title contention. The playoff field will be trimmed from 12 drivers to eight next weekend at Kansas and Blaney was in danger of elimination before his Talladega victory.
Blaney joins Kyle Larson in the round of eight, with six spots sill available.
Brendan Gaughan (62) flips in Turn 3 as driver Kurt Busch (1) and David Ragan (38) pass underneath during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway, Monday, Oct 14, 2019, in Talladega, Ala. (AP PhotoGreg McWilliams)
"This was a huge, huge race for us. I'm pumped up. We're moving on," Blaney said before spotting a young fan in the crowd wearing his shirt and handing the boy the checkered flag.
The race began Sunday until rain stopped it after the first stage and pushed the finish to Monday. It gave Blaney time to recover from a Sunday spin as he tried to enter pit road and it gave Ford and Team Penske the victory. Ford had won seven consecutive Talladega races until Chevrolet snapped that streak in April.
"An amazing effort the last two days, to be honest with you," Blaney said. "From spinning out early yesterday, missing some big ones today, weave our way through ... It just means a ton. I've been coming here ever since I was really young. I love coming here. Love it even more now."
Blaney was the leader on a restart with two laps remaining and had a huge push from fellow Ford driver Aric Almirola to gain space on the field. Then Newman came charging along on the outside line with help from Denny Hamlin and he easily zipped past Blaney.
But the Ford train remained committed and Blaney got another push from Almirola to pull alongside Newman. The two raced door-to-door to the finish line, with Blaney winning by a nose. The 0.0070-second margin of victory was the sixth-closest in the history of Talladega, which celebrated its 50th anniversary all weekend.
The win capped a remarkable weekend for the Penske organization, which on Saturday claimed the IMSA overall sports car championship with Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya, and then in Australia won the Bathurst 1000 with Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard.
The race had critical playoff implications as many of the title contenders struggled, and Hendrick Motorsports entire lineup is at risk of elimination next weekend. Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott and William Byron are all below the cutline, as is Kansas native Clint Bowyer, who could be eliminated at his home track.
Newman was followed by Hamlin in a Toyota. But it was a 1-2 sweep for Ford on a weekend in which manufacturer alliances were heavily scrutinized. Although all the manufacturers met with their teams to discuss strategy and sticking together for the sake of a brand victory, a meeting Sunday between the Chevrolet group angered fans who argued the alliances were a form of race manipulation.
Although the manufacturers have been doing this for at least five years in a Toyota-led effort, Chevrolet did not get on board until April after Toyota had worked with Chevy drivers from Hendrick Motorsports to go 1-2-3 in the Daytona 500. Chevrolet then won at Talladega and again at Daytona in July, the two tracks where the brand alliances work.
The highest-finishing Chevrolet on Monday at Talladega was Austin Dillon in sixth. Almirola finished fourth in a Ford, followed by Michael McDowell, Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Elliot, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ty Dillon.
CRASH WATCH
The race was stopped with seven laps remaining after an accident at the front of the field. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch were side-drafting for the lead when Busch suddenly spun to the right, directly into title contender Brad Keselowski. The chain reaction caused Brendan Gaughan's car to flip over the car of Kurt Busch and land on its wheels.
"Mother, it is OK, it is just a flip and it didn't hurt, I promise," he said into a television camera. "It was just one easy, quick flip and we put it down."
Keselowski's car was destroyed but he got it rolling down pit road for the sole purpose of passing Gaughan and Martin Truex Jr. in the running order, gaining two more points that very well could be needed next week when the playoff field is cut.
BOWMAN AND BYRON BAD DAYS
Two of the Hendrick Motorsports title contenders had terrible days as both Alex Bowman and William Byron caused multi-car accidents.
Bowman triggered one in the second stage when he tried to block Joey Logano, who hit him and sent Bowman spinning into traffic.
"My guess is that I threw a block I shouldn't have," Bowman said. "I got shoved way out there. I knew (Logano) was coming and I just tried to move down just a little bit. ... They just had a bigger run than I realized. I should have let him go and shouldn't have thrown a block."
Byron's crash occurred when he lost control following a push from Kurt Busch. It turned Byron's car hard into Logano, who suffered significant damage.
Bowman, who also collected fellow Hendrick driver Jimmie Johnson, finished 37th. Byron wound up 33rd and joined Bowman and Elliott as drivers in danger of elimination at Kansas.
UP NEXT
The elimination race of the third round of the playoffs Sunday at Kansas Speedway. Elliott is the defending race winner, and Brad Keselowski won the spring race.
More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
PORTSMOUTH, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2024--
Epredia, a global leader in precision cancer diagnostics and subsidiary of PHC Holdings Corporation (TSE: 6523), and NovaScan, Inc., a company that develops breakthrough technology for cancer detection and stratification, announce that they have signed a letter of intent for a U.S. exclusive commercial distribution agreement for MarginScan™, a medical device that will support physicians in real-time detection of non-melanoma skin cancer. Epredia has engaged Avantik, a company specializing in supporting diagnostic labs with their operations, with getting this new device into the hands of Mohs surgeons.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240502185446/en/
Skin cancer is the most common group of cancers diagnosed worldwide 1, and it is estimated that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime 2. Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) are the most common cancers in the United States, affecting more than 3 million Americans a year 3. More than 20 percent of Americans are expected to develop NMSC before reaching age 70. Most surgeries for NMSC are simple excisions, which may result in removal of substantial healthy tissue around the suspected cancer.
MarginScan™ is designed to address this challenge by supporting Mohs surgery procedures for skin cancer treatment. Mohs Micrographic Surgery (MMS) is an operative method used to detect the presence or absence of a tumor in the margins of a surgical excision. In an MMS procedure, cancer tissue is excised in stages, then flash-frozen and assessed histologically in an onsite lab until clean margins are obtained. Previously, MMS was the only modality for skin cancer treatment that involved comprehensive margin assessment during a procedure. MarginScan™ is designed to use an electrical assessment to confirm cancer-free margins without the intraoperative histological assessment. This has the potential to allow for faster excisions that spare more healthy tissue, leading to improved outcomes for both patients and clinicians.
With this planned agreement, Epredia will serve as the primary distribution partner of MarginScan™ and will have exclusive distribution rights in the United States. Along with distribution, Epredia will be responsible for all marketing and commercial activities related to the launch and sale of MarginScan™. Epredia will work closely with Avantik to market and sell the new device to Mohs surgeons.
MarginScan™ will be the latest addition to Epredia’s world-class portfolio of precision cancer diagnostics products and services that provide a seamless end-to-end laboratory workflow, including slide scanners and printers, cryostats, tissue processors, and consumables such as slides and reagents. In addition to offering MarginScan™, Epredia will also provide consumable products that are used with the device, such as the MarginScan™ electrode and proprietary electrolytic gel used during excisions.
The two companies anticipate a 2025 U.S. launch for MarginScan™. This distribution agreement builds on a previous partnership between NovaScan and PHC Corporation, another subsidiary of PHC Holdings Corporation that is focused on the development and manufacturing of innovative medical testing devices. PHC Holdings Corporation is referred to collectively with its subsidiaries as PHC Group.
Steven Lynum, President of Epredia, said, “With more than 85 years supporting precision cancer diagnostics, we strive to continuously serve the changing needs of our customers by working with innovative companies like NovaScan to deliver the best solutions. Helping providers make faster, more accurate diagnoses and ultimately improving patient care is what makes this initiative so important.”
Craig Davis, CEO of NovaScan, remarked, “NovaScan is thrilled to be partnering with Epredia to bring MarginScan™ to clinical healthcare providers in the U.S. We are proud for MarginScan™ to join Epredia’s portfolio of market-leading cancer diagnostics products. We believe that MarginScan™ will play an important role in skin cancer detection and treatment.”
Mark Zacur, CEO of Avantik, added, “Our team is continually sourcing the best solutions to expand our portfolio of solutions supporting Mohs clinics with their critical work. We are honored that Epredia selected Avantik as their partner to bring this breakthrough device to our network of providers and their patients.”
About Epredia
Epredia is a global leader in the anatomical pathology field, providing comprehensive solutions for precision cancer diagnostics and tissue diagnostics. Powered by key brands, including Erie Scientific, Menzel-Gläser, Microm, Shandon, and Richard-Allan Scientific, Epredia’s portfolio includes microscope slides, instruments and consumables. Epredia was established following the acquisition of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Anatomical Pathology business by PHC Holdings in 2019. Epredia has operations in major sites in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and China with a total of around 1,200 employees. Epredia is committed to achieving its mission to improve lives by enhancing cancer diagnostics for patients around the world. For further information on Epredia and its products, please visit www.epredia.com.
About PHC Holdings Corporation (PHC Group)
PHC Holdings Corporation (TSE 6523) is a global healthcare company with a mission of contributing to the health of society through healthcare solutions that have a positive impact and improve the lives of people. Its subsidiaries (referred to collectively as PHC Group) include PHC Corporation, Epredia, Ascensia Diabetes Care, LSI Medience Corporation, Mediford, and Wemex. Together, these companies develop, manufacture, sell and service solutions across diabetes management, healthcare solutions, life sciences and diagnostics. PHC Group’s consolidated net sales in FY2022 were JPY 356.4 billion with global distribution of products and services in more than 125 countries and regions. www.phchd.com
About NovaScan
About NovaScan: Based in Chicago, NovaScan ( www.novascaninc.com ) is a clinical stage oncology diagnostic and stratification company that has developed a low cost, point of care platform for real time cancer detection and stratification. NovaScan’s platform is active in skin, GI, lung and breast.
About Avantik
Founded in 1971, Avantik specializes in supporting diagnostic laboratories with maintaining their critical operations. The company offers a national network of more than 250 engineers, technicians and service personnel that assist diagnostic labs with increasing their productivity, enhancing their products and streamlining their processes. It also manages a comprehensive inventory of high-quality lab equipment and consumables that it continually expands to provide labs with new products that advance their goals for fast and accurate diagnoses. In 2023, Avantik partnered with Water Street Healthcare Partners, an investment firm dedicated to building market leaders in health care, to advance its goals for expansion and building on its legacy as a trusted partner to diagnostic laboratories. To learn more about Avantik, visit www.avantik-us.com.
1 Source: World Health Organization.
2 Source: World Health Organization.
3 Source: American Academy of Dermatology.
MarginScan™ Device for Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Detection (Photo: Business Wire)
