Have the "floodgates" now opened for Ryan Blaney?
Ryan Blaney has been every bit a contender for race wins as his Penske teammates this season, but it wasn’t until Monday that was able to join them with a trip to Victory Lane.
Through the season’s first 12 races, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski had both amassed a pair of wins as Blaney continued run on par with his teammates but repeatedly came up frustratingly short of a win.
The driver of the No. 12 Ford has been one of the most consistent performers this season, tied with the most top-five finishes (seven), ranked third in the series standings and has already led 308 laps (his career best is 660).
Yet Blaney’s first win of the season in Monday’s rain-delayed GEICO 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway came on NASCAR’s most unpredictable of tracks, yet one on which he has proven quite adapt at conquering.
“The whole year really, but the past month and a half has been really good for us. We’ve had some really good runs,” Blaney, 26, said. “We’ve had really fast cars, had a chance to win I feel like every race the last month and a half. It just really hasn't fallen our way. We just haven’t been in the right place at the right time or not been quite fast enough.
“Coming (to Talladega), you just don’t really know your outcome. You don’t really know how things are going to be. You can’t work on your car really too much to get better throughout the race. You don’t control your destiny a whole lot like other race tracks.
“It is a little funny. We’ve been knocking on the door all year, and it just happened to be here.”
While superspeedway racing involves many factors out of a team or driver’s control, Blaney still seems to have found a knack at mastering its intricacies.
Monday’s win was his second consecutive at Talladega and in his last three superspeedway races, he’s finished first, second and first, including his runner-up finish in this year’s Daytona 500.
The first of many?
So far in his relatively brief Cup Series career, Blaney has never won more than one race in a season. With a victory in hand fairly early this year and with the strength of Team Penske overall, Blaney hopes Monday’s win is the first of several.
“Nice to finally break through, get the first one of the year. Hopefully, this opens the floodgates here and we can get on a roll,” he said. “This team has been awesome. They’ve been so much fun to work with all year.”
The Penske organization began the year with a shakeup, swapping crew chiefs and crews among its three drivers.
Todd Gordon, who had been Logano’s crew chief since his arrival at Penske, moved to the No. 12 to work with Blaney. He and his new driver haven’t missed a beat.
“You saw him battle back, knew what he had. He knew he had speed, he overcame, came back to the front. We’ve seen that a lot this year,” Gordon said of Blaney’s performance at Talladega.
“Back at Martinsville, we drove through the field twice to finish second. He could have gotten down and he hasn’t. He’s done a phenomenal job of staying engaged and leading us, telling us what he wants, talking through things, staying focused on the big prize.
“He’s exceeded my expectations and I can’t wait to see what we can do the rest of the season.”
Previous article
NASCAR: If hate crime is suspected, we’ll do the same again
Next article
NASCAR's Phelps: "The noose was real" but its origins unknown
How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022
It’s not just Formula 1 that’s set for upheaval in 2022, as the NASCAR Cup series adopts its Next Gen cars that will cast any in-built advantages aside and require teams to adopt a totally new way of operating. Far more than just a change of machinery, the new cars amount to a shift in NASCAR's core philosophy
Why Bubba Wallace’s Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR
Bubba Wallace claimed his maiden NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega on Monday to become the first Black victor in the category since Wendell Scott in 1963. Both Wallace and Scott had faced obstacles and racism in their paths to their breakthrough wins, and NASCAR is trying to put it right with its range of diversity programmes
Why NASCAR's most resilient driver has landed on his feet at 23XI
In a career that has had many ups and downs, Kurt Busch has been written off many times before. But facing career uncertainty after the sale of Chip Ganassi's NASCAR team, the 2004 Cup champion has found a new berth at Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan's 23XI organization - which underlines his enduring value
From the archive: Dale Earnhardt’s final Autosport interview
The death of Dale Earnhardt in the 2001 Daytona 500 shocked NASCAR to the core. At the Daytona 24 Hours, two weeks before his fatal accident, ‘The Intimidator’ shared his expectations of challenging for an eighth Cup title with JONATHAN INGRAM, in an article first published in the 15 February 2001 issue of Autosport magazine. Little did we know then what tragedy would unfold…
The lasting NASCAR legacy after Dale Earnhardt’s death
On February 18, 2001, seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Dale Earnhardt – the fearless ‘Intimidator’ – was in his element at Daytona International Speedway. While his own DEI team’s cars ran 1-2 towards the finish line, his famed #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo was playing rear gunner to block any late runs from the chasing pack. As the cars tore through Turns 3 and 4 on that fateful final lap, Earnhardt maintained the strongarm tactics that encapsulated his persona… but his actions in those moments sadly proved to be his last.
Inspired by Pitbull, the “revolution” sweeping through NASCAR
The NASCAR Cup Series is changing. Whether it be the gradual morphing out the seasoned drivers of yesterday as the next generation step up, a radical calendar shake-up featuring more road courses than ever before and the prospect of an all-new car on the horizon, stock car racing’s highest level is nearing the end of a huge facelift.
The NASCAR storylines to watch out for in 2021
This weekend's Daytona 500 kickstarts a NASCAR Cup season that promises plenty of intrigue courtesy of new owners and a refreshed calendar. Here's what you need to know ahead of the new season…
Why Kyle Larson can't blow his big shot at redemption
From a disgraced NASCAR exile, Kyle Larson has been given a chance of redemption by the powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports squad. Effectively replacing seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson is no easy billing, but Larson has every intention of repaying the team's faith...
