KANSAS CITY, Kan.—Ryan Blaney led the charge for Team Penske at Kansas Speedway—but his fourth-place finish potentially could have been better.
Throughout the Hollywood Casino 400, Blaney was the class of the Ford field.
However, an issue in the pits with less than 100 laps remaining, dropped Blaney to rear—and set up the driver for a fight to the finish.
“Our long-run car was great,” Blaney said. “I think we were better when the temp was up a little bit and I could kind of run the bottom of three and four really well because guys were slipping. At the end I think it cooled off a little and that advantage kind of went away.
“All in all, it was a good day. We caught a break with the caution. This team doesn’t catch a lot of breaks. I am proud of the fast cars and we just have to clean a couple of things up.”
The “clean up” includes Blaney leaving the pits with a loose left rear tire on Lap 168. When the 28-year-old racer felt something wasn’t right on the No. 12 Wurth Mustang, Blaney didn’t like the response he received.
Despite a 9.2-second stop, that enabled him to exit the pits second among the drivers who pitted, when Blaney reported the issue, crew chief Paul Wolfe responded that it was “questionable” whether the tire was tight.
After 20 laps of battling the ill-handling car, Blaney returned to the pits on Lap 191 while running 18th. Following service, he fell to 33rd.
“I rode it out as long as I could,” Blaney said. “I was getting to a point where it was going to come off the hub. So I had to come in.
“Overall, at the end of the day, I thought our car was really good. I kind of fenced it there after we came out of the pits after the loose wheel and I think I kind of hurt it a little bit.”
After Joey Logano’s handling issues and Austin Cindric wrecked on Lap 158, it was up to Blaney to lead the charge for Team Penske. Throughout the first two stages, he was absolutely solid. He finished third in each stage and picked up 14 points for his effort.
Due to pitting early for the loose wheel, Blaney was running low on fuel. He was running seventh and caught a break after Kyle Busch spun on Lap 236 to bring out the ninth of 10 cautions. Blaney restarted eighth after pit stops on Lap 242 and climbed up to fourth in the final 23 laps.
“We had a really fast car,” said Blaney, who moved up to second in the standings. “The Wurth Ford Mustang was really good, especially on the long run. I could really get rolling and I could run the bottom in three and four, which not a lot of guys could do.
“That was a big advantage. At the end, I don’t know if I had enough laps, but also the bottom got worse. It cooled off a bit and there was more grip up top and it wasn’t as beneficial.
“It was a good recovery and we have a few things to work on but I am proud of the fast car. I appreciate the 12 guys for sticking with it all day. That is probably the best we have run here in a long time, especially with this NextGen car. I am proud of that and it gives us hope going on. I appreciate the effort all day.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
