AVONDALE, Az – Continuing his impressive ways, Ryan Blaney earned his second straight top-10 finish in Sunday’s Good Sam 500 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway giving his Wood Bros. Racing team more momentum as NASCAR continues their West Coast Swing.
Blaney, the Team Penske protégé didn’t contend for the win in his first Phoenix Cup start, but the 22-year-old was solid from top to bottom and utilized a late race caution to bolt two positions from 12th to earn his fourth career top-10 finish.
“It was a good day and a good job by everybody on this Motorcraft Quick Lane team and a top-10 car is all I could ask for,” Blaney said after the race. “We fought really hard all day. We got a lot better throughout the day. We didn’t start out that great and we just got better as we went along.”
With his second straight top-10 run, Blaney, the No. 21 Motorcraft / Quik Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford Fusion driver propelled from 14th to 12th in the championship standings, a solid
increase from 19th overall exiting the season-opening Daytona 500.
Methodical and consistent have been the name of the game for eight-time NASCAR winner. The Wood Bros. Racing is revving back to a pace where top-10 finishes are beginning to become the norm. Eventually, with time and luck, Blaney and his crew will move inside the top-five, much like they did at Talladega last season – before carving that road to Victory Lane.
After four races, Blaney, unofficially maintains the top spot in the Rookie of the Year standings.
Next weekend, Blaney heads to Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway, a track he’s never competed in any of NASCAR’s top three divisions.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
