DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Driving for Wood Brothers Racing in 2017, Ryan Blaney finished second to Kurt Busch in the DAYTONA 500.
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion was runner-up again in 2020 behind Denny Hamlin in a DAYTONA 500 that went to overtime and ended under caution.
In the eight years from 2017 through 2024, Blaney has posted five top-10 finishes in the Great American Race. In 2022, when Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric won NASCAR’s most prestigious race, Blaney was in the mix for the win on the final lap and finished fourth.
Blaney hopes his experience with close calls will help him in Sunday’s 67th running of the race (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I definitely don’t feel snakebit,” Blaney said. “I’ve been lucky enough to be close a few times—finished second twice. I’ve probably had a really good shot to win it three or four times, and it just hasn’t panned out for us…
“If you make a mistake and lose the race, then you really have to think about, ‘Hey, I’ve got to do better in this position’ and just learn from it.’ It’s nice to have been close, and you just hope to use those close experiences to help you, if you’re in that spot again.”
Blaney ran just six laps in Wednesday’s opening practice, eschewed the draft and was 38th fastest among 43 drivers who participated.
“It was nice to get on track and make sure everything’s doing well,” Blaney said. “It was good that they had a practice before qualifying, because last year you saw some cars have issue in qualifying on their first laps on the track.
“We made one change and saw if it helped our qualifying speed, and then you kind of go from there.”
Source: Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service
