TALLADEGA – With their mechanical issues from earlier in the season behind them, Ryan Blaney and Wood Bros. Racing proved their worth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway with a stellar fourth place finish.
“It was a good day,” said Blaney. “We had a fast car and a good starting spot. We went back a couple times and came back up through there. It was tough at the end because they were all single file for a long time. It was hard to get a run. I saw the 11 coming and I just didn’t react fast enough, and that really would only have worked if we got by the 88 and the 48. I don’t think we could have got by them. They would have just pulled down and blocked us, so it was a good day. At least we finished one after having a couple blown motors. It’s good to get a good finish with these guys and we’re really excited to go to Charlotte.”
Blaney qualified a career-best fourth Saturday and stayed near the front during the early stages of the second restrictor plate race of the year proving early on that their qualifying effort was no fluke. The Team Penske driver did though find himself paying the price as a rookie and found himself being shuffled during portions of the 188-lap race.
With the laps clicking away at a fast pace, the pressure mounted to get back to the front and Blaney with a few good pushes found himself back where he started and in contention to pull off the team’s first win since Trevor Bayne hoisted the Daytona 500 trophy in 2011.
With virtually the entire field in single-file formation approaching the white flag, defending race champion Denny Hamlin ducked out of his fourth place spot and attempted to steal the show from Dale Earnhardt Jr., but instead Hamlin found himself going backwards and Blaney remaining in contention.
And while the opportunity didn’t knock for Blaney to make a challenge, a boost from fellow Ford teammate Sam Hornish Jr. kept his momentum alive and his fourth place finish is a much-needed boost towards a limited schedule that will increase during the summer months.
“I knew the 11 (Denny Hamlin) was going to and I kept looking at him to see if he was laying back and starting to get a run because the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) wasn’t really laying back at all to try and get a run on the 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.), so I just kept watching the 11,” Blaney added “I didn’t think he laid back enough to get a big run. The 4 (Kevin Harvick) must have pushed him like crazy to get by me, but it was a good day. I was trying to do what the 11 did, but it just didn’t really work out.”
Ryan Blaney didn’t win Sunday’s race, but he earned respect. And that respect will pay dividends moving forward. Guaranteed.
That yellow rookie stripe on the back of the No. 21 Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford will prove to mean little significance come Daytona in July and Talladega in October.
Blaney and the historic No. 21 team will return to competition on May 24 for the running of the season’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600.
Blaney has four starts at Charlotte, split equally between the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series with a best finish of fourth last October for Team Penske.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
