Ryan Blaney qualifies for the Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway. (Photo: Landon Ciardullo | The Podium Finish)
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Ryan Blaney showcased an impressive surge to drive from 16th to place fifth in Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway amidst late chaotic caution periods.
Blaney kicked off Sunday’s race from a mid-pack 16th starting position. Swiftly, the No. 12 Ford Mustang surged into the top 10 despite Toyota’s obvious dominance early on in the race.
Reflecting on the race, Blaney commented to FOX NASCAR‘s Jamie Little, “Yeah, just a really long, hard-fought day, to be honest with you. I thought we got better and better, like, you know, I thought we got better through Stage 1. And through Stage 2, we got better.”
Blaney stayed consistent and managed to score top 10s in Stages 1 and 2, continuing to spend the majority of the race in the top 10. When Stage 3 kicked off, back-to-back cautions turned the race upside down.
Namely, Blaney was running in the third position when his teammate, Joey Logano, got bumped from behind by John Hunter Nemechek on Lap 204, causing a wreck and a caution. Then, on the ensuing restart, Blaney struggled a bit, losing a few positions as he dropped outside of the top five.
On Lap 216, Denny Hamlin spun out as he was racing fellow Toyota teammate Tyler Reddick for the lead, shaking up strategies for several drivers. Nine of the lead lap contenders decided to skip pit road, completely changing the running order.
With 92 laps to go, Blaney, who restarted back in 19th, faced a significant challenge. Despite the less than ideal track position, with the remainder of the Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix remaining caution-free, Blaney piloted his No. 12 Ford Mustang to a fifth place finish while Christopher Bell emerged victorious.
“Those cautions we had a restart way back behind the guys that pitted the stop before, we could make it and [we] just worked [our] tails off to get back to fifth from where we were,” Blaney said. “I’m worn out. This is the most worn out I’ve been [in] a long time but [I] appreciate the 12 boys for sticking with it, fighting all day.”
Next Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series is heading back to Bristol Motor Speedway. The Food City 500 is set for Mar. 17 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
