Ryan Blaney ready to race his way into the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo: Erik Smith | The Podium Finish)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Ryan Blaney brought home a runner up finish from Homestead-Miami Speedway and is now above the cutline to make it to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4.
Blaney and the No. 12 team entered Homestead 17 points below the cutline to advance out of the Round of 8. He had a much needed solid start to the race weekend when he qualified 10th on Saturday morning to start the 4EVER 400 Presented by Mobil 1.
The 29-year-old was able to gain even more track position during the first stage of the race, securing a third place stage finish and ending the stage just eight points outside of the Championship 4. With three laps to go in Stage 2, Blaney was able to pass Kyle Larson in the No. 5 car and claim a crucial stage win and Playoff point.
Blaney was able to maintain his track position through a solid pit stop and led the next 57 laps of the race until Denny Hamlin passed him on Lap 222. On Lap 236, Denny Hamlin hit the wall in Turn 1 while running third, prompting a pivotal caution flag. On the following lap, Martin Truex Jr. ran into engine issues, eventually having to go to the garage.
As Blaney was still battling for track position with William Byron (No. 24) and Christopher Bell (No. 20), these situations proved beneficial for the Team Penske driver because Hamlin (No. 11) was previously ahead of him in points and Truex (No. 19) was ahead of him in the Playoff points standings at the start of the race and before the Stage 1 win.
With the No. 11 behind him and the No. 19 out of the race, Blaney was able to end the race in third place sitting 10 points above the cut line.
Ryan Blaney driving for every point at Homestead (Photo: Erik Smith | The Podium Finish)
After the race, Blaney spoke about what he felt kept him from securing the win, and what he felt went right throughout the race.
“We were trying. We just needed laps,” Blaney said. “The long run car was really good. I just couldn’t fire off for 1o laps or so. I think the track cooling off helped those guys. I think we were better in the hotter, slicker conditions when fire off speed didn’t matter as much and it fell off quicker. That played into our benefit.
“It got a little cooler at the end and we never really found the front end speed and they did. We ran out of laps a little bit. I am proud of the effort. It was a really good day, we just got beat a little bit there at the end.”
The Team Penske driver also spoke about his expectations for the race at Martinsville next week.
“I hope we can perform,” Blaney added. “We’ve had two good weeks in a row at Vegas and here. We have had solid weekends, so hopefully we can do it again next week. It is nice to come in here a decent chunk down and then go to Martinsville in the positive. We just have to perform. We have to run well.”
