Ryan Blaney hopes to replicate his recent Martinsville success for a Championship 4 spot at Phoenix. (Photo: Stephen Conley | The Podium Finish)
MARTINSVILLE, Virginia – It has not been the smoothest Playoffs for Ryan Blaney and his No. 12 Discount Tire Ford Mustang team.
It has been well documented how Blaney and his Team Penske crew have battled through some unusually steep uphill battles, particularly after the suspension of crew chief Jonathan Hassler.
Last Sunday, Blaney had one of difficult Playoffs races as he spun on the access road in the final laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Despite finishing 17th, the Hartford Township, Ohio native was a bit down on himself, taking blame for his unforced error.
However, it is about moving on and focusing on Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, a track that has treated Blaney kindly in recent races.
Since joining Team Penske’s No. 12 team in 2018, he has placed fifth or better in six of his nine past starts at the paperclip shaped track.
Likewise, Blaney needs another top five finish at Martinsville, a result that will give him a fair chance at the Championship 4. He did his part by qualifying fifth for the 500-lap race.
Blaney seems to have a rather balanced perspective ahead of Sunday’s Xfinity 500. (Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)
“That’s not bad,” Blaney said. “It’s a lot better starting spot than we were in the spring, so that’s good. I thought our race speed was pretty good, so it’s just a matter of staying in it all race. Like I said, starting decent and we just have to stay right for 500 laps.”
Naturally, Blaney was satisfied with his strong qualifying result given the decent pit stall selection that comes from his starting spot.
Blaney and his No. 12 team claimed pit stall 30 which offers a clean exit but means being careful about speeding entering and exiting out of pit road.
“It’s huge for multiple things,” he shared. “Just starting ahead of all this stuff and possible trouble, and also getting a good pit stall, so you just hope to have a good day on pit road and not make mistakes.
“You want to take advantage of what you’ve got and what you did here on Saturday to the most of your ability on Sunday.”
Starting toward the front of the field does not necessarily guarantee a strong result on race day.
Smooth pit stops, few to no unforced errors by driver and pit crew and preserving the brakes for the first 400 laps will prove critical for maximum stage points and a chance to win the grandfather clock.
“We’ll just see how it all shakes out,” he simply offered.
Admittedly, it will take some Hail Mary type calls from the pits and capitalizing on stage points. Passing will likely be difficult given how seldom it occurred in the maligned spring race earlier this season.
All told, if there is a driver and team up to the task at hand, look no further than Blaney and the No. 12 team with being as smooth as Luke Skywalker in Beggar’s Canyon.
