Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Tame Talladega

Ryan Blaney put his yellow No. 12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford Mustang in Talladega’s Victory Lane after winning the YellaWood 500. (Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)

LINCOLN, Ala. — Given the Talladega Nights theme for Sunday’s YellaWood 500, Ryan Blaney may be the “Magic Man.”

As Cal Naughton Jr. said following the end of his partnership with Ricky Bobby, “Now you see me! Now you don’t!”

After a rough outing at Texas Motor Speedway, site of the Round of 12 opener, Blaney and his No. 12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford Mustang team prepared for Talladega Superspeedway with wide open eyes. By far, it has been a house of happiness for the Hartford Township, Ohio native.

Much to nobody’s surprise, Blaney’s victories have a razor thin margin of victory. Given the closeness inherent with superspeedway racing, Blaney’s triumphs at Talladega in 2019 and 2020 were 0.007 seconds.

On Sunday afternoon, Blaney kept himself in the picture as he hoped to replicate those Yellowhammer State victories when he most needed it. Below the cutline by 11 points, a good performance was a must for the Team Penske racer.

Like a skillful student ready for the big exam, he responded emphatically with a Stage 1 win, netting 10 stage points and a valuable Playoff point. Although he was relegated to a 12th place finish in Stage 2, it was evident that the NASCAR Cup Series veteran came ready to play.

Once Stage 3 was underway, Blaney applied the spurs to his distinct yellow and white ride to mix it up for the win. While the Hendrick quartet of Chase Elliott, William Byron, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman appeared set to have a lock with the top four, the Fords of Kevin Harvick and Blaney decided to rain on their parade.

In the closing laps of a frantic race that saw 70 lead changes among 24 different drivers, Harvick muscled the lead away from Elliott on Lap 184. It appeared as if the 2014 Cup champion would tally a sentimental win with his stock car career winding down.

A Ford friend in Riley Herbst pushed Ryan Blaney to the win at Talladega. (Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)

Coming to the final two laps, Blaney pulled off the race winning move with a hardy draft by Riley Herbst, a NASCAR XFINITY Series regular racing in the No. 36 Ford Mustang entry fielded by Front Row Motorsports.

Leading the field on the final lap, Harvick initially got a surge from a good push on the inside lane. Herbst gave a hardy push to Blaney’s bumper, giving him the momentum needed to scoot across the field to hug the inside line in Turn 3.

This time, Blaney staved off Harvick and the pack to nab a timely Talladega victory while the lot of the trailing lead lap contenders crashed just before the start/finish line stripe. Once the chaos cleared from the tri-oval, Blaney celebrated with a rare burnout, foregoing his traditional celebratory routine.

Clinching a much needed victory in crunch time likely brought out the emotions and relief from the usually reserved racer.

“Pretty wild. Pretty wild last restart, but let alone last couple of laps,” Blaney said. “You know, kind of losing momentum, getting it back. Just getting clear to the bottom to kind of get to the front row and drag race it out with Kevin.

“So really proud of the whole 12 group, man. Pennzoil, Menards, BODYARMOR, DEX Imaging, Advance Auto Parts, Worth, Dent Wizard, everybody who makes this possible. Winning three times here at Talladega, that’s super cool.”

Unlike the Texas race weekend, when it felt like Blaney was raiding windmills, he was able to succeed by being at the right place at the right time. Likewise, he had a good drafting partner who boosted his championship prospects.

“I have to give a big thanks to Riley Herbst,” he said. “He did a really good job there the last couple of restarts. He hasn’t had a lot of Cup starts, but he did a great job of pushing me, so thanks to him. This is so cool.”

Initially placing third, due to Kevin Harvick’s disqualification due to for violating NASCAR Rule Book number 14.5.6.2.F which stipulates that “Windshield fasters must remain secure for the entire Event,” Byron officially scored a runner-up. There was no slowing down the No. 24 car even if a Round of 8 seed was clinched.

William Byron (No. 24) was in the mix during the waning moments at Talladega. (Photo: Teresa Bennink | The Podium Finish)

“Our Axalta Chevrolet was really good all day,” Byron said. “Just needed a little bit more to get those runs generated to keep the bottom going like it was. Good effort and proud of the team and we will go onto the Charlotte ROVAL.”

After spending a majority of the race running a lap behind due to a pit road speeding penalty that left him without a drafting partner, Hamlin placed third. In spite of the terrific rebound, the Chesterfield, Virginia native noted the difficulties with passing on the track.

“It’s so hard to pass,” Hamlin said. “I know you’ve all heard that. It’s a train of two lines. You can’t run three-wide with this car. You got to just sit behind whoever is right there in front of you and hope you can push that line a little bit forward. Hopefully they switch the lanes, then you can leap forward.”

For the record, Blaney was able to make the winning pass and then some. On this occasion, Blaney bested Byron by 0.012 seconds, nearly twice the margin of his 2019 and 2020 wins.

Much like Byron, Blaney does not have to worry about the ROVAL. Thanks to Herbst and a good eye in the sky in Josh Williams, the 29-year-old racer, with his distinct postseason beard, is ready to compete in the semifinals of stock car’s championship chase.

Arms raised in victory once more for Ryan Blaney at Talladega. (Photo: RIley Thompson | The Podium Finish)

“I won it by more than I have the last couple years, so that one might have been about four feet,” Blaney said. “The others were about two.

“Yeah, you just don’t know. You just kind of drag race the line and hope you get help. William gave me a pretty good shove on the bottom. He kind of was kind of forced to, but yeah, I wasn’t sure until Josh said something, so Josh did a fantastic job on the roof like always. This is such a special place to win at, so I cannot wait to go to Victory Lane.”

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Ryan Blaney
2. William Byron
3. Kyle Larson
4. Chase Elliott
5. Alex Bowman
6. Austin Cindric
7. Justin Haley
8. Joey Logano
9. Ryan Preece
10. Corey LaJoie

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Brad Keselowski
2. William Byron
3. Joey Logano
4. Austin Dillon
5. Chase Elliott
6. Daniel Suárez
7. Kyle Larson
8. Chase Briscoe
9. Ty Dillon
10. Tyler Reddick

YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway Race Results

NASCAR Cup Series Round of 12 Playoffs Standings