Despite Late Loose Wheel, Blaney Finishes Fourth At Kansas

Ryan Blaney in action Sunday at Kansas Speedway. (Nigel Kinrade/NKP photo)

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – When things don’t go as planned, eventual success requires finding another way to make things work, and that’s what Ryan Blaney did Sunday evening at Kansas Speedway.

In a hard-fought Round of 12 opener, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion persevered and added some additional cushion to his points buffer in the playoff standings.

Things weren’t pretty for Blaney for a while, as he was running 18th 25 laps into the final stage.

After struggling with his car’s balance and losing the edge that put his No. 12 Wurth Ford Mustang Dark Horse in top five contention early, he sustained a vibration that he reported to crew chief Jonathan Hassler felt like a loose wheel.

The 30-year-old had to come down pit road with 76 laps left, and instead of simply tightening the wheel, his team did a full four tire pit stop to ensure there wouldn’t be a future problem.

It set them behind the eight ball, as the stop was outside the fuel window to make it to the checkered flag, jeopardizing a potential solid second-round opener.

However, the cards later fell into Blaney’s fortune. A spin from race leader Kyle Busch, while Busch was trying to make a move on the outside of 26th-placed and Round of 12 contender Chase Briscoe to put Briscoe a lap down, brought out a timely caution for Blaney.

The ninth of 10 cautions on the afternoon allowed Blaney to conserve enough gas to reach the finish without stopping again, and he went on to finish a strong fourth behind winner Ross Chastain, William Byron, and Martin Truex Jr.

“We caught a break with Kyle Busch spinning because we were short on gas. We had a really fast car. The Wurth Ford Mustang was really good, especially on the long run,” said Blaney after the race.

“I could really get rolling and I could run the bottom lane in turns three and four, which not a lot of guys could do. That was a big advantage. At the end, I don’t know if I had enough laps on my tires, but the bottom got worse,” he added. “It cooled off a bit and there was more grip in the top lane. It was a good recovery though, and we have a few things to work on, but I am proud of the fast car [the team brought].”

The thing that Blaney and his team look to improve on is executing pit stops, which threw a wrench in their plans on Sunday. What the team knows is that good fortune isn’t always a given, especially in the weeks leading up to the Phoenix Raceway finale.

What made up for the misstep Sunday was Busch’s spin, but also starting the weekend with the speed that Blaney highlighted. The High Point, N.C., native collected 16 stage points, which kept him above the cut line while he was running in the mid-teens in the early portion of stage three.

With the point standings so tight among the playoff contenders, maximizing early opportunities was something that kept Blaney above rivals Tyler Reddick in ninth, the first car out, as well as his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano, who left Kansas with the final spot in the provisional top eight.

“We definitely have some things we have to work on, for sure,” Blaney noted. “Having a loose wheel and having to come in under green was an issue, obviously. Overall, at the end of the day, our car was really good. I kind of fenced it there after we came out of the pits after the loose wheel, and I think I kind of hurt it a little bit.

“Our long-run car was great though. I think we were better when the temperature was up a little bit and I could kind of run the bottom of turns three and four really well, because guys were slipping.”

Now, Blaney and his No. 12 team look toward the high banks of Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, which holds a significant verdict on who could advance to the next playoff round.

Blaney, however, is no stranger to success at the 2.66-mile Alabama oval. He has three wins, six top fives, eight top 10s, and is the defending winner of the Talladega playoff race. To make things even sweeter, he’s second overall in the playoff standings, behind only leader Byron, and 28 points ahead of the bubble.

At Kansas, Blaney captured his best finish in America’s Heartland since a third-place finish in 2017, when he was still with Wood Brothers Racing.

“I appreciate the No. 12 guys for sticking with it all day. That is probably the best we have run at Kansas in a long time, especially with this Next Gen car,” he said. “I am proud of that, and it gives us hope going on. I appreciate the effort all day.”

Broadcast coverage of the YellaWood 500 at Talladega begins Sunday, Oct. 6 at 2 p.m. ET, live on NBC, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Beginning with Talladega, the final six races of the Cup Series season will all be televised on the NBC broadcast network, providing a maximum potential audience in the run toward the Bill France Cup.