Things were looking good for NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney during Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. And all of a sudden, they weren’t.
Blaney, who was second in Round of 8 Playoff points before the green flag, was running 12th on lap 72. As his No. 12 Team Penske Ford headed into Turn 3, the left front tire went down sending his Ford hard into the outside wall causing damage to the right front and knocked out his ability to steer.
Once the crew reviewed the damage, it was determined their day was done relegating them to a last place finish of 38th. As a result, Blaney fell from second in Playoff points to the last place of eighth in the Round of 8 with only two races left to determine the Championship Four.
No Clue it Was Going to Happen
As he headed towards pit road, he radioed to his crew that it felt like everything was broken and he couldn’t steer the car. Afterwards, Blaney was asked if there was any sense of the impending tire failure beforehand.
“No, I didn’t have any thoughts that it was going to blow,” he said. “As soon as I lifted into three it blew out. It destroyed the right-front, the right-rear. It destroyed everything.
“It’s unfortunate we’ve got to be in these spots, but we’ve got to bounce back.”
Blaney has Bounced Back Before
Last year at LVMS, Blaney had a tire go down during practice which, in turn, sent his No. 12 Ford into the outside wall. Damage was so significant the team couldn’t get the back-up car ready in time to qualify.
As a result, they had to start 37th and finished 32nd. While it looked like his bid to repeat his 2023 Championship was over, he and the team made it to the championship round by winning the final race in the Round of 8 at Martinsville Speedway
“We’ll have to come from behind like we did last year,” Blaney said. “Hopefully, we can win one of the next two weeks. We just can’t have a smooth day it seems like.”
Facts are facts, but a good dose of optimism can help bolster team morale. Coming up next is Talladega Superspeedway, where Blaney has three career trips to Victory Lane. Can he and the team do it again?
“I hope so,” he said. “You’ve got to be optimistic. I’m not very happy right now, but tomorrow morning I’ll be optimistic to go to the next race.
“We’ve had good success at the next two events, so hopefully we can come and bring the speed and try to overcome the hole we put ourselves in today.”
Martinsville Success
The short track of Martinsville is where Blaney has two wins. Last year, with the championship chances on the line, Blaney started 14th and led three times for 32 of 500 laps. Coming into that race, he was sixth in Playoff standings and 26 points out of the chance to make it into the final championship race at Phoenix Raceway.
When asked if he and the No. 12 team are now in a must win situation after LVMS, he answered very bluntly.
“Yeah, no doubt.”
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