Improbable Nashville recovery continues hot streak for Ryan Blaney
LEBANON, Tenn.- Heading into Sunday’s Ally 400, Ryan Blaney came to Nashville Superspeedway in arguably the best form of anyone in the NASCAR Cup Series garage.
Blaney locked himself into the playoffs with a win at Iowa, then was a fierce contender at New Hampshire before Michael McDowell’s aggressive move took him out of a possible top-5 finish.
On Sunday, he left Nashville with a sixth-place finish. Given how the day played out for the No. 12 team, the accomplishment was nearly unfathomable.
Starting back in 18th, Blaney was nowhere to be found for much of the front half of Sunday’s race. Track position was hard to come by.
Eventually in stage two, Blaney found himself in the top-10 and placed eighth when the stage ended on lap 185. On lap 222, after Chase Elliott spun, Blaney stayed out under caution to grab the lead.
Blaney’s team was banking on enough cautions to make it to the end on fuel. The cautions did not fall the way of the No. 12 team. He made a late-race pit stop, theoretically ending his chance at a solid finish.
Little did they know the impending mayhem.
Austin Cindric spun out with two laps to go in regulation. That sent the race to overtime with Denny Hamlin in the lead and Blaney back on the lead lap with the free pass.
Many cars ahead of Blaney were already running razor thin margins on fuel. That only worsened when there were a Cup Series-record five overtime restarts. Blaney got the necessary dash of luck to turn in what seemed like an improbable sixth-place finish.
The result is Blaney’s third top-10 finish in four races, including his win at Iowa Speedway. Before this stretch began, he finished 24th at Gateway after running out of gas while leading with two laps to go. If Blaney had just a couple more breaks, there’s a chance he could’ve left Nashville with three wins in June.
Blaney now sits eighth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with one victory and 10 top-10s in 2024. After a slow start to the season, Team Penske has now found their groove. They have won three of the last five Cup Series races.
The NASCAR Cup Series will look to follow up yet another wild race at the Chicago Street Race. The Grant Park 165 is set to go green Sunday just after 4:30 p.m. ET.
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