By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Each week, Kickin’ The Tires will highlight the 20th-place finisher from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Standing as the middleman in weekends with 40-car fields, there is sure to be a story behind each one.
Ryan Blaney entered the Martinsville weekend with a strong run in his back pocket at the Virginia half-mile. The spring event saw Blaney lead 145 laps before finishing third.
This time, Blaney qualified his No. 12 Team Penske Ford in the fourth spot and was confident in his ride for 500 laps of racing.
“I thought we had a pretty good Menards/MOEN Ford after practice and qualifying,” Blaney said.
However, Blaney struggled for handling in the early runs on Sunday, falling outside the top five to finish Stage 1 in the eighth spot. The second stage kicked off with an uncontrolled tire penalty, which put Blaney out of track position on lap 133.
“We fought a very loose car at the start of the race, but when the track took rubber our car began handling better,” he said. “We tried fighting back after the uncontrolled tire penalty, but just couldn’t get ourselves in the right position.”
Missing out on a free pass position, Blaney stayed off the lead lap until taking a wave around on the race’s final caution flag. A 20th-place finish was all he could manage in the wild finish of the day.
Following strong short track speed in 2018, Sunday was an overall disappointment for the 24-year-old.
“It’s disappointing as Martinsville is a home track for me being from High Point [North Carolina],” he said. “Congratulations to Joey Logano and the No. 22 team on making it to Homestead and racing for a championship.”
Blaney was eliminated from the playoffs last week at Kansas along with teammate Brad Keselowski. Blaney now enters this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway following a top-five finish there in the spring.
List of 20th-Place Finishers So Far in 2018
Daytona: Gray Gaulding
Atlanta: Alex Bowman
Las Vegas: Trevor Bayne
ISM: Trevor Bayne (2)
Auto Club: Darrell Wallace Jr.
Martinsville: William Byron
Texas: Gray Gaulding(2)
Bristol: Landon Cassill
Richmond: Ty Dillon
Talladega: DJ Kennington
Dover: Chris Buescher
Kansas: Michael McDowell
Charlotte: Kasey Kahne
Pocono: Clint Bowyer
Michigan: Jimmie Johnson
Sonoma: Kasey Kahne(2)
Chicagoland: William Byron(2)
Daytona: Trevor Bayne(3)
Kentucky: William Byron(3)
New Hampshire: Chris Buescher(2)
Pocono: Jamie McMurray
Watkins Glen: Chris Buescher (3)
Michigan: Chris Buescher (4)
Bristol: Kyle Busch
Darlington: Michael McDowell (2)
Indianapolis: Regan Smith
Las Vegas: Ross Chastain
Richmond: William Byron (4)
Charlotte ROVAL: Cole Whitt
Dover: Matt Kenseth
Talladega: William Byron (5)
Kansas: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Martinsville: Ryan Blaney
Mid-Pack With Zach: Ryan Blaney, Team Penske
By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Each week, Kickin’ The Tires will highlight the 20th-place finisher from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Standing as the middleman in weekends with 40-car fields, there is sure to be a story behind each one.
Ryan Blaney entered the Martinsville weekend with a strong run in his back pocket at the Virginia half-mile. The spring event saw Blaney lead 145 laps before finishing third.
This time, Blaney qualified his No. 12 Team Penske Ford in the fourth spot and was confident in his ride for 500 laps of racing.
“I thought we had a pretty good Menards/MOEN Ford after practice and qualifying,” Blaney said.
However, Blaney struggled for handling in the early runs on Sunday, falling outside the top five to finish Stage 1 in the eighth spot. The second stage kicked off with an uncontrolled tire penalty, which put Blaney out of track position on lap 133.
“We fought a very loose car at the start of the race, but when the track took rubber our car began handling better,” he said. “We tried fighting back after the uncontrolled tire penalty, but just couldn’t get ourselves in the right position.”
Missing out on a free pass position, Blaney stayed off the lead lap until taking a wave around on the race’s final caution flag. A 20th-place finish was all he could manage in the wild finish of the day.
Following strong short track speed in 2018, Sunday was an overall disappointment for the 24-year-old.
“It’s disappointing as Martinsville is a home track for me being from High Point [North Carolina],” he said. “Congratulations to Joey Logano and the No. 22 team on making it to Homestead and racing for a championship.”
Blaney was eliminated from the playoffs last week at Kansas along with teammate Brad Keselowski. Blaney now enters this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway following a top-five finish there in the spring.
List of 20th-Place Finishers So Far in 2018
Daytona: Gray Gaulding
Atlanta: Alex Bowman
Las Vegas: Trevor Bayne
ISM: Trevor Bayne (2)
Auto Club: Darrell Wallace Jr.
Martinsville: William Byron
Texas: Gray Gaulding(2)
Bristol: Landon Cassill
Richmond: Ty Dillon
Talladega: DJ Kennington
Dover: Chris Buescher
Kansas: Michael McDowell
Charlotte: Kasey Kahne
Pocono: Clint Bowyer
Michigan: Jimmie Johnson
Sonoma: Kasey Kahne(2)
Chicagoland: William Byron(2)
Daytona: Trevor Bayne(3)
Kentucky: William Byron(3)
New Hampshire: Chris Buescher(2)
Pocono: Jamie McMurray
Watkins Glen: Chris Buescher (3)
Michigan: Chris Buescher (4)
Bristol: Kyle Busch
Darlington: Michael McDowell (2)
Indianapolis: Regan Smith
Las Vegas: Ross Chastain
Richmond: William Byron (4)
Charlotte ROVAL: Cole Whitt
Dover: Matt Kenseth
Talladega: William Byron (5)
Kansas: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Martinsville: Ryan Blaney