Ryan Blaney’s top five finish Sunday at Martinsville was far from a walk in the park.
Blaney started the day ninth, but his Ford seemed to struggle and at one point Blaney had to fight to keep from going a lap down.
The news got worse for the Penske driver.
During the pit stops at the end of Stage 1 Blaney came out but had a loose wheel and immediately returned to get it tightened up. Blaney was forced to the back of the field and had to try and battle his way through traffic.
But during stops at the end of Stage 2 however, Blaney’s crew chief Jonathan Hassler called for a two tire stop that saw him rejoin the field in eighth.
“It was an uphill battle for sure,” Blaney said. “We had the issue on pit road and had to restart in the back and nobody could pass anybody. Jonathan made a good call to put two on it at the start of the third stage and we kind of established ourselves a little bit back in the top 10.”
A perfect green flag stop later helped him keep position. Combined with the adjustments the crew had been making all race long, Blaney found himself in contention for the win running third coming to the green for an overtime restart.
“We were able to work on our car again once we got a little clean air and seeing what the car was doing and how to get it better,” Blaney said. “After the green flag stop, I was really fast. I passed a handful of guys. I was kind of shocked. I held on pretty good but stalled out when I got to the 11 (Denny Hamlin).”
Fortunately for Blaney the final caution saw Hamlin as the only car among the leaders pitting. That cleared the block for Blaney. When the dust cleared, Blaney emerged with a hard fought fifth place finish.
“Overall, I am proud of the fight back from our group,” Blaney, who won at Martinsville last fall to secure his spot in the Championship 4, said. “Obviously not the first half of the race we wanted, and we didn’t get any stage points, but I am proud of the fight and perseverance of the Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang 12 team. We will go on to Texas.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.