RICHMOND, Va. – Ryan Blaney’s slim hopes of making the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup as a rookie with the Wood Brothers went up in smoke and sparks on lap 11 of Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
Blaney started 20th and was running in that position when he lost the left rear tire on his No. 21 SKF Ford, which sent him hard into the outside wall in turn two and caused heavy damage that sent him to the garage area.
According to Blaney, the flat tire came after early contact with Ford stablemate and Roush Fenway Racing driver Trevor Bayne.
“I don’t really know what happened. I was in a spot where I thought I was clear, and I was told I was clear, and I guess the 6 (of Trevor Bayne) thought I wasn’t clear. It was just two drivers going for the same spot. It’s a shame it happened so early … because I thought there’d be a little bit more give between both of us. Maybe it was a little stubborn-headed on both of our parts.”
The second-generation driver entered the night 17th in points and 19th in the Chase Grid standings, 69 points behind the cutoff line and needing a win to advance into the playoffs, but his early crashed ended any hopes of a playoff miracle.
“It’s unfortunate. We didn’t really even get into a run to be able to see where our car was going to go. That’s the toughest part about this: that we didn’t even get a shot at it. You really regret that, but all we can do is go onto Chicagoland and try to win a race there.”
Blaney’s rookie season-to-date has been a solid one for the Wood Brothers in their first full-time season back on the Cup circuit since 2006 with Ken Schrader, having scored two top five and seven top 10 finishes through the 25 races run so far this year.
His best finish of fourth came two weeks ago at Michigan, in a race where he contended for the victory with eventual winner Kyle Larson and runner-up Chase Elliott before fading on the final restart.
Blaney’s crew worked on the car in the garage area and eventually returned the 22-year-old to the race track in 40th, 112 laps down.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
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