It’s been a battle for Ryan Blaney throughout the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, having to play catch up as the rounds have progressed.
A victory at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway three weeks ago saved the Team Penske driver as he advanced to the Round of 8. Once the points reset for the next round, Blaney dropped to the bottom of the playoff leaderboard in eighth, 10 points below the cutline.
Entering Sunday’s 4Ever 400 presented by Mobil 1, Blaney was in need of another positive run as he sat 17 points in the red despite finishing sixth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Though his bid for a Championship 4 appearance grew brighter with the checkered flag Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Leading 53 laps, winning Stage Two and finishing second vaulted the driver of the No. 12 Ford to the fourth and final transfer spot, 10 points to the good.
While a victory would’ve been the best case scenario, Blaney fell short to winner Christopher Bell in the closing laps.
“We were trying. We just needed laps,” Blaney said. “The long run car was really good. I just couldn’t fire off for 10 laps or so. I think the track cooling off helped those guys. I think we were better in the hotter, slicker conditions when fire off speed didn’t matter as much and it fell off quicker. That played into our benefit.
“It got a little cooler at the end and we never really front the front end speed and they did. We ran out of laps a little bit. I am proud of the effort. It was a really good day, we just got beat a little bit there at the end.”
Amid his strong run was a mere playoff-altering scenario with 55 laps to go. As Blaney came to pit road for a green flag pit stop, fellow playoff competitor Kyle Larson overshot the pit entrance as he tapped the rear of Blaney’s race car and slammed into the water barrels.
Blaney escaped severe damage.
WOW!
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 22, 2023
Kyle Larson slams into the barriers at the entrance of pit road!#NASCARPlayoffs | NBC pic.twitter.com/3rOBoJzW7t
“I didn’t see anything. You guys watch it. All I know is I got hit in the bumper,” Blaney said. “I don’t think it hurt it at all. I didn’t even know what happened until I saw him in my mirror. I don’t look at that stuff.”
Staying focused at the task at hand, Blaney is surging with an upward trajectory at the right time. Now, only a 500-mile race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway stands in Blaney’s way to a berth in his first Championship 4 appearance.
“I hope we can perform. We’ve had two good weeks in a row at Vegas and here,” Blaney said. “We have had solid weekends, so hopefully we can do it again next week.
“It is nice to come in here a decent chunk down and then go to Martinsville in the positive. We just have to perform. We have to run well.”