RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/GREAT LAKES FORD MUSTANG
FINAL PRACTICE: 26TH START: 23RD FINISH: 3RD
RACE RUNDOWN: Despite starting at the tail end of the field of Saturday night’s Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Ryan Blaney methodically made his way through the field to come away with a third-place finish in the No. 12 Menards/Great Lakes Flooring Ford Mustang. Blaney battled issues with low grip on the initial run of the night but worked his way up to 15th in the running order by the halfway break at lap 75. After getting four fresh tires and an air pressure adjustment, Blaney raced his way into the top-10 on lap 85 and continued his way forward to fifth when the caution flag flew with 10 laps to go. As the leaders put the bumpers to each other on the following restart, Blaney evaded the carnage to get up to third before the final caution came out to set up a green-white-checkered finish. Blaney chose the outside of row one for the ensuing restart and fought for the lead in the final two laps, but ultimately settled for a third-place finish.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “We did a good job all night just kind of staying clean, and our car was fast to drive up through the field. A couple restarts went our way as to where our lanes went, and just had a shot. I got a terrible restart on the last one. Probably wouldn’t have won anyway, but came from a long way back, so it was fun. I think every time I’ve been here, I’ve been spun backwards about two or three times, so it’s nice to have that one at the last one, so it’s good.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
