Ryan Blaney wrapped up his racing weekend in a less than ideal way at the Tricky Triangle on Sunday night, recording his second DNF of the season and taking a P33 finish. Before heading to Pocono, he'd recorded P5 and P18 in Atlanta and New Hampshire, respectively. He was expecting to add a victory to his 2022 record this weekend, but things didn’t pan out as expected and things went from bad to worse as the race progressed.
The Team Penske driver began the day on P6 and went ahead to become one of the fastest NASCAR drivers to sit in the top five for the better part of Stage 1 and 2, taking fifth place in the first stage and third place in the second stage. However, things started going sideways in Stage 3.
With 53 laps to go, Blaney’s #12 Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang popped a tire but didn’t attract a caution as he managed to get to the pit road and none of his tires came off.
Things got worse with 23 laps remaining to go. Blaney spun off on Turn 3 after he tried to clear the turn. After spinning, he slammed into the inside wall and was done for the day as his car incurred serious damage but he escaped unhurt.
Following the crash, Ryan Blaney admitted it was his fault that he tore the #12 Menards Ford Mustang. Speaking to the media, he said:
“I just got loose. It was one of those things. You get loose off three and think you can save it but you can’t. I just couldn’t save it. Gosh, I hate it for everyone on the 12 group. We finally got the car decent and we were running top five there and had a flat tire and had to come in and then I just tried too hard and it stepped away from me. I hate it for Menards and Ford and everybody. That was my mistake. We will go at it again next week”
He went on to say:
“It is just one of those things. It just stepped away from me. That corner is pretty tricky. I probably should have spun out about five other times today off the corner. It finally got me. I hate we tore the car up. Long day, that is for sure.”
Ryan Blaney performance in the SRX series at Sharon Speedway
On Saturday, July 24, 2022, Blaney joined hands with his friend Chase Elliott after Cup Series qualifying race and headed to his hometown of Ohio for the SRX series at Sharon Speedway. The SRX series was a battle of father vs son as Blaney was competing against his father Dave Blaney.
The race was tight, with Dave Blaney beating his son in heat 1, taking a 10th finish, while Blaney took the 12th position. In the second heat, Blaney Sr. took a fifth finish while Ryan Blaney and Matt Kenseth took the DNS.
Ryan Blaney had expected his father to wax him but the legendary driver encountered late damage and Blaney got a chance to prevail against his father. His friend Chase Elliot managed to outduel Tony Stewart and carry home the victory.