Team Penske shakes up Ryan Blaney’s crew for Talladega with move from Zane Smith’s team

Modified Apr 17, 2025 14:16 GMT

NASCAR: DAYTONA 500 - Source: Imagn — Ryan Blaney (12) makes a pit stop during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, February 16th 2025 - Source: Imagn

Earlier today, it was revealed that Ryan Blaney's pit crew would be undergoing some personnel changes. His front changer, Skip Flores, will be replaced by Keiston France, who is coming in from the crew of Front Row Motorsports' Zane Smith

Reportedly, the reason behind this change has to do with the lacklustre performance of Blaney's pit crew this season, resulting in the Penske organization making changes. Currently, it is unclear whether Flores will be moving to the #38 crew of Smith.

The news about the Team Penske switch-arounds came from Fox Sports Journalist Bob Pockrass, who took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to share the information.

"Ryan Blaney crew has struggled so Penske makes change for Talladega: Keiston France in at front changer, replaces Skip Flores (who also co-hosts Stacking Pennies podcast). France was on Penske crew for Zane Smith. The 38 roster not filed yet so TBA if Flores there."

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Most recently, Ryan Blaney's race result was affected by his pit crew's performance at the Goodyear 400, taking place at the Darlington Raceway. The #12 driver did suffer other issues, but a slow pit stop contributed to his challenging race, causing him to cross the finish line to take fifth place.

"Never really got to control the race. I feel like nothing ever really went our way. Pit road, we got to work on a little bit. Caution coming out during the cycle set us way back. I felt like we just kept making up spots," Blaney said after the event. [via Motorsport.com]

However, the following weekend at the Bristol Motor Speedway, the crew performed better, giving them an eighth-place rating in pit-crew performance, which was much higher than their season average of 25th place.

“Honestly, a really good weekend by the 12 boys,” Blaney said after the Food City 500. “I thought we got better and better from practice, which was good. I didn’t think we were very good yesterday in race trim, so they did a great job of getting us to where we need to be and getting better all day. Like you said, blue-collar day.” [via NASCAR]

The movement between Team Penske and the Front Row Motorsports team is possible due to the two racing organizations having a technical alliance.

"Solid weekend for the 12-Crew": Ryan Blaney thanks the team on track and at the shop for their efforts

Ryan Blaney took to his social media account earlier this week, after the Food City 500 race at the Bristol Motor Speedway, to share his appreciation to his pit crew as well as the members of the organization who are at the shop at Team Penske's base in Mooresville, North Carolina.

"Solid weekend for the 12-Crew. Thank you to all of our partners and everyone back at the shop," the driver wrote on Instagram.

The next NASCAR Cup Series event for Blaney at the updated #12 crew will be the 'Jack's Link 500', taking place on April 27 at the Talladega Superspeedway.

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Siddharth Koyal is an F1 and NASCAR journalist at Sportskeeda with a background in Cinema & Media Studies. His academic journey, centered on crafting analytical essays and in-depth critiques, honed his writing skills and solidified his love for storytelling. Combining his expertise in writing with a lifelong passion for Formula 1, Siddharth brings insightful and engaging content to readers, blending analytical precision with a fan’s enthusiasm.

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Edited by Aayush Kapoor