If Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Kansas Speedway was 269 laps, or even 268 laps, instead of the traditional 267-lap contest, there’s a distinct possibility that everybody is talking about Ryan Blaney securing his first win of 2025.
The High Point, North Carolina-native was credited with a third-place finish in the AdventHealth 400, but when the checkered flag was displayed, the No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse was only 0.832 seconds behind race-winner Kyle Larson.
As the laps clicked off and the finish of the race loomed closer, the Team Penske driver had just begun to take off, driving from a margin of six-plus seconds to that of under a second, throughout the final 10 laps of the event.
When race-leader Kyle Larson slowed dramatically on the final lap of the event, Christopher Bell, the runner-up in Sunday’s event, turned a lap time 0.652 seconds quicker than the No. 5, while Blaney, who had been flying, was 1.140 seconds quicker than the Hendrick Motorsports driver.
Had the race continued for just one more lap, at that exact pace, Blaney would have found himself returning to Victory Lane for the 14th time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, and the first time at Kansas Speedway.
That’s, without a doubt, a tough pill to swallow.
“Yeah, overall good day. I think we were third in both stages and finished third, and, honestly, we were kind of running those guys down quick there at the end, the last handful of laps,” Blaney said. “I just kind of restarted too far back and had to make up a lot of ground.”
After Kansas, Blaney is currently sitting inside the top-five in NASCAR Cup Series point standings, after a season that has included five top-five and six top-10 finishes in the opening 12 events of the season.
However, as the only team under the Team Penske umbrella (Wood Brothers Racing included) that hasn’t been to Victory Lane this season, there’s no question that the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion is itching to win a race.
The good news, though: Blaney and Team Penske have shown a significant amount of speed each week this season and have put themselves in a position to secure victories more than once this season.
Should that raw speed continue to be showcased, it should only be a matter of time before the No. 12 Ford Mustang is celebrating in Victory Lane, once again.
One Response
Ryan’s car is almost always set up for long runs. Like you said, he just needed a few more laps!