Search
Close this search box.

Partner

Team Penske Engineer Tony Palmer to Serve as Ryan Blaney Crew Chief at Talladega

Ryan Blaney crew chief Talladega Tony Palmer Jonathan Hassler Baby GEICO 500 Talladega 2024

Photo Credit: Tyson Gifford, TobyChristie.com

share it
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit

Jonathan Hassler, the crew chief for Ryan Blaney, is out this weekend following the birth of his daughter. As a result, the No. 12 Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series team will be led by team engineer Tony Palmer during the GEICO 500 race weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.

Travis Geisler will join Palmer atop the pit box the help call the race from the pit box. Blaney, 30, isn’t worried about Hassler not being at the track, and he feels confident in the combination of Palmer and Geisler.

“Oh no, none at all,” Blaney said when asked if he had any concerns with Hassler not at the track. “Tony is great. Obviously, he works with Jonathan every single weekend and through the week, and obviously, with Travis Geisler being the competition director and ex-crew chief, he knows everything. Comfortable, really comfortable with those guys. Happy Jonathan can be there for the birth of his daughter, and enjoy his time at home and take that all in.”

Blaney also confirmed that Hassler was heavily involved in the preparation of his No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, and will be in the loop with the team via the team’s command center in North Carolina during the race weekend.

“Yeah, he was involved in everything, and he’s calling in for the race. So, he’ll be in those guys’ ears,” Blaney explained. “But yeah, involved in prep, like normal, he’s just not here.”

Blaney, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, is seeking his first win of the 2024 season, and Talladega is a place where he is very comfortable as he has scored three wins at the 2.66-mile superspeedway over the course of his career.

The Team Penske driver also talked about his incident with Ryan Preece a week ago at Texas Motor Speedway, where Preece retaliated by tapping Blaney in the turn late in the race, which sent him into the outside wall. According to Blaney, the two drivers are good to go heading into Sunday’s GEICO 500.

“Yeah, we had marshmallows the other night at a Ford team-building event,” Blaney laughed. “We’ve talked, we’re past it. We’re all good.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Post

Joe Gibbs Racing defers pit crew suspensions from Bristol Night Race to Kansas Speedway
Joe Gibbs Racing Defers Two-Race Suspension for Hamlin Pit Crew Members to Start at Kansas
Five non-Playoff drivers who could play Playoff spoiler by winning the Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Spoiler Alert: Five Non-Playoff Drivers Who Could Steal the Show at New Hampshire
Goodyear reveals the tire compounds for NASCAR Race weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Goodyear Bringing Tire Compound Used at Richmond to New Hampshire
Jeff Burton says NBC is not to blame for the NASCAR Playoff Format and that television doesn't dictate what format NASCAR uses.
Jeff Burton: TV Not to Blame for NASCAR's Playoff Format
DB_Bristol_truck_qual_enfinger
Jeff Stankiewicz, CR7 Motorsports Parting Ways
2025 Team EJP 175 entry list NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Entry List: 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Team EJP 175 at New Hampshire

Join Our Newsletter

Ready to have NASCAR news hand-delivered to your email daily?

Related Article