Ryan Blaney Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Talladega may not be the Round of 12 elimination race any longer, but the mammoth 2.66-mile superspeedway is still a huge wild card and will go a long way toward determining which drivers will be in position to move on to the next round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Racing at Talladega has always been crazy from the time the track opened back in 1969. From the driver boycott of the first race that led to unknown driver Richard BrickhouseRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer In a chaotic finish to the Gander Outdoors 400, Joey Logano avoided the mayhem to finish third. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver overcame multiple issues to score his 100th-career top-five finish at Dover International Speedway. In overtime, Logano’s No. 22 Shell / Pennzoil Ford Fusion had some of the freshest tires of those in the top-five. On the restart, he gave Denny Hamlin a shove forward, trying to push him by fellow Playoff driver Chase Elliott. However, it wasn’t enough, and both HamlinRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Monster Mile. Bristol on steroids. No matter the nickname, Dover International Speedway lives up to the hype as being one of the most physically demanding racetracks on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series circuit and plays host to Sunday’s Gander Outdoors 400, which kicks off the second round of the playoffs. One of the only two concrete tracks currently in use by NASCAR’s top division, drivers have likened a lap around the one-mile oval to riding a rollercoaster, as they drop off the straightaways intoRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Let’s face the obvious, the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course known as “The Roval” delivered. It fit their bill as being one of the most chaotic weekends in NASCAR history. It didn’t matter how experienced a driver was on road racing because the Roval was a game of survival. Some flat out struggled like Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace, who appeared to have wrecked every car they’ve competed, which has to be annoying for both young competitors, but they’re not alone. Even the best road racersRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer Running inside the top-10 normally wouldn’t mean that Chase Elliott flew under the radar, however, the dramatic last lap meant that his run was quietly forgotten. While teammate Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex, Jr. spun in the final corner, and Ryan Blaney won, Elliott quietly finished the race in sixth. Elliott finished inside the Top-10 after a strong qualifying effort put his No. 9 SunEnergy1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 fourth on the grid. In the chaotic finish to the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte MotorRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer CONCORD, N.C. – Chip Ganassi Racing’s Jamie McMurray ended up one position shy of becoming a Playoff spoiler. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series veteran shined in the Bank of America ROVAL 400, battling with the Playoff Grid drivers throughout the race. On the final restart, McMurray was the only non-Playoff driver inside the top-five. He battled primarily with Ryan Blaney and Clint Bowyer as the two race leaders, Martin Truex, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson drove away. However, contact from Johnson sent the two leadersRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer CONCORD, N.C. – A late-race pit call by crew chief Greg Ives followed by a strong drive from Alex Bowman kept the Hendrick Motorsports driver in the Playoffs. In the chaotic run to the finish to the Bank of America ROVAL 400, Bowman bounced in and out of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff bubble until the checkered flag. After avoiding a multi-car pile-up on lap 103, Bowman found himself in fifth. On the restart, his No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was boxedRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – In a race that was as wild as advertised in the closing laps, Ryan Blaney sped past crashing Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. in the final corner to win Sunday’s inaugural Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. With his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and the second of his career, Blaney advanced to Round of 12 in the Playoffs. Johnson wasn’t as lucky. The seven-time series champion was pressuring TruexRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor CONCORD, N.C. – Final practice seemed to be going exactly as planned for 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski, but things went awry for him just minutes after blazing around Charlotte Motor Speedway with the fastest lap of the session. Keselowski toured around the Charlotte road course with a lap of 1 minute, 17.730 seconds at 105.596 mph, but as the session neared its final moments, the frontstretch chicane became the bane of his existence. The lap looked to be going just fineRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor CONCORD, N.C. – Day two at the new Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course has been just as eventful as the first, with Jimmie Johnson putting up the fastest time on the board, while others found themselves ensnared by the 17-turn, 2.28-mile layout. Daniel Hemric led the way for the majority of the session before Johnson took over the No. 1 spot with a lap of 1 minute, 18.043 seconds at 105.173 mph. Hemric finished the session in second place, followed by Martin Truex, Jr., Brad Keselowski,Read More