Ryan Blaney Tag

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – This weekend marks the first All-Star race weekend for Ryan Blaney, and the first appearance for Wood Brothers Racing in the All-Star race weekend line-up since Bill Elliott piloted the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion in the Sprint Showdown in 2010. Elliott started seventh in the Sprint Showdown and finished 12th without transferring to the main event that year. Blaney also has to compete in the Sprint Showdown, be one of the three segment winners that will transfer to the All-Star raceRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer On a day that saw several of the contenders suffer issues throughout the AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookies saw the opportunity to pounce and came close to claiming victory, only to fall just short. Leading the way for the rookie class was Chase Elliott, who had his work cut out for him to start the day, but found himself hunting for the race lead and the win in the closing laps. Elliott started 13th after qualifying wasRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer On Saturday night in America’s Heartland, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookies had their hands full with the treacherous 1.5 mile Kansas Speedway, but when the night ended, all four found themselves within the top-25, one of the best races overall for the rookies this season. Leading the way for the 2016 rookie class was Ryan Blaney, who started the night in seventh place and only found himself outside the top-10 once during a round of green flag pit stops during the middle of theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Kyle Busch finally overcame his gremlins at Kansas Speedway in a race that left Martin Truex Jr. overcome with frustration. On Saturday night—in stark contrast to many of his prior misadventures at the 1.5-mile track—Busch waited until after the Go Bowling 400 to destroy his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, a feat he accomplished during his celebratory burnout. Busch took the lead for good on Lap 231 of 267 after Truex, who led a race-high 172 laps, brought hisRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer Talladega always is a mayhem filled race, with rookies and veterans alike not immune to the carnage that could await any of them at any point in the race. On Sunday afternoon in the GEICO 500, two of the four rookies entered in the race would come away with top-10 finishes, while the others wouldn’t be as fortunate. Chase Elliott started on pole and showed that he would be a force to be reckoned with for much of the race, putting his No. 24 ChevroletRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer There must be something in the water in Virginia. Just like Martinsville three weeks ago, the five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookies all struggled at some point in Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond. With the spring Richmond race reverting to a day race for the first time since 1997, the bright sunshine beating down on the 0.75 mile short track created handling difficulties for all of those in the field, rookies and veterans alike. Falling a lap down early with an ill-handling car, ChaseRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Ryan Blaney is off to a solid rookie season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, already scoring two top-10’s in the opening eight races. However, there is one thing missing for the 22-year-old this season and that has been the chance to race against Tony Stewart. Although Blaney competed against Stewart for several races prior to his official rookie year in 2016, there has been no opportunity this year due to Stewart’s injury that was sustained prior to the start of the season. That all changesRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – The record will show that polesitter Carl Edwards won Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in dominating fashion, leading 276 of 500 laps and beating runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the finish line by .766 seconds. But while Edwards cruised to victory with the fastest car in the eighth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of the season, drivers behind him suffered a litany of troubles, populating the top 10 with the most unlikely array of competitors this season. ConsiderRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer After scoring his best career finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series last weekend at Texas, Chase Elliott and the other Cup Series rookies headed into Bristol ready to get a crash course in racing on the half-mile bullring. All five rookies started outside of the top-15 and although Bristol seemed to have their number early on, most of them found a way to turn things around by the time the checkered flag flew. Leading the way once again was Elliott, who fell two lapsRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer After some impressive driving from the 2016 rookie class in the first five races of the season, their biggest challenge thus far would be Sunday’s trip to Martinsville Speedway for the STP 500. As the smallest track on the circuit, Martinsville is one of the toughest tracks, with the long straightaways and flat hairpin turns making for a long, grueling day with 39 of your closest friends.  The half-mile track is tough for even the most seasoned veterans, but for rookies making their first startRead More