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Gulf Today
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Gulf Today
Ryan Blaney races to first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the year at Nashville
Ryan Blaney and Team Penske have been fast with his No. 12 Ford Mustang this year only to have races slip away when it mattered most. Blaney ran away down the stretch for his first Cup Series victory of the year Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway, then he celebrated with a burnout in front of the roaring fans after what he called a rough year. "I'm ready to go celebrate,' Blaney said. The 2023 Cup champ had been racing well with five top-five finishes over the first half of this season. He finally got to victory lane for his 14th career victory and first since Martinsville in November after leading a race-high 139 laps. "I never gave up hope that's for sure," Blaney said. "We've had great speed all year. It just hasn't really been the best year for us as far as good fortune. But (No.) 12 boys are awesome. They stick with it no matter how it goes.' He became the ninth different winner this season and the fifth driver to win in as many races at Nashville. He also gave Team Penske a second straight Cup win at Nashville's 1.33-mile concrete track. Blaney, who started 15th, quickly drove his way to the front as he won the second stage. He easily held off Carson Hocevar by 2.83 seconds. Hocevar matched his career-best finish at Atlanta in February after complaining during the race that his No. 77 Chevrolet was undriveable. "Either I'm really dramatic or they're really good on adjustments," Hocevar said. "Probably a little bit of both, but, yeah, proud of this group proud of this car. A place that is really, really difficult to pass, we're able to go 26th to second.' Ryan Blaney celebrates with a burnout after winning the race. AFP Denny Hamlin finished third in his 700th career Cup Series race, matching the third-place finish by Jeff Gordon at Darlington in 2013 for the best finish in a driver's 700th race. Joey Logano, who won here last year, was fourth and William Byron fifth. Hamlin was hoping for one more caution that never came after seven cautions for 35 laps. "Just couldn't run with the 12 (Blaney) there in the super long run," Hamlin said. "After 40 laps, I could maintain with him. But then after that, he just pulled away and stretched it on us.' There was a sprint to the finish under green forcing teams and drivers to pick and choose went to pit. Blaney had led 107 laps when he went to the pits under green flag on lap 248. Hamlin took the lead before going to pit road on lap 256. Crew chief Jonathan Hassler said they decided on Blaney's fifth and final pit stop trying to make sure he could get back out into the cleanest air possible. "It was really nice just to finish off a race,' Hassler said. Brad Keselowski had the lead when he went to the pits on lap 269. Blaney took the lead for the final 31 laps. Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Progressive Toyota, William Byron, driver of the #24 Raptor High Heat Chevrolet, and Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. AFP Hamlin raced Sunday night hoping to take advantage of his starting spot spot beside pole-sitter Chase Briscoe. Whether Hamlin would chase his third win this season had been in question with his third child, a boy, due the same day. Hamlin practiced and qualified well, so he drove his No. 11 Toyota even as Joe Gibbs Racing had Ryan Truex on standby in case Hamlin got the call that his fiancee was in labor. Hamlin won the first stage and survived the final stretch without water or fresh air. Tyler Reddick beat his boss Hamlin, a co-owner of his 23XI Racing team, to new parent status, which Reddick announced on social media earlier Sunday. His family welcomed their second son at 2:20 am on May 25, then Reddick followed up hours later by finishing 26th in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. didn't finish his first race this year. He was the first out when Hocevar tapped his No. 47 Chevrolet, spinning Stenhouse into the wall between Turns 3 and 4 for the second caution of the race on lap 106. AJ Allmendinger started at the back of the field and served a stop-and-go penalty after the green flag for an unapproved adjustment to the splitter during Saturday's practice. His No. 16 Chevrolet was sent back to the garage and then the scanning station before practice and qualifying. The No. 66 Ford of Chad Finchum failed inspection twice leading to engineer Austin Webb's ejection. The Garage 66 team also lost pit stall selection. NASCAR heads to Michigan International Speedway for the Cup Series on June 8. Associated Press
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR takeaways: Is Ryan Blaney or Carson Hocevar the story at Nashville?
A former NASCAR Cup Series champion led a race-high 139 laps and won for the first time in 2025 Sunday. And yet, Ryan Blaney wasn't the talk of the Cracker Barrel 400. That title belonged to Carson Hocevar, who ended Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s night with a hard-racin' bump in Stage 2 and was making hand signals out his window in Stage 3, all while moving from 26th to a runner-up finish at Nashville Superspeedway. Advertisement More on him in a moment. But first, Blaney. NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney celebrates winning the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn., Sunday, June 1, 2025. He claimed a Stage 2 victory after qualifying 15th. 'It's nice that it's finally happening,' Blaney said. 'I'm ready to go celebrate.' Behind him and Hocevar, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and William Byron recorded top-five finishes. Here are three takeaways: 1. Ryan Blaney returns to Victory Lane LEBANON, TENNESSEE - JUNE 01: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 01, 2025 in Lebanon, Tennessee. (Photo by) Blaney had run well recently. Before a 38th-place finish at Charlotte last week, he tallied four top-fives in five races, with back-to-back thirds at Texas and Kansas. But he had not taken the checkers since the penultimate week of the 2024 playoffs at Martinsville. 'I never gave up hope, that's for sure.' Blaney said. 'We've had great speed all year. It just really hasn't been the best year for us, as far as good fortune. But the (Team Penske No. 12) boys are awesome. They stick with it no matter how it goes. It was great to finish one out tonight.' Advertisement The win was his first at Nashville and the 14th of his career. Blaney closed it out by a margin of 2.83 seconds. Now, he's headed to the playoffs as the ninth driver to clinch a spot so far this season. Overall, the race featured 18 lead changes and seven cautions. The final 102 laps went off consecutively without a yellow flag. 2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. warns Carson Hocevar LEBANON, TENNESSEE - MAY 31: Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on May 31, 2025 in Lebanon, Tennessee. (Photo by) Uh oh, Carson. Stenhouse sent the young driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports car a warning after Hocevar knocked Stenhouse to the garage with a rear bump while battling for 17th on Lap 106. Stenhouse slid into the wall rear-first. Advertisement It resulted in his first DNF of 2025. 'I'd say it's not out of the norm for him, but I definitely wasn't expecting that at that point in the race,' Stenhouse said. 'Bummer for us ... Definitely will have something to do about it at one point.' Did he plan to talk to Hocevar? 'Oh, I will,' Stenhouse said. Approach him after the race? 'No, that costs too much money,' Stenhouse said. When asked about the incident afterward, Hocevar had not yet watched the replay but didn't view it as nefarious. 'I feel like that was just a common move with how big of a run I had, but I didn't see it,' Hocevar said. 'I'm sure he'll want to talk about it. I'll talk about it. We'll look at the replay.' Advertisement Meanwhile, he tied his career-best finish of second. He previously reached that spot at Atlanta in February. Before Sunday, Hocevar had cracked the top 10 only twice this season. 'Hopefully, this is a step in the right direction,' he said. 3. Up next: NASCAR motors to Motor City LEBANON, TENNESSEE - JUNE 01: Riley Herbst, driver of the #35 Monster Energy Toyota, Ty Dillon, driver of the #10 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet, and Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Pinnacle Toyota, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 01, 2025 in Lebanon, Tennessee. (Photo by) Before heading south of the border on Father's Day weekend, NASCAR heads north. Way north, by NASCAR standards, to the Detroit area for a tripleheader weekend. It begins with an ARCA race Friday, with the Truck Series in a Saturday starring role before Sunday's Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan international Speedway. It'll be yet another weekend off for the Xfinity Series, which had a two-week break in May. Advertisement Tyler Reddick won last year's race at Michigan, which was host to two Cup Series races a year until 2021. — Ken Willis contributed to this report This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR takeaways: Ryan Blaney wins Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville
NBC Sports
02-06-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Cup drivers recap Nashville race won by Blaney
Hear from Erik Jones, Carson Hocevar, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell following the NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
