NASCAR
Ryan Blaney, Penske 12 Team Retroactively Rewarded Las Vegas Sixth-Place Finish
Ryan Blaney has once again been ruled as finishing in sixth-place Sunday at Las Vegas. Following post-race inspection and a left-front shock that did not meet length requirements, the Penske No. 12 was initially disqualified. A Monday review of inspection pieces however found an irregularity in NASCAR’s damper template. As a result, officials have given Blaney back his finishing result and the eight Stage points earned by the 12.
“After further review of the inspection process throughout this weekend’s events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NASCAR has rescinded the No. 12 disqualification penalty,” a statement from the sanctioning body read Monday evening.
“Monday morning during its race weekend debrief, NASCAR discovered an issue with the damper template used for inspection.”
“NASCAR then conducted a detailed investigation, and has restored the No. 12’s Stage and race finishing positions from Sunday. NASCAR has taken internal steps to remedy this issue moving forward.”
“We are pleased with the decision by NASCAR to rescind the post-race disqualification to the No. 12 car following Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,” Team Penske said Monday. “NASCAR has shown a tremendous amount of integrity throughout the process which has led to this conclusion. We are proud of the effort and the results by the No. 12 team during the 2023 season. We look forward to continuing the pursuit of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship.”
The initial DQ sent Blaney to a 36th-place result (last) and 56 points below the Championship 4 cutoff. The realignment now has the 12 team within striking distance, only -17 points in seventh.
Over the next two races, it will be interesting to see how Blaney and his team fare now with this second chance championship lifeline.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Peter Stratta/TSJSports
