NASCAR
Ryan Blaney Beats Denny Hamlin for 12th Career Win, Second at Pocono
LONG POND, Pa. – Team Penske appears to be peaking in perfect time for a deep Playoff run. For the fourth time in the last seven weeks, one of their Ford Mustangs went to victory lane at the hands of Ryan Blaney. The No. 12 opted to short pit Stage 2, giving them track position late in Stage 3. Pocono’s all-time wins leader Denny Hamlin could never catch up, giving Blaney a second Tricky Triangle triumph.
Toyotas were the class of the field across this race’s first half, with Stages going to Martin Truex Jr and Denny Hamlin. Hamlin’s team made the calculated call to wait for extra fuel on their pit stop following Stage 2, setting them back for the final run.
The beginning of Stage 3 was marred by several quick cautions. Most notably a large crash ensued in turn one after Kyle Busch spun off the bumper of Corey Lajoie. Hamlin was second or third on all of these restarts, but could never capitalize and retake the lead.
The top spot for most of Stage 3 belonged to Ryan Blaney. On every successive restart, the 12 was able to rocket off from the competition and build a large lead. Despite Hamlin getting clean air late in second, he was no match for Blaney.
“Things are really just falling into place for us,” Blaney said. “We’ve gotten to a great place on speed, the last two months especially. I feel honestly like we’ve had a couple races slip away from us which I thought we had a good shot at winning. So it’s nice to just stick to the plan today, and our plan was just to have track position at the end. I knew our car was fast enough.”
“Super proud of Johnathan (Hassler, crew chief) and the whole group of 12 boys. The Wabash Ford Mustang was amazing. Appreciate Menards, Body Armor, the Würth group, Advance Auto Parts, DEX Imaging, everybody who makes this possible. So cool to win here again. I won here seven years ago for my first Cup win, so it’s cool to be back. The crowd, you guys are amazing, thank you guys for being here all weekend.”
“At the time (as a child) I wasn’t thinking of (winning here), I was trying to figure out how to have fun (on Pocono weekends) and how to win that night (in a quarter midget).”
“It was super special seven years ago to win here with the Wood Brothers. It’s just as special to win here today. You love tracks that have special meaning to you, places where you get your first win and things like that. This place means so much to me.”
“A ton of my fiancé’s family is here, I can’t wait to see them and Gianna. Just so proud of the effort, looking forward to hopefully continuing this momentum to next week at the boss’ track up in Indy.”
“I definitely think we’re in a better spot at this time this year than what we were last year at this point. I feel like our speed’s better, our execution’s great. We are doing everything as a 12 group the best that we can. Some other unforeseen circumstances have kind of hindered some finishes and possible wins. I’m just proud of the whole Team Penske group, all those men and women at the race shop. They work their butts off to try and get better and deal with the drivers when they say we need to get a lot better. Appreciate them, Roush-Yates Engines, appreciate all the work that they continue to do, and go USA.”
Behind Blaney and Hamlin at the finish were: Alex Bowman, William Byron, and Penske teammate Joey Logano. Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr, Chase Elliott, and Bubba Wallace were the rest of the top-10.
Thanks to a second win in the last five weeks, Blaney now has the fifth-most Playoff points after Pocono. Take a look at the postseason grid below, with five regular season races left.
Next week marks the return to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. The 30th anniversary Brickyard 400 goes green Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, the IMS Radio Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Following a dominant Pocono, can Ryan Blaney possibly go back-to-back on the bricks?
Written by Peter Stratta
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