HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Ryan Blaney was breathing easier Saturday morning at Homestead-Miami Speedway, especially compared to last Monday morning after the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
NASCAR officials initially issued a disqualification after an apparent problem with the No. 12 Team Penske Ford’s left-front damper but then rescinded that penalty Monday evening. NASCAR officials discovered an issue with the tool used to measure damper lengths Monday. Blaney remains 17 points beneath the provisional elimination line to advance to the Championship 4.
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“We talked about it internally Monday morning as a group before we went to NASCAR and was able to talk with them,” Blaney said Saturday at Homestead. “And I appreciate NASCAR for being receptive to it and just talking with us Monday and kind of meeting with the parts at their R&D Center, understanding what was the disconnect between pre-race, post-race. You know, that’s a sealed part.
“So (NASCAR Senior Vice President) Elton Sawyer and (Cup Series Managing Director) Brad Moran, they were really great to us of just being understanding, and understanding that there was an issue there with kind of the process, and then they were able to fix it. So yeah, a lot of emotions. But it was nice that it ended up I think as it should have been.”
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Blaney, inside the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs for the fifth time in his career, was on the plane leaving Las Vegas and had just turned on his Wi-Fi when a text from crew chief Jonathan Hassler hit his cell phone to inform him of the disqualification. The range of emotions wasn’t extreme, though, for Blaney.
“It didn’t change a ton because it’s like, hey, we had a good day in Vegas. Sixth. We had a good day and lost points,” Blaney said. “And I was like, that kind of stinks. And then we lost a lot more points.”
Having his points restored alters the mindset ever-so-slightly with two races left to secure his first appearance in the Championship 4.
“I was like, ‘Well, we have to win the next two weeks,’ ” Blaney said of the initial reaction. “And then, you know, when it got rescinded Monday, it was, well, all right, it’s still gonna be hard to make it, but it’s not like a must-win, right? So it gives you a little more hope. But I will say I wasn’t, like, distraught or anything. I was like, ‘All right, well, this is the spot we’re in. And we got a new job to do.’ It’s a little bit different description. But now, it’s just changed a little bit.”
Blaney was running third at Homestead a season ago before spinning on pit exit in the final 60 laps. This weekend is starting well for the No. 12 Ford, with Blaney set to roll off 10th for Sunday’s race (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).