Ryan Blaney Bails Out Team After Dubious Pit Strategy
5 months agoAlthough Ryan Blaney started 18th and had a mediocre Stage 1 at Nashville, he worked into the top five just before Chase Elliott's first spin. Blaney's crew chief, Jonathan Hassler, elected to stay out of the pits, a move destined to fail as he would have needed to stretch his fuel mileage 113 laps to the end. Admittedly, Blaney's teammate Joey Logano did nearly match that on his final stint due to the rash of cautions at the end, but Blaney was not nearly as fortunate. He was forced to pit under green, trapping him a lap down until the caution for his other teammate's (Austin Cindric) spin earned him the free pass at the end of regulation. Blaney miraculously drove up to sixth after five ensuing restarts and he was the best-running Ford in the race (as usual) ranking fourth in speed, far faster than Logano, who was only 14th.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference