2 days agoIt's been quite a season of unfortunate happenings for Ryan Blaney in 2025, but eventually the bad luck should go away and he should start getting the finishes he deserves. The same has been true at Bristol Motor Speedway throughout Blaney's Cup Series career, as the Team Penske driver has led a bunch of laps here (507 to be exact) but has just two top-five results to show for it. Could he add a third this weekend, or maybe even a win? Blaney qualified fifth for this weekend's Food City 500 and the falloff of his lap times over the course of a long run in practice were above average. Blaney should be a top-five contender on Sunday--if (and it's a big if) nothing goes wrong. At $10,500 on DraftKings, he makes for an interesting pivot play off of some of the higher-priced drivers on the slate.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: DraftKings Network
1 week agoTeam Penske's Ryan Blaney finished fifth after the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday. Starting ninth during this week's race, Blaney had one of the best cars that could make moves for the field. Despite having a setback of backing up during a pit stop, Blaney made up ground and ended the first stage in the seventh position, scoring four stage points. In the second stage, Blaney made it up to the top five but would fall short of competing for the lead. After going through pit stops, Blaney ended the second stage in the fourth position and acquired further stage points. In the final stage, Blaney's pit crew had additional issues with the jackman on pit road, causing him to restart deeper in the field. Blaney's car, however, was the best at getting through traffic on a longer run, and he made up plenty of ground in the final stage. Eventually, late in the stage, Blaney drove up to the lead by lap 290, passing Tyler Reddick until the race's final caution came out. Blaney's pit crew lost three positions, setting Blaney up for the final restart on fourth. The No. 12 Ford driver, however, was unable to regain track position from there and ended the race in fifth position. This was Blaney's first-ever top-5 finish at Darlington.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
1 week agoDespite his strong practice speeds this weekend, you should be leery of Ryan Blaney this weekend for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Why? Because, for whatever reason, the Team Penske driver can't seem to figure this track out. In 16 career starts at "The Lady in Black," Blaney has led a combined 22 laps at this track and has yet to post a top-five finish. Additionally, he has just three top-10 results, and his 19.6 career average finish at Darlington makes it one of the worst tracks on the schedule for Blaney. Of course, the lackluster results here will eventually turn around for the Cup Series Champion, but when will that happen? Until it does, it may be best to look elsewhere with your fantasy picks. There's a big difference between being fast in practice and being fast in the race at a track like Darlington, and Blaney hasn't shown to be capable of doing the latter as of yet.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
2 weeks agoRyan Blaney's No. 12 Ford was one of the fastest cars during practice at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday afternoon, but you'd have no idea by talking to him. Blaney was the fastest when it came to 30-lap average, but the Team Penske driver was skeptical when interviewed afterward, saying that the team had some work to do to get the car dialed in. He did acknowledge the speed, though, stating, "We have a fairly fast car." Blaney is a constant contender at Martinsville and hasn't finished worse than seventh at this race track in the Next Gen era. He's also won two of the last three at this track. Blaney is the highest-priced driver ($11,200) on the DraftKings slate this weekend, and with his dominating and race-winning potential, he's a strong play despite the high price tag. And that doesn't even take into account the fact that he qualified way back in 32nd-place. With the Place Differential upside as well, Blaney is a slam-dunk DFS pick this weekend--even with his concerns about the speed in his car. Sportsbooks still have him pegged as the favorite despite the deep starting spot.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
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