[autotag]Ryan Blaney[/autotag] didn’t appear to have enough to hold off Christopher Bell in the final laps of the NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway, but the No. 20 car suddenly dropped in pace with engine issues. Then, Blaney seemed to be on his way to his first Cup Series win of 2024, but the No. 12 car abruptly ran out of gas on the final lap.
The Team Penske driver climbed out of his car with a 24th-place finish after being on the verge of a victory and was consoled by former teammate Brad Keselowski on pit road. Blaney was asked if he knew about his fuel situation and whether he was near the limit of making it to the finish.
“No, I didn’t think so,” Blaney said, “So, yeah, never thought in my mind we were short. One of those things. Gosh, proud of the No. 12 boys. We were fast. Had my work cut out for me holding out of [Christopher Bell]. That was a fun battle. I don’t know what happened to him. Yeah, one lap short, which just stinks. Congrats to the No. 2 team. They did a good job all day. Props to them. [Austin Cindric]. Proud for Team Penske and Ford.”
RYAN BLANEY IS OUT OF GAS. AUSTIN CINDRIC WINS AT WWT RACEWAY! pic.twitter.com/aTY0SL6zpI
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 2, 2024
“Really happy with our showing today. I don’t know what I got to do to get some luck on our side. Gosh, wrecked the last two points races. Thought we had a great shot to win today. Ended up bad. Just appreciate the effort. Got to keep sticking with it.”
Blaney went from being locked into the 2024 NASCAR playoff to 47 points ahead of the cut line at Gateway. It was a very disappointing finish for the 2023 Cup Series champion, but the speed was a positive for the No. 12 team. Blaney and Team Penske haven’t displayed the same speed as 2023, so hopefully, this is a sign of things to come.
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