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Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney started 25th and finished in the top-five in the recently concluded Food City Dirt Race. Despite starting at the back of the field, the 28-year-old was able to race forward and managed to finish in fifth place.
During the post-race interview, Blaney spoke about his race at Bristol Motor Speedway. He said that his No. 12 Ford Mustang was faster than other drivers who were ahead of him. He termed it a "pretty decent race," stating:
“It was a pretty decent race for us. We had to start on the 25th and come from the back and I thought our car was pretty fast. I kept having to restart on the bottom and kept losing all the spots we’d gain. Our car was good enough there at the end.”
He continued:
“I thought I was faster than a couple guys ahead of me, but it was a fun race. I thought the track was really good and you could move around. The track was pretty wide, so I’m happy we got the whole race in. That was nice and not a bad day. We’ll just go on.”
The driver of the No. 12 Ford Mustang, who finished ninth in both stages, fought hard for the lead on the half-mile dirt track.
On the final lap, Blaney battled with his teammate Joey Logano for a top-five finish, eventually finishing fifth.
Ryan Blaney is in the top-two of the NASCAR Cup Series points table after Food City Dirt Race
With another top-five finish at Bristol Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney gained 36 points and stands in second place with 321 points in the latest release of the Cup Series points table.
Blaney has shown strong performances so far, but is still looking for his first win of the season. He is tied with Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch for the most top-10 finishes (six) and second most top-five finishes (four), with William Byron and Kyle Larson.
NASCAR returns next weekend for GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Blaney, who is always strong at Superspeedway, will look to win his first race of the season when the green-flag drops on Sunday at 3 p.m. EST.
