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The inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway saw Team Penske's Ryan Blaney finish in 4th place as his teammate went on to visit Victory Lane.
The Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter, saw Joey Logano drive his #22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang to the win after dueling with Kyle Busch in the final laps. Blaney's race was hampered by a flat tire during the initial stages of the 300-mile-long race. The 28-year-old managed to keep his car out of the wall as he spun on the track, and headed to the pits on lap 95.
With the change of tires out of the way, the Hartford Township, Ohio-native fought back up the field to position himself in contention for the win. The final restart saw Blaney battle 23XI Racing's Kurt Busch for third place as the leaders were busy swapping places of their own.
The #12 Dent Wizard Ford Mustang driver believed he had a fast car in the race but struggled with tire wear towards the end of the 240 total laps in Illinois. He went on to elaborate on his pace and said:
“We had a really fast car. I had a great shot to win and just made a mistake in the pits and came out 17th and by the time we got back to race with the lead I just had no tires left. I am proud of the Dent Wizard team all day. The car was super fast, just didn’t do a good job with execution there on that last pit stop.”
Many saw Ryan Blaney as potentially the fastest man on the track and had it not been for his tire troubles, he was shaping up to be one of the favorites to win yesterday.
Ryan Blaney talks about difficulties in passing during the inaugural race at World Wide Technology Raceway
Ryan Blaney drove his #12 Dent Wizard Ford Mustang to a 4th place finish at the inaugural Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter at WWT Raceway on Sunday. The Team Penske driver was one of the fastest cars on track and was considered to be in contention for a win.
Tire trouble and less-than-perfect pit-stop execution meant Blaney had to work his way through the field to finish towards the top of the pack in Illinois. The 28-year-old elaborated on whether it was difficult to pass on the 1.25-mile-long track and said:
“It was kinda hard to pass, like the guy up the race track got to be dominant and leave the bottom open a little bit but it was hard to put the power down.”
Watch the complete interview below:
Catch Ryan Blaney next weekend at Sonoma Raceway to try to get another win in the 2022 season.
