“We blew a tire”: Ryan Blaney details what went wrong during Kansas playoff race practice

Ryan Blaney got off to a rough start to his weekend at Kansas Speedway after blowing a tire and hitting the wall during practice. The damage forced him to switch to a backup car for Sunday’s race, but fortunately, he has already secured a spot in the next round.

Driving the #12 Team Penske Ford, Blaney was exiting turn two when he lost control and made hard contact with the wall. He limped the car all the way back to the pit before ending his session with a blown right tire.

The upcoming race at Kansas Speedway comes on the heels of Blaney’s first-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last weekend, which automatically locked him into the Round of 8. Per NASCAR rules, he will start from the rear of the field for running a backup car.

In a press release, the 31-year-old shared his thoughts on the incident that ended his session on Saturday.

“We blew a tire, so we’ll have to look at it and see why that was. I hate that we crashed a race car and stuff like that, but we’ll take a peek at what we need to do differently and hopefully come from the back tomorrow. I’m looking forward to getting the race going tomorrow,” he said.

When asked whether he found the incident unusual, the 2023 NASCAR champion responded by saying:

“That’s kind of the hard thing about when you blow tires like that. They don’t feel way off, and then they just kind of give out the next moment, so I didn’t have any kind of caution beforehand. It’s just unfortunate. I hate that we’ve got to get a backup out and do all that deal, but we’ll fight through it.”

Ryan Blaney drives the #12 Ford Mustang for Team Penske - Source: Imagn

The Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas is happening on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET. The following week, NASCAR will be at Charlotte Motor Speedway's road course for the Round of 12 finale, where four playoff drivers will be eliminated from contention.

---

“You never know who's going to come on strong”: Ryan Blaney on Team Penske being labeled as the organization to beat

Despite a strong outing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney dismissed reports suggesting Team Penske is currently the top team on the grid. He pointed out that NASCAR can be unpredictable at times, with dominant teams possibly struggling in the following race weekends.

In an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, the 16-time Cup race winner said:

“You never know who's going to come on strong at what time. This sport is a week-to-week sport, and you can be on the top of the world one week, and then you can be struggling to find your own way the next week.”

This year marks the third consecutive season that Team Penske has entered the playoffs as the defending champion. Joey Logano claimed the title in 2022 before Ryan Blaney won his first the following year. Logano reclaimed the crown in 2024 after fending off Blaney in the closing laps at Phoenix Raceway.