“Nobody’s said for sure what happened with Blaney those two weeks.” PRN host Mark Garrow’s ominous words on Blaney’s struggles this season came just a day before the Goodyear 400. Whatever his intentions were, Team Penske took these words to heart. Ryan Blaney thundered into form during the final laps of the race at Darlington Raceway. He hoped to snatch his first-ever victory at the egg-shaped oval – but yet another heartbreak descended on the Ford driver.

The wide gap in statistics was visible. Ryan Blaney’s best finish in Darlington was an 8th-place finish back in 2021. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin was the leader on this track, boasting four wins. In 2025, it also seemed like the ‘Lady in Black’ wanted another dance with her foremost suitor, leaving Blaney heartbroken.

Ryan Blaney scratches his head in sad confusion

That is what happens when fate intervenes to steal your sparkle. Rolling off the 9th place, Ryan Blaney was a quiet factor throughout the race. Multiple cautions dotted the Goodyear 400 like Kyle Larson’s lap 4 spin or Josh Berry’s crash off of Turn 2 on lap 195 – but the No. 12 Ford steered clear of all of them, except for one. By the end of stage 1, Blaney rose to 7th place, and by stage 2, he was in 4th place. He was more than a second better than his peers in the final 10 laps of the long run in Stage 1, and that momentum appeared by lap 275. Blaney cut down a huge gap between him and race leader Tyler Reddick and overtook him by lap 291 – right when Larson experienced another bout of trouble.

Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevy was already 167 laps down when he brought out the second caution flag. That proved to be the death knell for Ryan Blaney‘s superb work up to the front row. In a post-race interview with Fox Sports, Blaney sighed in 7 words: “I thought we had the race won.” Blaney further reflected on those last laps, which he aced to get beside Tyler Reddick. “Yeah, so I don’t really know. I have to watch the replay on how that yellow came out… We did a good job. Great strategy call of kind of running along and giving us time to run down the 45. A lot of those guys just short-pitted. So a great call and a great car… Really fast and never really got to control the race.” 

Ultimately, the ‘Lady in Black’ decided who would be the winner. After that fateful caution, Ryan Blaney lost three spots as Denny Hamlin beat him on pit road with Tyler Reddick and William Byron behind him. Then, Christopher Bell appeared in the fray, and Blaney slipped back to 5th by the time the checkered flag waved. So Blaney sighed even more: “I feel like nothing really went our way. Pit road, we had to work on it a little bit, caution coming out during the cycle sending us way back – felt like we just kept making up spots.” Yet, the 2023 Cup Series champion did not hesitate to hail his team. “But really proud of the 12 folks for giving me a fast car. It just wasn’t meant to be…If I won here, that would have been really, really neat… Proud of the effort, and we’ll keep plugging along.”

The fateful Darlington finish is probably heavy on Ryan Blaney’s heart right now. But what stung him even more was the unique weekend – the throwback weekend.

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Blaney came close to upholding his family legacy

Opened way back in 1950, Darlington Raceway is the second-oldest track on the NASCAR schedule after Martinsville. That is why it is wrapped in nostalgia – and race teams strive to keep it that way. Since 2015, they have been following a ‘Throwback Weekend’ at Darlington, paying tributes to past racing legends. Ryan Blaney had no clue whose colors he would sport for the 2025 race until Saturday. Then, he got a pleasant surprise from Team Penske. His No. 12 Ford had a blue and yellow livery hailing Blaney’s father, former Cup Series driver Dave Blaney. Specifically, the car was a tribute to Blaney Sr.’s Xfinity Series win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2006.

Ryan Blaney was excited to represent his father at Darlington Raceway. He said before the race, “That was kind of a Penske surprise to me, so I thought that was pretty neat. Just neat that I can have the option to do that. And it meant a lot to my dad, a surprise to him. I remember that race. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there, but I was watching it on TV, and a couple of guys are still walking around the garage. They were part of that team. Trent Owens was the crew chief on that thing. He’s still around. So it means a lot. It’s cool when you can throw back to your family.”

However, Dave Blaney’s 2006 win in Charlotte eerily resembles Denny Hamlin’s shock win at Darlington. Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards had the front row initially, and it looked like one of them would win. That was until Jamie McMurray’s crash with a handful of laps remaining muddled things up. Then, a round of chaos followed with NASCAR issuing two red flags as both Edwards and Kenseth dropped off from the lead. Blaney Sr. then emerged at the end to drive for the victory.

Funny how Blaney Sr.’s son did not get his fate, but Matt Kenseth’s in Darlington instead. However, Ryan Blaney’s efforts were undeniable – we are hoping to see the Penske driver on fire in the following races.