When practice gets detrimental, wonder how bad the real race can get. Even before the final results, some incidents may just herald bad news. The Cup Series defending champion, Ryan Blaney, realized this the hard way, as the Las Vegas Speedway’s practice crash was just the beginning of his championship troubles.

Blaney had his left rear tire go flat on his second lap of practice. When the tire blew, Blaney’s No. 12 Penske Racing Ford impacted the outside wall in turn 1. He went to a backup car and wasn’t able to post a qualifying time for Sunday’s race. However, Vegas is done. Now, with a few rounds left for the Finals, Ryan Blaney’s crew chief fears they may be out of the championship race.

Ryan Blaney’s crew chief senses danger

Accidents are common in racing, but when a race starts with a major incident, things can go downhill quickly. During the South Point 400, Tyler Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota rolled through the front stretch of grass just 89 laps in. A three-wide squeeze between Reddick, Chase Elliott, and Martin Truex Jr. led to the crash. Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski got caught in the chaos. Blaney, already driving a backup car after a practice crash, saw his day worsen. He finished eight laps down in 32nd place by lap 107.

Recounting this incident on the racetrack, Blaney’s crew chief Jonathan Hassler put forth his perspective. Hassler said to Frontstretch’s Bryan Nolen, “You know it is the weekend that we look forward to. We thought we had pretty good speed in number 12 and showed up, and you know we had an accident on lap 1 in practice, had to go for a backup car, spend you know 6-7 hours in that car, ready to go, and you know we had to start from the back of the field; you know we were able to make positions early in the race.” 

Further explaining how crucial the Vegas weekend was and ringing the alarm bells for Blaney, the crew chief added, “You know Vegas is a place that you know race really well. You get a couple of different routes that have speed, and guys are able to you know pass and you know position themselves around other cars and affect other cars. So certainly, not surprised by that… At this point, I have to study the numbers a little more this week. My intuition would be its going to be pretty hard to get in on points. Borrowing some disasters from some other teams. At this instance, I’d say we probably have to win one of the next two but I certainly think we have one of the teams that’s capable of doing that.”

Blaney’s Penske teammate, on the other hand, had a dream run at the Las Vegas Speedway. Having joined the round of 8 party late thanks to Alex Bowman’s misfortune, Joey Logano had nothing to lose. However, with Vegas, the #22 Ford showed rivals just how serious Team Penske was about going for the championship this season. Logano’s mindset certainly influenced Blaney as he prepared for the next race at the Miami Homestead Speedway.

Ryan Blaney’s future mindset 

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Post the disaster on tracks, Blaney had to settle in for a backup car. Well, not the ideal situation for any driver, right? His drive at the Las Vegas Speedway was a major bummer. He struggled to make it count to the top 15. In a post-interview with Frontstretch, the Team Penske driver also spoke in detail about his future mindset for the upcoming races. He said, “I mean, I think it’s pretty same. We have to win, you know. I mean, we’re way too far away on the cut line to try to point our way in honestly. So, yeah, just go try to try to win Homestead or Martinsville. And we honestly thought, like going into this round, we had the idea of just. You’re probably gonna have to win one of these races anyway to advance.”

“We’re still alive. It’s definitely not the best of days. It was just a rough weekend overall. We still have two more weeks, so we’re definitely not out of it,” said Blaney, noting the Turn 2 incident involving the 23XI, Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski. Historically speaking, the #12 of Blaney fared well in both Miami and Martinsville. In the fall race from 2023, the #12 Ford driver managed a 2nd place finish from 10th at the Miami Speedway. Martinsville was an even better performance, going from 11th to getting a win.

Standing 7th and 47 points below the cutoff line, getting good finishes may not be enough for Blaney. He needs a win just like Joey Logano to secure a birth in the championship race. Martinsville and Miami are the perfect opportunities to do so. Do you think that the tables might turn in the upcoming races and Ryan Blaney will be able to make it to the cut line?