NASCAR Cup Darlington
Ryan Blaney crew chief sets record straight on Darlington pit stop blunder
Ryan Blaney's crew chief acknowledges that a slow pit stop in Darlington cost the driver the victory in the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400.
Lydia Mee
Edited: Apr 9, 2025, 1:37 AM
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Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Ford
Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images
Ryan Blaney's crew chief Jonathan Hassler has addressed the pit stop issue which may have cost the driver the victory at Darlington Raceway.
The Team Penske driver looked on track to secure a spot in Victory Lane during the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 yesterday. However various different issues, including a delayed pit stop, meant that he would ultimately finish in fifth.
Blaney reacted to the challenging race, stating:
"Never really got to control the race. I feel like nothing ever really went our way. Pit road, we got to work on a little bit. Caution coming out during the cycle set us way back. I felt like we just kept making up spots.
"Really proud of the 12 folks for giving me a fast car. Just really wasn't meant to be. I really wanted and would have liked to have won here. That would have been really neat. Just wasn't meant to be. Proud of the effort. We'll keep plugging along."
Hassler explained to Sportsnaut reporter Matt Weaver following the race:
"The group's perfectly capable. We've just got to clean it up, and we'll be there, hopefully, sooner rather than later."
Hassler went on to discuss the pit stop strategy which they went for, describing it as "out only play." He added:
"Yeah, I mean, I think that was really kind of our only play from where we were running to maybe have a shot to win or a good finish. We weren't going to pit early when those other guys pitted and get to the lead. So, we just kind of chose to do something different, and it worked out."
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Ford
Photo by: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Acknowledging that the mishap likely cost Blaney the victory, he commented:
"I think so, and if you look they definitely had one mistake with the jack that cost us a lot of time. Our last stop was clean. A 9.3, I think, but guys were running low 8s. The 24 I think we matched his time there on the last stop, but in pit stall one, you just have that advantage.
"So, you know, I think it's like anything else in the sport. Just takes a little bit of change to go a long way and I think we'll be able to recover from this."
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