HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — His thick moustache wasn't the only feature that made Ryan Blaney look like Richard Petty in a dominant performance at EchoPark Speedway.
Blaney drove like NASCAR's King while ruling the Cup Series race from qualifying through every stage in a weather-delayed victory which left the Team Penske Ford driver in contention for the points championship.
Blaney won every stage after starting on the pole and led 171 laps in his win. The
race was delayed 3 hours, 9 minutes by rain and lightning and ended at 1:45 a.m. on Monday.
The 171 laps led are the most at a drafting-style track since Petty led 184 of 200 laps for his first Daytona 500 win in 1964.
As a result, Blaney is third in the NASCAR points race, only 65 behind leader Denny Hamlin. Tyler Reddick is second.
Even Blaney was shocked to learn he is in the thick of the championship race heading into Sunday's race at North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
“Really?” Blaney asked when told he is only 65 points out of the lead. “Wow! Wow!”
It was a race to remember for Blaney and Team Penske. Blaney's dominance began when he won the pole while joined by Team Penske teammate Joey Logano on the front row. He then survived the long weather delay to answer every challenge while winning Stage 1, Stage 2 and then surviving a three-wide battle on the final lap.
“I couldn’t ask for a better weekend,” Blaney said. "Sat on the pole, won both stages and won the race.
“My car was incredibly fast, leading. I could defend moves without having to throw, like, low-percentage blocks. I just never really did that.”
Blaney knew he had the speed to recover if he briefly lost the lead.
“Some moves are kind of unbeatable to defend as the leader,” he said. “I would just let people get to my inside. If they passed me, great, I think I can probably develop a run to get them back.”
Blaney's crew chief, Jonathan Hassler, made the crucial decision to keep the No. 12 Ford on the track after Blaney brushed the wall with 29 laps remaining. Blaney worried he felt a “terrible” vibration following the contact with the wall but Hassler was able to quickly determine there was no serious damage.
“We were able to get some pictures really quick, see that the damage wasn’t too bad,” Hassler said. “Obviously we saw there was a little bit. ... We looked at it, there were 30 cars on the lead lap, not a lot of laps left. Our chance to win was to stay out, take a little bit of a risk. Fortunately it worked out for us.”
Blaney fought off challenges from Bubba Wallace and Christopher Hill, who finished second, on the final lap. Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top four. Wallace was penalized for passing below the double yellow lines and finished 29th instead of second.
Blaney said he didn't have the best-handling car but enjoyed being able to rely on his superior speed with the race on the line.
“That was kind of a fun dynamic of my car is really fast, handles a little worse than theirs,” Blaney said. “Their car handles better but isn’t quite as quick down the straightaway. Fun how all that played out.”
Now Blaney will continue to chase the Toyotas of Hamlin and Reddick for the points lead. Blaney's strategy is simple: "Just keep doing what we’re doing."
Asked if he can win the championship, Blaney said “I don’t think it’s out of the question.
"We just have to keep doing what we’re doing. That surprises me we’re that close. I think before San Diego I was like 160 out. It shows you how quick things can kind of ebb and flow. ... Never know when we can get there or not."
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