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Blaney goes bust in Vegas once again

Ryan Blaney continues to roll snake eyes in Las Vegas.

The 2023 series champion was the first NASCAR Cup Series playoff driver to encounter trouble in the Round of 8 with an early exit from Sunday’s race after a hard crash from a blown tire. The left-front tire blew as he drove into Turn 3, sending him into the wall and damaging the right side of his Team Penske Ford beyond repair.

Blaney has now finished outside the top 30 for the third straight race in Las Vegas. The incident occurred before the end of the first stage, keeping him from earning any stage points. He was the first driver to fall out of the race, credited with a 38th-place finish.

“No, I didn’t have any thoughts that it was going to blow,” Blaney said. “As soon as I lifted into [Turn] 3, it blew out.”

In the spring, the No. 12 was involved in a multi-car crash on the backstretch at Las Vegas. A year ago, his car was clipped and damaged by Brad Keselowski, who spun across the racetrack after being involved in the Tyler Reddick rollover incident on the frontstretch. Like last year, Blaney again knows he will be fighting from behind as the postseason continues.

“I’m not overjoyed, I’ll tell you that,” he said. “We’ll have to come from behind like we did last year. Hopefully we can win one of the next two weeks. We just can’t have a smooth day, it seems like.”

Blaney is likely to be last on the playoff grid by the conclusion of Sunday’s race. He said it will “no doubt” be a must-win situation for him to advance.

The final two races in the round are at Talladega and Martinsville. He’s won at both racetracks in the postseason.

“You’ve got to be optimistic,” Blaney said. “I’m not very happy right now, but tomorrow morning I’ll be optimistic to go to the next race. We’ve had good success at the next two events, so hopefully we can come and bring the speed and try to overcome the hole we put ourselves in today.”