Ryan Blaney appreciates that NASCAR was ‘receptive’ to hearing from Team Penske earlier this week and taking another look at the team’s shock issue from Las Vegas before rescinding the disqualification.
“We talked about it internally Monday morning as a group before we went to NASCAR and was able to talk to them,” Blaney explained on Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “I appreciate NASCAR for being receptive to it and talking with us Monday and meeting with the parts at their R&D Center and understanding what the disconnect was between pre-race and post-race.
“That is a sealed part, so Elton Sawyer and Brad Moran were really great to us at being understanding and understanding that there was an issue there with the process, and they were able to fix it. A lot of emotions, but it was nice that it ended up, I think, as it should have.”
Blaney crossed the finish line sixth in Las Vegas but was disqualified in post-race inspection when NASCAR deemed the left front shock did not meet the overall specified length. A disqualification was worth one point and a last-place finish, and Blaney would have been 56 points below the playoff grid cutline.
Monday night, NASCAR rescinded the penalty and restored Blaney’s original finish and the 39 points he earned. Blaney is 17 points below the cutline with two races left in the round.
In a statement about rescinding the penalty, NASCAR said they “discovered an issue with the damper template used for inspection.”