Ryan Blaney had perhaps the second-most impressive drive in Sunday night’s Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium by finishing second after starting last on the field.
Blaney got to the leader and eventual race winner Chase Elliott in the final stint of the exhibition race after it went green for the final time on lap 120 but didn’t have enough to challenge or move Elliott. And the harder Blaney tried, the more he wore out the tires on his Team Penske machine and eventually burned off the right-rear tire.
“I got to 10th before the break and got to the top five relatively quick — a couple of restarts went my way — and by the time I got to second, I saved a pretty good bit even to get to second because I knew it might go the whole way,” Blaney said. “Then it was just kind of like a game between (Elliott) and myself, like who can save more right-rear tire. I just didn’t quite have enough to lean on there at the end.
“I started pushing with 25 to go, and I just didn’t have enough. I was like, ‘Uh oh.’ I needed some help by lappers and I just never really could get there. I didn’t have enough to lean on, but it was fun coming from the back. Just not quite having enough, but it’s always fun when you can move forward like that.”
Blaney and the No. 12 team started last, 23rd, after taking the provisional to make the field. He did not lock in a spot through his Saturday night heat race. Sunday afternoon, when the garage opened, the team discovered a hole in the water cooler and opted to change the water cooler and radiator, which put them at the rear for the Last Chance Qualifying race.
But having the provisional in their pocket, Blaney’s group opted to run 23 laps of the Last Chance Qualifying race (75 laps) to ensure everything was in order and then parked the car. The provisional went to the driver highest in the 2024 championship standings who had not locked into the Clash through their heat race or the Last Chance Qualifying Race. Blaney finished second in the championship and teammate Joey Logano, the champion, locked up his Clash spot in his heat race.
In the first 100 laps before the halfway break, Blaney went from 23rd to 10th. It was on merit as the race’s first half had only two caution flags.