Blaney “ran out of laps” to catch Bell for Homestead win

Blaney, the sole Team Penske driver still in the playoffs, showcased impressive performance in Sunday’s race with his No. 12 Ford, especially during long runs.

He led for the second-most laps in the race (53 out of 267) and briefly took the lead on a restart with 23 laps remaining, only to drop back to third.

Blaney regained the second position, trailing behind Bell by six laps to go, as his car gained speed and he aimed to challenge for the lead. However, he fell short by 1.185 seconds at the finish line.

“We were giving it our all. We just needed more laps. Our car performed exceptionally well on long runs. However, I struggled with the first 10 laps or so,” explained Blaney. “The cooler track temperatures seemed to favor the other drivers. We were better in hotter and slicker conditions when initial speed wasn’t as crucial.”

“Towards the end, it got a little cooler, and we never quite found the speed upfront like they did. We ran out of time a bit. Nonetheless, I’m proud of our effort. It was a remarkable day, we just fell a bit short at the end.”

Blaney’s second-place finish, coupled with the early elimination of playoff contenders Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., placed him fourth in the playoff standings.

With only one race at Martinsville remaining to secure a spot in the Championship 4, he holds a comfortable 10-point advantage over Tyler Reddick in fifth place for the final spot.

Following two unexpectedly strong performances in the past two races, Blaney enters the Martinsville race with renewed confidence.

“I hope we can continue our good performance. We’ve had back-to-back solid weekends at Vegas and here. So, hopefully, we can replicate it next week,” he expressed.

“It’s reassuring to come here with a decent gap and head to Martinsville with a positive mindset. The key now is to perform and run well.”