Ryan Blaney wins inaugural NASCAR Cup race at Iowa Speedway

Ryan Blaney dominated the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway on Sunday night to claim his first win of the season. He also earned an opportunity to make the playoffs.

Jun 16, 2024, 10:59 PM ET

NEWTON, Iowa — Ryan Blaney had his concerns before the final laps on Sunday night during the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway.

The issue was that he couldn’t understand his crew chief’s assurance.

There was no reason to fret the series’ defending champion securing his first win of the season, and the chance to play in the playoffs.

Blaney appeared to be at ease in the race, but he was concerned about his fuel supply a few weeks later after running out of fuel during the final lap taking the lead in the race at World Wide Technology Raceway. That’s the reason the crew’s head Jonathan Hassler came on the radio just a few laps remaining in the race to inform him the race was running well on fuel.

“I don’t even remember him saying that,” Blaney stated. “I figured we were (OK). But I don’t remember him saying that.”

“I wanted to make sure he knew the whole situation,” Hassler explained. “Sometimes I forget he doesn’t know what I know. So I just try to communicate as much as I can so he knows what’s going on.”

Blaney was the leader four times in the record-setting 201 laps. the race ended 0.716 second ahead William Byron for his 11th Cup victory.

“Ryan and those guys were really good,” Byron said. “He had a really good car. He was up front, contending a lot.”

Blaney took the lead back on lap 263 following the use of only two tires at an emergency pit stop. He was the leader for all the way by navigating lapped traffic while Byron attempted to get closer.

It was the choice to use two tires on an occasion when tire wear was an issue in cars in the Cup Series and Xfinity Series cars, that concerned Hassler.

“There were not a lot of guys on two tires,” Hassler stated. “At some point those guys are going to be a little bit better than you are. So, yeah, really nervous.”

Blaney and his mother is Lisa hails from Chariton, Iowa, won in front of a sold out crowd of of 40,000 people, including the 80 members of his circle of friends and family members.

It was appropriate that the inaugural Cup Series race at the 0.875-mile track was won by one of the Team Penske driver — Penske cars have been crowned winners of seven IndyCar Series races and three NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the track.

“I think, as a whole company, we do a good job of these places we go to for the first time,” said Blaney who has also won victories at this track during the Xfinity and Truck series.

However, Blaney was from the bottom on the row in front admitted to having doubts about how well his car would perform during the race.

“Friday, I didn’t feel very good,” said the driver. declared. “I wasn’t very confident in the speed in our car. And we really went to work — we got a lot better qualifying to the race and got better through the night tonight. And I think we’re great at some points of the night. The last few runs were phenomenal. “

Chase Elliott was third. Christopher Bell, who had to begin from the rear of the field, in an emergency vehicle following a crash during practice on Friday, finished fourth. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who along with Blaney had two tires in the final pit stop placed fifth.

Joey Logano finished sixth. Newcomer Josh Berry, who led 32 laps, finished seventh and was following by Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez and Brad Keselowski.

Kyle Larson, the series points leader and pole-sitter in the race He led 81 laps and took the stage 2 however, he was unable to finish the race on lap 219 following a collision with the rear of Suarez. Larson was soaring through a 3-wide grid and was surrounded by Suarez in his direction to the left, along with Keselowski on his right at the time of the collision. Larson placed 34th in a 36-car field.

The winning of an invitation to a Cup Series race was an achievement for the track, situated 40 miles away far from Des Moines. The track opened the year 2006, and it was included on Schedules with NASCAR’s Xfinity Series and Truck Series from 2009 to. NASCAR has been the owner of the track since the year 2013.