You win some, you lose some, and while NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney didn’t get to take home a first-place win, he was still one of the top-five finishers at Pheonix Raceway on Sunday. In reflecting on the Ruoff Mortgage 500 on Monday, the No. 12 driver shared his thoughts regarding his fourth-place finish.
Altogether, Ryan Blaney said his fourth-place finish at the race capped “a very fast day with a solid car.”
And while a first-place win is always the goal, the NASCAR driver admitted, “A shame we didn’t get the win, but days like this you can’t complain too much about.”
Regardless of what Ryan Blaney thinks regarding his vehicle’s Sunday performance, NASCAR highlighted that his Pheonix placement managed to put his team’s 2022 season back on track. The outlet reports it was the first time the No. 12 Team Penske Ford found its place on the pole this year. Ahead of his placement on Sunday, Ryan Blaney led the first 25 circuits up to the competition caution but a pit road speeding penalty saw him sent to the back of the field.
As per the outlet, Blaney attributed his placement at Pheonix Raceway to caster wobble on the track at race speed. In speaking to the issue, which he voiced concerns of multiple times over the radio, he said, “About 25 laps into the second stage, I had massive…it felt like caster wobble.”
He explained that this issue typically only takes place when riding at 10 miles per hour or coming in on the pit road.
“I don’t know what was wrong,” he admitted. “It was pretty bad to deal with. It was pretty significant and I think it hurt us a little bit.”
Ryan Blaney Plans to ‘Tear Apart’ Penske Ford Car
Despite Blaney’s technical difficulties on the track Sunday, his determination and experience as a NASCAR driver enabled him and his team to still place in the top five. That said, the outlet reports Sunday’s placement sees Ryan Blaney with four top-fives and eight top-10s at Pheonix Raceway.
As such, he shared, “I thought we had a shot today, but it just didn’t play out. We seem to qualify great here…Seem to race pretty decent, but just never seem to put a whole one together to try to win the race.”
Now, following his performance at the Arizona oval, Ryan Blaney shared with the outlet, “I can’t wait to get back to the race shop to tear it apart.”
After spending a significant chunk of time battling caster wobble at race speed, the driver said all of a sudden, he felt the vibrating stop and the car just began to pull to the right. He attributed the problems to something within the steering system, detailing the wheel was completely bent out of shape.
“Luckily, we didn’t go many more laps because I was just kind of hanging on,” Blaney concluded.
Well, for just hanging on, I’d say fourth place isn’t all that bad.
