News

Ryan Blaney
No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger
Kansas Lottery 300
Kansas Speedway
Saturday, Octber 20, 2012
TV: ESPN at 3:00 PM ET Radio: MRN/Sirius 90

No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger News and Notes
• This Week's Challenger... Ryan Blaney and the Penske Racing Discount Tire Dodge Challenger team will use chassis PRS-228 during Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway. This chassis raced to a victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway earlier this season and it also earned a second-place finish at Atlanta and a seventh-place result in Chicago.
• The No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger in 2012... Following 29 points-paying events, the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge is currently ranked seventh in the NNS owner point standings following an 18th-place finish last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Brad Keselowski behind the wheel.
• New face of Penske Racing... This weekend will mark Blaney's fifth race competing in the No. 22 Dodge Challenger with Penske Racing. He's earned top-10 results at Iowa, Richmond and Kentucky this season for the team. Blaney comes from a long line of racing heritage, following in the footsteps of his father, Dave Blaney, the former World of Outlaws champion and current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. Blaney has been hailed as one of NASCAR's most promising young talents and he is a welcome addition to the Penske Racing lineup.
• A Family Tradition... The history behind the No. 22 is deeply rooted within the Blaney family. Not many father-son duos can say that they have raced the same car number, but Dave and Ryan Blaney now share that tradition. Dave made a record 104 starts in the No. 22 under Bill Davis Racing before Penske Racing acquired the number at the end of the 2009 season. This weekend Ryan will continue to add to the family tradition and proudly carry on the history of the No. 22 entry.
• First Time for Everything... With a total of 24 NASCAR series career starts, Blaney has yet to compete at Kansas Speedway. During the 2012 season, Blaney has produced a total of 13 top-15 starts and 15 top-15 finishes in 21 starts across various NASCAR racing series.
• Meet Ryan Blaney.... Blaney will be signing autographs and participating in a Question and Answer Session Saturday afternoon from 12:45 to 1:15 pm CT at the Nationwide chalet, located outside of Turn 1 at Kansas Speedway. 

• #PenskePride...Penske Racing is asking fans to show their Penske Pride through a unique social media contest that will last for the balance of the 2012 season. Through the #PenskePride contest, each race weekend fans will Tweet @PenskeRacing pictures showing their support of the Penske Racing organization, their favorite Penske Racing driver(s) or teams in unique and creative ways, using the hashtag #PenskePride. The best weekly photo will be named Fan Photo of the Week. At the end of each month, a Fan Photo of the Month will be selected from the weekly winners. The best monthly photos will be voted on by @PenskeRacing followers to be named Fan Photo of the Year. The winner of Photo of the Year will receive the Ultimate Penske Racing Fan Experience including tickets and hot passes to the 2013 NASCAR All-Star Race, autographed items and a tour of the Penske Racing facility with a Penske driver.

Ryan Blaney on his debut at Kansas Speedway with Penske Racing
"With this being my first event at Kansas, I don't really know what to expect. We have an advantage though with the track being freshly repaved so everyone will be on the same starting spot. I'm looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the Discount Tire Dodge. It's been a few weeks since I've gotten to work with the team and I'm looking forward to coming back. We didn't have the best finish in Dover a few weeks back so I'm hoping to change that and bring home a solid result in the Kentucky Lottery 300."

Crew chief Jeremy Bullins on this weekend's race at Kansas Speedway
"Kansas will be a clean slate for everyone this weekend with this being the first race on the newly-paved surface. The Discount Tire team is excited to head there with Ryan Blaney again behind the wheel. We had a very productive test a few weeks ago with Blaney and a lot of what we learned was carried over into the strong run we had at Charlotte Motor Speedway this past weekend. Blaney gets a lot of the credit for helping us develop that race setup and we hope to carry that momentum over to this weekend and leave with a strong finish."