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THE RACE

Ford EcoBoost 300
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Saturday, November 15
 
THE RESULTS

The No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang
Driver: Ryan Blaney
Starting Position: 5
Finish Position: 4

THE RACE REVIEW
 
· Making his fourth start with the Greg Erwin-led crew, Ryan Blaney qualified the No. 12 Discount Tire Ford Mustang fifth for Saturday’s Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

· At the drop of the green flag, Blaney settled in and logged laps in the sixth. On the short run, Blaney radioed to Erwin that his car was really tight in the center. As the race progressed during a long run, the No. 12 Discount Tire Mustang began to loosen up.

· When the first caution of the night flew on lap 34, Blaney radioed to the crew that his car was extremely loose. Erwin called for fuel, four tires and a track bar adjustment to fix the loose handling condition.   

· The race went back to green on lap 39 and Blaney would restart fifth. By lap 42, Blaney raced up to fourth. Shortly after, Blaney’s No. 12 Mustang was running the fastest laps on track.

· Blaney soon found himself in a fight for the top spot with race leader Kyle Larson. On lap 96, Blaney would make the pass to become the new race leader. Blaney and the No. 12 Mustang would lead 24 laps until the caution flew once again on lap 119.

· While becoming a fixture in the top-five, Blaney began complaining of a very tight condition.  During a pit stop on lap 173, Erwin called the youngster in for four fresh tires. After checking tire wear, the crew noticed the right front tire was going flat and the reason for Blaney’s ill-handling car during the run.

· Blaney would hold on to the third position as the race leaders battled for the top spot.  Eventually, Blaney would slip back one position as the checkers waved, coming home fourth.

· With the strong performance, Blaney captured his fourth top-five of the year while driving the No. 12 Ford. The solid result also marked his 10th top-five finish overall in just 14 races.
    

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

RYAN BLANEY NO. 12 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD

YOU HAD A FAST CAR ALL NIGHT. TALK ABOUT YOUR RACE.

“I just want to thank everyone from Discount Tire and this No. 12 team. I cannot commend them enough on the job they have done in a short amount of time. They have only been together for five races, four with me, and we close out the season with another top-five. I am disappointed we didn’t get the win for these guys and Discount Tire; we had such a fast car. Once that last yellow came out and we were in line for the green, white, checker, I thought we would be able to beat them on the restart. I knew everyone was going to give it all they had, but we were just too tight at the end. But again, overall I am happy with the finish and the effort from my team, they all did a great job and I could not be prouder.”

GREG ERWIN, CREW CHIEF, NO. 12 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD

YOU JUST LEAD THIS PART-TIME TEAM TO THEIR FIFTH TOP-5 IN FIVE RACES. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE THIS STRONG ON A PART TIME SCHEDULE?

“First of all, it is the team you work with and this No. 12 team is one of the best. It has to do with the driver and Blaney has a lot of skill. We are able to work off of each other and he can tell me what he needs during the race so I can work on it and make it better. Tonight I felt like we had a strong car, one to beat, but had a tire going down that kind of threw us off. But Blaney was right there at the end and was able to finish a solid fourth.”