Team Penske NASCAR XFINITY Series Race Report - Dover
October 3, 2015
NASCAR XFINITY Series Race Report
Track: Dover International Speedway
Race: Hisense 200
Date: October 3, 2015
No. 22 Hertz Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney
Start: 1st
Finish: 4th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 200/200
Laps Led: 0
Owners’ Points Position: 1st (+61)
Recap: Ryan Blaney and the No. 22 Hertz Ford Mustang team finished the Hisense 200 in the fourth position following a weekend plagued by rain at Dover International Speedway. Blaney started the event from the pole after both practice and qualifying was rained out and the field was set by NASCAR XFINITY Series Owners’ Points. With no laps on the track before the green flag flew, Blaney fell to the second position early, reporting his Ford Mustang was loose in. Once the first of two competition cautions flew on lap 25, crew chief Greg Erwin called Blaney down pit road for several adjustments. Once the race restarted, Blaney found himself in the second position once again. On the long run, Blaney’s Hertz Mustang began to free up, a condition he would fight throughout the race. As the race progressed, the team continued to work on Blaney’s Mustang, trying to tighten him up for the long green flag runs. On lap 112, the entire field came down pit road before the race came to a halt due to rain. After a 31-minute red flag period, the race got underway once again. Blaney reported his car was better and he was running the fastest laps on track. Being right on the edge of his fuel window, Erwin instructed Blaney to save fuel. Blaney eventually raced his way to the fourth position as the checkered flag flew. The fourth-place finish was Blaney’s eighth top-five finish of the season in just 12 starts. The No. 22 team continues to lead the XFINITY Series Owners’ points by 61 markers over the 54 of Joe Gibbs Racing.
Quote: “The car changed a bunch throughout the day. We got a couple different track looks there with it raining and started all over, but our Hertz Ford Mustang wasn’t bad. By the end of the race, I felt like our long-run speed was OK, we just lacked a little bit of short-run speed and that really hurt us. We couldn’t make up the time that we lost and we were concerned about saving fuel there at the end. I didn’t know if the top three could make it. They were running pretty hard and they made it, but it wasn’t a bad outing right here. It was a good, solid finish for us and we’ll build for next time.”