What was sure to be a promising weekend at the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 for Ryan Blaney, the adopted favorite driver of the 12oz Sports Network, devolved into a so-so result but not without a monumental moment for Blaney. The driver of the #12 made his 200th start in NASCAR, a great milestone for the young driver.
No Title
Hard to believe it's my 200th #NASCAR Cup start this weekend at @DAYTONA. Here's the first back in 2014 at Kansas. Here's to many more! pic.twitter.com/9lzjlbLS2S
No Title
2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ for YRB! Congratulations to @Blaney who will make his 200th NASCAR Cup Series start when he takes the green flag this afternoon at @DAYTONA! pic.twitter.com/vIUCxVg2xM
The Team Penske driver started in 27th on the pole but was full of promise since the race was on the Daytona road course, the very course Blaney led on the last lap the prior weekend before getting spun out on the final turn. After Stage 1, Blaney had worked himself into 14th place. Stage 2 would not be as promising as Blaney would drop a spot to 15th, and not without incident.
No Title
@RossChastain might have had some help from @Blaney moments before his crash at the @DAYTONA Road Course.📺: FOX 📱: https://t.co/oWWAusOO8X pic.twitter.com/d1fOapGPF4
The contact with Chastain did not hurt Blaney as much as his foe but could have stymied some momentum. Ryan would fall back to 30th on the final stage, only to fight and claw his way back to 15th by race's end, earning himself 22 points for the day. Blaney now sits at 19th in the standings.
NASCAR Cup Series Standings | Official Site Of NASCAR
NASCAR Cup Series driver and team standings as well as playoff point totals, rank, and grid.
The Dixie Vodka 400 in Miami is this Sunday (Feb. 28th) at 3:30 pm EST.
Main Article Photo credit: Andrew | MotoGL.com on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND
