‘SCRAPPY RACE’ FOR RYAN AND THE 12 TEAM IN CHARLOTTE

Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 BODYARMOR Flash I.V. Ford Mustang Dark Horse team reeled off three top-10 stage finishes en route to a seventh-place result in a rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Blaney and the No. 12 team worked to dial in the balance during the opening stage prior to a caution with 11 laps remaining in the segment that saw a majority of the leaders hit pit road before restarting with five to go. Blaney charged from 11th to sixth in the closing laps of Stage 1 and carried that momentum into the second segment to pick up a seventh-place result in Stage 2. A loose-handling condition from the onset of the third stage saw Blaney fade outside of the top-10, prompting crew chief Jonathan Hassler to call him to pit road at the start of the green flag cycle on lap 250. The adjustments and timing paid off as Blaney cycled to seventh in the running order before ultimately crossing the line ninth in Stage 3. A caution early in the following run saw varying strategies come into play as two of the leaders opted to stay out and six teams took right side tires only, while the No. 12 team went with a four tire stop under yellow. Blaney was split three wide on the ensuing restart, causing him to drop to 16th before a multi-car incident unraveled ahead of him on the backstretch. Blaney was able to avoid the wreck by darting towards the inside wall and only making slight contact with the back bumper of the No. 41, but did not warrant a trip to pit road to assess any damage. The caution flag flew once again with 38 laps remaining as rainfall eventually brought the field to pit road under the red flag with Blaney scored 12th. After a brief delay, Blaney took the restart from the inside of row four with 31 laps to go before a stronger band of rain hit the track just three laps in and ultimately signaled the end of the night as the No. 12 team came away with a seventh-place finish.