BAD LUCK FOR BLANEY IN VEGAS; CAUGHT IN IN LATE WRECK

Ryan Blaney rallied from two laps down in the opening stage to make his way into the top five by Stage 2, but ultimately was collected in a multi-car incident on lap 195 to bring an end to the weekend in Las Vegas for the No. 12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Due to damage sustained during practice Saturday, Blaney took the green flag from the tail end of the field and gained 10 positions in the opening 10 laps. A caution during the first green flag pit cycle of the afternoon trapped Blaney two laps down, resulting in a 33rd-place finish in Stage 1. An early caution during the first run of Stage 2 awarded Blaney the free pass to rejoin the lead lap, as he went on to gain 27 spots en route to a sixth-place finish in Stage 2. After the field lined up to restart with 73 laps to go, Blaney found himself in the middle of a four-wide battle off turn two and was turned into the outside wall on the backstretch. Blaney was able to drive the Menards/Pennzoil Ford Mustang to the garage for the No. 12 team to make repairs, but ultimately retired from the race.