Blaney reaps rewards of hot start

AVONDALE, ARIZ. — Ryan Blaney knows all about NASCAR’s version of the “Silly Season,” the time during the schedule when free-agent drivers are looking for a deal, rumors are flying and surprises abound.

He is happy he won’t be part of that discussion this year.

The future of NASCAR’s current points leader was secured Friday as Team Penske rewarded the 26-yearold driver with a multiyear extension. He goes into’s Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway only needing to worry about finding victory lane instead of a new ride.

“It’s nice to have our deal so I’m out of that conversation,” Blaney said.

There are still plenty of talented drivers who are searching for longterm security. Alex Bowman won last week at Fontana, Brad Keslowski is a former Cup Series champion, Kyle Larson is an up-and-coming driver and others like Erik Jones and Corey LaJoie could also hit the market.

“I look for tweets from y’all to figure that stuff out, you guys usually know it before I do,“Blaney said while grinning at reporters. “But yeah, there’s a lot of great seats open, lot of things up in the air, whether drivers are retiring or their deals are up.”

The extension with Penske caps an emotional few weeks for Blaney, who finished second at the Daytona 500 in February but was involved in a harrowing accident on the final lap that involved fellow Ford driver Ryan Newman. Blaney was trying to push Newman to the win and instead hooked the car, resulting in an airborne, fiery crash.

Chase Elliott won the pole Saturday for the Sunday’s race, his first pole of the season and ninth of his career.

Elliott made it around the 1-mile oval in 26.065 seconds. It’s the first time the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver has won a pole in Arizona. He’ll start Sunday’s race on the front row alongside nine-time Phoenix winner Kevin Harvick, who finished 0.045 seconds behind Elliott.