Blaney crew chief returns in time for playoff race
Ryan Blaney gets his crew chief back for the most important weekend of his NASCAR season after an untimely suspension. The first task for Jonathan Hassler? Get his driver a strong starting spot in the last race to qualify for the championship.
There are three spots up for grab at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday race, and Joey Logano is the only driver qualified for next week’s winner-take-all final four at Phoenix Raceway.
Seven drivers are vying for the final three positions and starting position will be critical. The spring stop at the paperclip-shaped 0.526mile short track was a passing nightmare with only five lead changes and four cautions — two of which were for stage breaks.
“Yeah, passing was a little bit of an issue in the spring,” Blaney said. “Qualifying is going to be huge, trying to set yourself up. It’s super hard to pass the leader from second or third, and I just think qualifying is going to be super important.”
Blaney was one of four drivers to lead, but his Ford was out front for a measly five laps in a race dominated by winner William Byron and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott. They combined to lead all but six of the 403 laps.
Denny Hamlin, Blaney, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe are all below the cutline headed into Sunday, with
Bell and Briscoe essentially needing a victory to make the final four. Ross Chastain, Elliott and Byron are above the cutline, and only 32 points separate Chastain in second from Blaney in sixth.
Blaney is hopeful a June test at Martinsville helped Goodyear develop a better-performing tire that will make this weekend’s race more competitive. He also noted that “it’s going to be warmer this weekend than it was in the spring.”
And if the product isn’t any better? Well, Blaney predicts the remaining playoff drivers will get desperate toward the end of the race for every possible position.
“If you get some cautions toward the end of this thing, then pandemonium ensues,” Blaney said. “You’ve seen that, especially in this race, when its the last chance for guys to get into the (finale). If they’re in position, they’re going to be aggressive.
“Almost always if you get cautions at the end of one of these playoff races, at short tracks, you’re going to have some pretty hard racing and a bunch of contact. So tighten your belts and hope you are on the giving end of it and not the receiving end.”
As for the return of Hassler — one of many crew chiefs to receive four-race suspensions this season for loose wheels on the new Next Gen car — Blaney hopes it gets him into victory lane for his first points-paying win this season.