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Ryan Blaney, who is hoping to become the first back-to-back champion in the era of the knockout-style format, will start from the rear of the field on Sunday.
After a get-up-to-speed lap, Blaney’s first true flying lap in practice ended in the outside wall. As the No. 12 Team Penske Ford barreled off into Turn 1, the left-rear tire went down as he bounced over the bumps. The car immediately spun around and slammed the outside wall, driver-side first.
Blaney radioed that “I had no warning” after the impact. “My head hurts,” he added before climbing from the damaged car. Thankfully, he was checked and released from the infield care center soon after.
“I’m alright,” Blaney told NBC Sports. “Just blew a tire into Turn 1. Just stinks. I didn’t feel anything odd down the front stretch. Just a shame it ended our practice early and we got our work cut out for us with a backup car. Hopefully we’ll be able to fight back from it and go to work tomorrow.”
He continued: “It’s definitely a lot to overcome, for sure. Starting in the back and no laps with this backup car … I have confidence that hopefully we can make some hay tomorrow and do it early. You know, try to get up through there. So yeah, it sets us back a little bit but this team — they thrive under that type of pressure. Happy to be with a group like that. Unfortunate situation we’re in but we’ll claw our way through.
As a result of the wreck, Blaney will not take part in qualifying and will have to start Sunday’s race in 37th. As Blaney indicated, he will also go to a backup car. He officially completed one lap in practice, but at 171.652mph, it was about two seconds off the pace.
