Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Team Scores Second Top 10 of 2017 With Seventh-Place Finish in Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Speedway
Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team scored their second top-10 finish of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season with a seventh-place result in the Kobalt 400 this afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
LAS VEGAS, Nev., March 12, 2017 – Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team scored their second top-10 finish of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season with a seventh-place result in the Kobalt 400 this afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Starting third on the grid after nearly nabbing the pole on Friday, Blaney was in the top-10 all day despite an unscheduled green-flag pit stop early in the race to tighten the left rear wheel.
“We had to come back and get some lug nuts on a loose wheel so that put us back in the pack and we had to recover from that,” Blaney said after climbing out of his red-and-white No. 21. “(The pit crew) did a good job and the car was good enough to drive up through there (back to into the top 10).”
Blaney finished Stage 1 of the race in third place, picking up eight points. He finished Stage 2 in sixth and picked up an additional five points. The stage points, along with the seventh-place points haul moves the Wood Brothers’ wheelman into sixth place in the driver points standings, 26 points behind fellow Ford pilot Brad Keselowski.
Disaster almost struck Blaney and company on the last re-start of the race when he was starting fifth behind Chase Elliott and the two came close to taking each other out of the contest.
“He just threw a big block and I could have turned him or lifted,” Blaney explained. “I was nice and didn’t turn him.”
Blaney and the Wood Brothers were fast all weekend, in the top 10 in every practice session and even posting the fastest qualifying lap on Friday, albeit in round two.
“Not a bad weekend,” Blaney said. “I thought we were a little bit better than (seventh place). I thought the best we could have done was fourth or fifth. We just didn’t have the speed of the top three. Overall it was a good day.
“We had a good car and a good effort to get back in the front pack,” he said. “I can’t thank the Wood Brothers guys enough.”
NASCAR’s West Coast Swing continues next weekend, March 19, with the Camping World 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
About Motorcraft
Motorcraft® offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended and approved by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to under-hood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer exceptional value with the highest quality and right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln dealers, independent distributors and automotive parts retailers are backed by Ford Motor Company’s two-year, unlimited-miles Service Parts Limited Warranty. Ask for Motorcraft by name when you visit your local auto parts store or your favorite service facility. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.
About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Centers
Ford’s Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers routine vehicle maintenance such as oil and filter changes, light repair services including brake repair, and tire replacements on all vehicle makes and models. With more than 800 locations and growing, customers can visit www.quicklane.com to find a center that is closest to them, print savings coupons and review maintenance tips to keep their vehicles running at peak efficiency. This site includes information on how to spot tire wear, how to jump-start a battery and even a series of tips to improve a vehicle’s fuel economy.
Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 98 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 117 poles in NASCA’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion driven by Ryan Blaney in the famous number 21 racecar.
