Team Penske NASCAR XFINITY Series Race Report
Track: Dover International Speedway
Race: Use Your Melon. Drive Sober 200
Date: September 30, 2017
No. 22 Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney
Start: 8th
Finish: 1st (6th career XFINITY win)
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 200/200
Laps Led: 136
Owner’s Points Position (behind leader): 2nd (-9)
Recap: Ryan Blaney won the 32nd Annual Use Your Melon. Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway capturing his sixth career victory in his 60th NASCAR XFINITY Series start. Blaney qualified the No.22 Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford in the eighth position and quickly powered his way into the top-five in the opening laps. During the caution filled, first 60 lap stage, Blaney raced his way up to the second position reporting his Ford Mustang was too tight. The 23-year-old would remain in the second position at the end of the opening stage. During the first stop, crew chief Greg Erwin called for minor adjustments to free up Blaney’s Ford. A fast pit stop by the No. 22 pit crew allowed Blaney to win the race off pit road and restart as the leader. The third-generation-driver would dominate the second 60 lap stage and capture the stage win after leading 58 laps. Another fast stop by the No. 22 team positioned Blaney as the race leader once again. The race would remain green for the remainder of the final stage, with Blaney leading until the drop of the checker flag. The victory was Blaney’s second victory and eighth top-10 finish in 2017 and his first victory at Dover. The victory also propelled the 22 team to second in the Owners Championship, just nine markers behind the 18 of J D Gibbs.
Quote: “Yeah, it’s really hard to get a car like that and to be honest we didn’t have it in the first run. We were a little bit off on the first run. We made some great changes after the first Stage to get it better to where it needs to be. We actually got it better for the last run. I think this team does a great job with that of maybe not firing off the greatest but they know how to work on it and make it better throughout the race. As a driver that all you can ask for, great changes throughout. It’s awesome to get to victory lane with Fitzgerald. This is really cool. We were close the first race this year and just didn’t quite get it. Definitely learned a lot for tomorrow.”
