NASCAR Cup Series

Ryan Blaney will make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut Saturday night, driving the No. 12 SKF Ford Fusion for Team Penske. Blaney, who will also race in tonight’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, talked about his Cup debut as part of a media availability Thursday. Below is a partial transcript of that availability.

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KINGSFORD CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Kansas Speedway and discussed last weekend’s finish at Talladega, his season thus far and many other topics.

Kansas is not as sexy as Talladega, I admit. It is not a Daytona, a Darlington, and it is no Indianapolis. I think having the race named after a series of sponsors instead of seeking a real identity might have something to do with that. Still, some big names have been among the 16 winners there since they first started up the engines back in 2001.

After ‘cleaning up’ the infield at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Zest will once again ‘clean up’ the media at Kansas Speedway by giving each media member an authentic No. 17 car shaped Zest soap bar.

At Talladega this past weekend, one fan, wearing only a Goodyear, received some significant television time during the race broadcast. So, this week’s NASCAR Behind the Scenes simply had to focus on Chris MacNicol, the man otherwise known as the Talladega Tire Man.

Gordon ran up front much of the day at Talladega before he was collected in the “Big One” on lap 137. He finished 39th, his worst finish of the year, 32 laps down, but held on to the lead in the Sprint Cup points standings.

“Talladega did not go as we wanted but now we go to Kansas and for me there is no bigger race during the season than Kansas. So many people that I know come to that race, people who have helped me in my career, and it would be really special to win.

"Since they repaved Kansas, it's had close, hard racing. I think it will be that way on Saturday night. We were fortunate to take part in the tire test there a few weeks back, which helps me because that was extra time on the track in a Cup car, which I had never had before. I'm looking forward to getting back to Kansas for a strong run under the lights."

“Obviously, a win relatively early in the season is a great momentum-builder for our entire FedEx team. Our program on intermediate and short tracks isn’t quite where we need it to be, but this win gives us the opportunity to spend the next couple months getting ready for September and the Chase, when the playoffs start.

To say Clint Bowyer has had an eventful start to his week would seem an understatement. In the span of six hours on Monday, he and new wife Lorra announced they are going to be parents. A few hours later the soon-to-be dad announced a multi-year contract extension with Michael Waltrip Racing, sponsor 5-hour ENERGY and crew chief Brian Pattie.