NEWTON, Iowa (AP)-- Ryan Blaney had his concerns heading into the final laps Sunday night in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway.
The problem was he didn't hear his crew chief's reassurance.
There was no requirement to stress, however, with the safeguarding series champion holding on for his first victory of the season and a spot in the playoffs.
Blaney appeared in control of the race, but was worried about fuel a number of weeks after running out on the last lap while leading at World Wide Technology Raceway. It's why team chief Jonathan Hassler came on the radio with less than 10 laps to enter this race to let him understand he was excellent on fuel.
" I do not even remember him saying that," Blaney said. "I figured we were (OK). I do not remember him saying that."
" I wanted to ensure he knew the entire situation," Hassler said. "Sometimes I forget he doesn't know what I understand. I just attempt to interact as much as I can so he understands what's going on."
Blaney led 4 times for a career-high 201 laps, completing 0.716 seconds ahead of William Byron for his 11th Cup victory.
Ryan Blaney commemorates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, June 16, 2024, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall).
" Ryan and those guys were really great," Byron said. "He had a truly good automobile. He was up front, competing a lot.".
Blaney regained the lead on Lap 263 after taking simply two tires on a caution-flag rest stop. He led the rest of the method, getting through lapped traffic as Byron tried to close.
It was the choice to take two tires, on a weekend when tire wear was an issue for the Cup Series and Xfinity Series automobiles, that worried Hassler.
" There were not a lot of guys on 2 tires," Hassler stated. "At some point those guys are going to be a little bit much better than you are. So, yeah, really anxious.".
Blaney, whose mother, Lisa, is from Chariton, Iowa, won in front of a sellout crowd of an approximated 40,000 fans that consisted of 80 of his family and friends.
It was fitting the first Cup Series race at the 0.875-mile track would go to a Team Penske chauffeur-- Penske cars have actually won 7 IndyCar Series races and three NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the track.
" I believe, as a whole company, we do an excellent job of these locations we go to for the very first time," stated Blaney, who also has wins at the track in the Xfinity and
Truck series.
Blaney, who started on the exterior of the front row, admitted he had concerns about how good his cars and truck would be for the race.
" Friday, I didn't feel very good," he said. "I wasn't really positive in the speed in our car. And we truly went to work-- we got a lot better qualifying to the race and improved through the night tonight. And I think we're great at some points of the night. The last couple of runs were phenomenal. ".
Chase Elliott was 3rd. Christopher Bell, who needed to start from the back of the field in a backup car after crashing during practice Friday, was fourth. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who like Blaney took two tires on the final rest stop, completed fifth.
Joey Logano completed sixth. Rookie Josh Berry, who led 32 laps, was seventh, followed by Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez and Brad Keselowski.
Kyle Larson, the series points leader and pole-sitter for the race, led 81 laps and won the 2nd phase, but hit the wall on Lap 219 after contact from behind by Suarez. Larson had actually surged into the middle of a three-wide jam, with Suarez to his left and Keselowski to his right, when the contact took place. Larson finished 34th in the 36-car field.
Getting a Cup Series race was an achievement for the track, situated 40 miles from
Des Moines. The center opened in 2006 and was on the schedules of NASCAR's Xfinity Series and
Truck Series from 2009-19. NASCAR has owned the track given that 2013.
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