Tag Archives: Ryan Blaney

Chase Elliott Starting to Feel Comfortable with No. 24 Legacy

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Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 NAPA Chevrolet, stands in the garage during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Advance Auto Parts Clash on February 17, 2017 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Chase Elliott can’t make fans forget the legacy of the No. 24 car, but by all indications, he’s ready to make his own distinctive mark in that vaunted ride.

The history of the No. 24 car is monumental, and Elliott inherited that ride last year from the driver who made it famous.

The No. 24 has won 93 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races in 1,414 starts since the number debuted in 1950. All 93 victories belong to Jeff Gordon, who retired from full-time racing at NASCAR’s highest level at the end of the 2015 season. Continue reading →

The Daytona 500: A Race Like No Other

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Photo – Ford Performance

The Daytona 500 is recognized as the greatest stock car race in the world and on February 26, 2017 the 59th running will take place at Daytona International Speedway.  Ever since drivers ran up and down the famed beach course from 1936-58, Daytona has been synonymous with speed.  The first Daytona 500 at the newly-constructed Daytona International Speedway took place on February 22, 1959 with a field of 59 cars and crowd of over 40,000.  Since then, the race has grown to become one of the top sporting events in the country.

The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season begins on February 26 with the 59th running of the Daytona 500, a race that Ford has won 14 times overall, including four times in the past eight years.

This marks the first in a series of videos that will highlight Ford Performance’s involvement in “The Great American Race”. Continue reading →

Optimism Abounds at NASCAR’s West Coast Media Day in Las Vegas

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Reporter Kelli Stavast (L-R) hosts a panel discussion with drivers Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney during NASCAR West Coast Media Day at Hyde Bellagio at Bellagio on January 7, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Photo – Isaac Brekken/Getty Images

Optimism and excitement were the common themes that flowed through NASCAR’s West Coast Media Day at The Bellagio’s Hyde night club in Las Vegas on Thursday.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney joined Las Vegas Motor Speedway President Chris Powell, Auto Club Speedway President Dave Allen and Phoenix Raceway President Bryan Sperber to speak to the media at the exclusive club. NBC’s Kelli Stavast hosted the event, which featured a Q&A session and one-on-one time with the assembled media. Continue reading →

Truex, Keselowski See Championship Hopes Go Up in Smoke

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TALLADEGA, AL - OCTOBER 23: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, drives to the garage after an on-track incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 23, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

TALLADEGA, AL – OCTOBER 23: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, drives to the garage after an on-track incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 23, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Two drivers who were among the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season’s most productive winners won’t be in the race for the championship.

Former champion Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr., winners of four races apiece this year, fell out of Sunday’s Hellman’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway with blown engines and failed to qualify for the Round of 8 with four races remaining on the schedule.

Also knocked out of the championship group Sunday were Austin Dillon and rookie Chase Elliott.

The Chase will continue next weekend at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. Continue reading →

Blaney Honoring the Late Neil Bonnett at Talladega

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Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are planning an encore presentation of their throwback theme first used at the Darlington Raceway earlier this season.

Blaney, at his own request, will wear the same uniform he wore during the Southern 500 to honor David Pearson.

At Talladega, he’ll wear the uniform in honor of both Pearson and the late Neil Bonnett, who was from Bessemer, Ala., and considered Talladega his home track.

Bonnett succeeded Pearson as driver of the iconic No. 21 midway through the 1979 season and used a uniform just like the one Pearson wore. Once aboard the No. 21, Bonnett won in his third start, at Dover International Speedway. He won twice more that season, at Daytona and Atlanta. Continue reading →