Ryan Blaney and Miami Homestead Speedway have a history. Although he might have made his way to the championship in the last two years, a win at Homestead eluded him. In the 2023 and 2024 races, he had to settle for a runner-up finish; last year, in particular, was heartbreaking as his win was practically stolen by Tyler Reddick on the last lap of the race.
But with a new date, the event got pushed to the start of the year in 2025, and Blaney once again found himself in the spot to win the race at Homestead. Having bagged the first stage win, he cycled up well on the final stage, charging behind the No. 23 of Bubba Wallace and No. 5 of Kyle Larson. He had already led 124 laps in the race, and had he regained the lead, it would’ve been hard for his rivals to match the pace of the No.12 car.
Just when Blaney was starting to hit his stride and gain ground on the leader on lap 208, the engine on his race car blew up. There was a big cloud of smoke and unfortunately, the driver had to retire the car. A good weekend turned into a nightmare for the Penske driver, as this was his third straight DNF and second engine issue after Phoenix. We’ve seen this movie before with the Toyota camp last year, and Kevin Harvick believes that the Penske camp could be in trouble if they don’t sort out this mess soon.
Harvick’s analysis cuts deep: “Fastest car in the last couple of weeks, been in position to just dominate races. He was dominating this race and had some trouble on the pit road, had some things get banged up and then the engine blew up.” Harvick’s co-host Mamba explained Blaney’s incident, “Grenaded.”
“We talked about Toyota’s last year and what was the issues with the engines and ultimately they got it fixed. But they blew up a lot of motors. So, having these engines close together like that means they are not probably on the same rotation of the same engine batch. Well, the engine in Phoenix is gone because it blew up, too. So just have to keep our eye on it. I don’t know if this is a trend or a coincidence.” Harvick explained
TALLADEGA, AL – APRIL 23: Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske Wurth Ford looks on before the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Geico 500 on April 23, 2023, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, AL. Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire AUTO: APR 23 NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon230423338500 | Image Credit: Imago
Last year, Denny Hamlin found himself in a similar situation when the engine on his No. 11 Toyota Camry blew up at Sonoma Raceway. Not to forget, Christopher Bell was enroute to victory lane at Gateway last year but engine issues saw Ryan Blaney get passed him and Austin Cindric ultimately win the race. So, the concerns by Harvick are indeed serious, and Ford along with Team Penske will need to get to the root of this issue.
Well, the good thing is that Ryan Blaney will have a shot at redemption this week at one of his favorite race tracks.
Blaney will be banking on his Martinsville prowess this weekend
Martinsville Speedway has one of the most iconic trophies in NASCAR, the grandfather clock. And the Penske star knows a thing or two about bagging these trophies at the half-mile short track. With three DNFs and engine woes, Blaney’s start to the 2025 season has been nothing short of a nightmare. At this point and time his team would take a good points day and be content with it. But, with the Martinsville lined up next, the driver of the No. 12 car would fancy his chances to bag a win.
Last year, when the Chevy and the Toyota teams were involved in race manipulation tactics, Blaney kept his cool and fended off the charge by Chase Elliott to seal a spot in the championship race. It was a clutch performance that came after the Homestead heartbreak and he has the opportunity to do that again in the early going of the 2025 season.
In the Next Gen era, Blaney has been the class of the field, navigating his path around the short oval in Martinsville. In six starts at the tracks, he has two wins, three top 5s and a top 10 finish to his name. A comeback at one of his stomping grounds would be the best scenario for the driver and his team. So do not count out Blaney and the #12 team just yet.
The post “Grenaded”: Kevin Harvick and Co-Host Take Shots at Roger Penske’s Homestead Misery as Rocket Ship Fails to Win appeared first on EssentiallySports.