- Ryan Blaney won his third race of the season and the 13th of his career today.
- This marks the second straight year Blaney has won the Martinsville Playoff race.
- Blaney joins Team Penske teammate Joey Logano in the Championship 4.
- Ford and Team Penske will be going for a third straight series championship next week in Phoenix.
- It also marks Team Penske’s 100th series win with Ford.
- Team Penske won 27 races from 1994 to 2002 and then returned to Ford in 2013 with Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. Since then, they’ve added a third car with Ryan Blaney and have won 73 times.
- Seven different drivers have won at least one race with Team Penske and Ford.
- Joey Logano has the most wins with 33.
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW — YOUR EMOTIONS RIGHT NOW ON WHAT YOU DID TODAY? “I’m worn out. It’s hard. The last 70 or so laps I tried to save my rears the best I could because that’s where I started struggling later in the runs. I hated I had to lay the bumper to some guys, but I had to do it. It was nice to pass the 9 clean. I layed the bumper to a couple guys that I wish I didn’t have to, but I needed to get going, so it was a long night. I appreciate everybody for getting better through the night. Thank goodness. I think that’s the most tired I’ve been after a race in a long time.”
WAS THERE A POINT IN THE FINAL 70 LAPS THAT YOU LOST HOPE OR YOU GAINED HOPE? “Part of me was nervous because when I got to the 6 earlier, like the run or two before, I just lost so much rear drive and I couldn’t drive under him. I felt like my rears were hanging on a little bit better that last run, and it started to seem like the 5 and the 9 were starting to struggle on corner exit and that’s where I was able to do it. We definitely got the car better and it allowed me to kind of fade up the track and turn under, where I couldn’t really do it before. Props to Jonathan for tuning her up.”
WHAT ABOUT THE MOMENTUM GOING TO PHOENIX? “Yeah, a lot of momentum. It’s nice to have two Penske cars in. It’s nice to join the 22 and have a decent shot to bring Roger another title, a third title in a row, so these guys are the best at what they do and it’s been so much fun to get to run with them and share wins and championships. It’s super strong right now in our organization and hopefully it carries over.”
TEAM PENSKE ALL-TIME FORD CUP SERIES WINNERS
33 – Joey Logano
26 – Brad Keselowski
23 – Rusty Wallace
12 – Ryan Blaney
3 – Jeremy Mayfield
2 – Austin Cindric
1 – Ryan Newman
MILESTONE WINS BY TEAM PENSKE WITH FORD
- Feb. 27, 1994 – Rusty Wallace scores the organization’s first win with Ford when he captured the Goodwrench 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway.
- March 26, 2000 – Rusty Wallace wins at Bristol Motor Speedway, marking the 50th NASCAR Cup Series victory of his career.
- Aug. 18, 2013 – Joey Logano wins his first race with Team Penske and delivers the inaugural Heritage Trophy, given by Michigan International Speedway, to Ford.
- Feb, 22, 2015 – Joey Logano wins the Daytona 500.
- Sept. 10, 2018 – Brad Keselowski delivers the first Brickyard 400 win to owner Roger Penske.
- Sept. 16, 2018 – Brad Keselowski registers the 500th organizational victory for Team Penske with his win in the playoff opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
- Sept. 30, 2018 – Ryan Blaney wins the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race on the Charlotte Roval.
- Nov. 18, 2018 – Joey Logano captures his first career NASCAR Cup Series championship by winning the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
- Feb. 24, 2019 – Brad Keselowski wins the first NASCAR Cup Series race in a Mustang after taking the checkered flag at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
- March 29, 2021 – Joey Logano wins the first dirt race in the NASCAR Cup Series in 50 years by taking the inaugural Bristol Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
- Feb. 6, 2022 – Joey Logano kicks off the Next Gen era by winning the inaugural Clash at the Coliseum at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
- Feb. 20, 2022 – Rookie Austin Cindric wins the Daytona 500 in his eighth NASCAR Cup Series start.
- Nov. 3, 2024 – Ryan Blaney wins Team Penske’s 100th NASCAR Cup Series race with Ford.
FORD FINISHING RESULTS (UNOFFICIAL)
1st – Ryan Blaney
4th – Austin Cindric
9th – Brad Keselowski
10th – Joey Logano
11th – Noah Gragson
14th – Ryan Preece
15th – Chase Briscoe
16th – Josh Berry
26th – Todd Gilliland
27th – Kaz Grala
30th – Chris Buescher
33rd – Michael McDowell
35th – Corey LaJoie
36th – Harrison Burton
37th – Josh Bilicki
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was a top 10. That’s what it was. The focus has been on Phoenix and hopefully it pays a dividend next weekend where we can unload with a lot of speed and have a race car that can go up there and run up front and win a championship.
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We started last. We had to go to the back to start stage three and we had a really fast race car. It was a good strategy call there by Brian, putting it in my hands at the end with old tires. Honestly, probably a few more laps we would have had third, so I’m proud of everybody’s effort. The whole team collaboration this weekend and most importantly, getting Ryan in the Championship 4. We’ve got a 50 percent shot of Team Penske to win next week, so that’s awesome. It’s well-deserved by everybody on the team and after my last three weeks this feels nice, but we definitely had to work for it today.”
NOAH GRAGSON, No. 10 Bed, Bath & Beyond Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We came up one spot short from a top 10. I really want that, but, overall, a good day for the No. 10 team and Stewart-Haas. The 41 and 14 ran up front for a good majority of the day and for us to come home 11th, we started 25th. We need to get our qualifying a little better, but I think we know what we need to work on. I’m just super proud of the determination and focus out of our group this weekend. We’ve got one more.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Our car started pretty good and we just continued on and it just got worse as the day went on. We never really made it better. It’s frustrating for sure. I felt like we had a car definitely capable of running in the top five and we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot. We’ve got to get better.”
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