Ryan Blaney Powers Through Cool Suit Failure for Impressive Pocono Finish

Racing the Next Gen car at the Pocono Raceway is a challenging affair regardless of experience or talent. To do so on a hot summer afternoon and finish in third place while battling a failed cooling system is all the more difficult. That’s what Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney managed to do on Sunday. His performance was nothing short of the strongest display of willpower seen in recent times.

Blaney’s cool suit malfunctioned around Lap 15 of the race. He said that the experience of going through the track with an unstable cooling system was “hot” and acknowledged that he had realized at the time of the failure that it was going to be a long day for him. Despite this setback, he was able to stay on his wheels and finish up high.

He fell on his knees multiple times during his post-race interviews, exhausted beyond his limits. The AMR Safety team arrived to take him to the care center on a golf cart. The intense dehydration was likely what caused his legs to cramp. He told Prime Video, “Really proud of No. 12 guys. From starting at the back, to making good ground, and then me speeding set us back again.

“Having to come back up there, and so, Jonathan [Hassler] and the whole No. 12 team did a good job. Kind of figured out what to do from the start of the race after my mistake.” 

Blaney had been forced to start from the rear of the field for an unapproved adjustment that his team had made to his car. They had replaced the starter engine on the Mustang Dark Horse.

Furthermore, he topped off on fuel a lap after pitting during the race and incurred a speeding penalty around Lap 59. It is a surprise that he was able to finish inside the top five after suffering such blows. Any championship-quality driver isn’t satisfied with a result other than what puts them in Victory Lane. And Blaney wasn’t satisfied with his finish.

Blaney continued, “Obviously, I’d like to have won. I think after having to start at the back and then the mistake I made, we recovered really well, and our car was fast enough to do it.

“So yeah, overall, I feel like we definitely made the most of our day, and a little bit extra would have been one or two spots better. But overall, really, really proud of the whole effort by the No. 12 team.”

In a change of scene, it was Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe who managed to win the race at Pocono. Denny Hamlin finished second, Chris Buescher finished fourth, and Chase Elliott finished fifth to round off the top five.