Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Looking To Build On Texas Success At Kansas

May 10, 2017

Ryan Blaney and Jeremy Bullins head back this weekend to where it all started for them on the Cup circuit.

The driver and crew chief of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion made their debut in NASCAR’s elite series back in 2014 at Kansas Speedway in a Team Penske Ford.

Since moving to the Wood Brothers’ team, Blaney and Bullins have had some strong runs at Kansas as evidenced by their average finish there of 8.7 since they joined the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team.

The prospects for this weekend look bright, Bullins said, especially given the exceptional speed the No. 21 Ford has shown this season.

“One thing you can’t argue is that the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Fusion has been fast each and every week in 2017,” he said. “While the last couple weeks haven’t ended how we wanted we had the speed we needed to be competitive.

“I’m excited to get back to an intermediate track for a few weeks because I felt like our run at Texas gave us a lot to build off of for the summer, and I think we can apply a lot of what we learned there to Kansas.”

Back in April at Texas Motor Speedway, Blaney qualified on the outside pole and dominated most of the race, leading 148 laps and winning the first two stages before late-race setbacks dropped him to 12th at the finish.

Kansas, like Texas, is an intermediate-length track, and the pavement there is still fresh enough to make it race much like Texas, especially since the Kansas race will be run under the lights, the first night race of the Cup season.

“While the asphalt at Kansas has started to age some since their last repave, I wouldn’t put it completely in the old surface category just yet,” Bullins said. “I’m also a big fan of night races so Saturday night races are fun for me.

“The track will have more grip than the daytime and should be fast, which is right up our alley.”