BLANEY TAKES HOME FIRST NASCAR CUP SERIES WIN!
99th Wood Brothers’ Win
LONG POND, Penn., June 12, 2017 – Ryan Blaney won his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at the Pocono Raceway and first for the legendary Wood Brothers Racing since 2011. Ford Performance swept the weekend at Pocono with the power of Ford FR9 race engines and marked Roush Yates Engines 298th overall MENCS, IMSA and FIA win.
“Congratulations to Ryan and the Wood Brothers Racing on their first win together,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Ryan drove the car like a veteran, taking on the best in the sport and battled for his first win. A solid day for the Ford Performance teams with four Fords finishing in the top five.”
The famed ‘Tricky Triangle’ would find it’s match with the No. 21, Blaney. Leading only the last 10 laps of the race, Blaney showcased his talents and battled with the best of NASCAR. After battling technical difficulties all day with his radio, Blaney would not be deterred. The No. 21 drove with immense determination and leaned on the horsepower of the Ford FR9 engine to reel in the No. 18, Kyle Busch.
With 10 laps to go, Blaney was able to overtake Busch and hold off a hard charging Ford teammate, Kevin Harvick (Stewart Haas Racing) to take the checkered flag a mere .139 of a second ahead of Harvick to mark his first NASCAR Cup win and Ford’s 654th all-time series win.
Blaney commented in victory lane, “It exceeds the dream a little bit. I grew up watching my dad race on this race track and it’s so cool to get the Wood Brothers in victory lane, number one, and to do it here at a race track that is really close to Ohio – a home to me – is pretty awesome.”
Blaney makes the fourth Ford driver to lock in a place in the playoffs; Kurt Busch (Daytona), Keselowski (Atlanta) and fellow first time MENCS winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Talladega).
It was a stellar finish for Ford Performance with four Ford Fusions finishing in the Top-5.
Finishing Order:
1st – Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing
2nd – Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing
4th – Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing
5th – Brad Keselowski | Team Penske
In the NASCAR Xfinity race on Saturday, Ford Performance found victory lane as well, with the No. 22 Brad Keselowski Ford Mustang.
Keselowski dominated the race by winning both the first and second stages and showed the power of the Ford FR9 race engine by chasing down the leaders in the closing laps of the race. In a last lap pass, Keselowski was able to take over the lead from Kyle Larson to claim his 35th NXS career win, by winning the Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway.
“Hell of a race,” commented Keselowski in victory circle. “Really happy for the 22 team. It’s been a while. It’s good for Ford and everybody. It feels good for me, the team. They deserve it.”
The win marked Ford’s fifth of the season, most among manufacturers, and by the fifth different driver. Other Mustang winners in 2017 include Ryan Reed (Daytona), Joey Logano (Las Vegas), Aric Almirola (Talladega) and Ryan Blaney (Charlotte).
NASCAR Xfinity Driver Standings (after Pocono)
4th Bubby Wallace Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing
6th Ryan Reed | Roush Fenway Racing
9th Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing
NASCAR Cup and Xfinity move to Michigan International Speedway:
Monster Energy Cup Series on Sunday, June 18th | 3:00pm | FS1
Xfinity Series on Saturday, June 17th | 1:30pm | FS1
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series travels to Gateway Motorsports Park.
Camping World Truck Series on Saturday, June 17th | 8:30pm | FS1
The 85th running of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans will also take place on June 17th in Le Mans, France. The Ford Chip Ganassi Racing teams will be looking to defend their 2016 historic win.
Reference the full 2017 schedule on www.roushyates.com.
13 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 298 WINS – 266 POLES!
About Roush Yates Engines
Roush Yates Engines is a leading edge engine development company, with 3 state-of-the-art facilities based in Mooresville, NC; which include Roush Yates Engines, Roush Yates Performance Engines Group, focused on road racing and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class manufacturing center and ISO 9001 / AS9100 certified. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose built race engines.
Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and twin-turbo EcoBoost Ford V6 race engine that powers the Ford GT super car.
With the unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.
5 SERIES – 9 COUNTRIES – 128 RACES