Multi-Car Crash Relegates Blaney To 35th at Bristol
August 21, 2016
Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Virginia Tech Ford Fusion got off to a fast start but had a disappointing finish in a rain-delayed Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Blaney was strong in practice on Friday and backed it up by qualifying fourth for the 500-lap race on the ultra-fast, high-banked concrete oval. Continue reading Multi-Car Crash Relegates Blaney To 35th at Bristol
Blaney, Virginia Tech Ford Will Start Fourth At Bristol
August 19, 2016
Ryan Blaney and his No. 21 Virginia Tech Ford Fusion led the way for Ford Motor Company in Friday’s Sprint Cup qualifying session at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Blaney was in the top five in all three rounds of knock-out qualifying and will start fourth in Saturday’s Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. It’s his best qualifying effort of the season, and his best since a third-place start at Talladega Superspeedway in May, 2015. Continue reading Blaney, Virginia Tech Ford Will Start Fourth At Bristol
Wood Brothers And Virginia Tech Team Up To Take On Bristol
August 17, 2016
Ryan Blaney and the crew of his No. 21 Virginia Tech Ford Fusion and the Virginia Tech Hokies have plenty in common in the next few weeks, besides the fact that they both will be representing the Commonwealth of Virginia in a high-stakes sports contest at Bristol Motor Speedway. Continue reading Wood Brothers And Virginia Tech Team Up To Take On Bristol
Blaney Finishes 19th In Long Day At The Glen
August 7, 2016
Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team, like a lot of others in Sunday’s Cheez-It 335 at Watkins Glen International, had their share of miscues and off-road excursions.
But in the end, Blaney brought the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Fusion home in 19th place and remains 18th in the driver standings heading into a rare off-weekend for the Sprint Cup Series. Continue reading Blaney Finishes 19th In Long Day At The Glen
Panch, Wood Brothers Ruled Watkins Glen, Northern Tour in ‘65
August 6, 2016
NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. always had a great vision for the sport of stock car racing, and a big part of that master plan was to take the sport from its Southern roots and spread it across America.
One of his tools was the old “Northern Tour.”
From the mid-1950s through the early 1970s, when the series now known as Sprint Cup left Daytona International Speedway after the Firecracker 400 on the Fourth of July, a caravan of racers headed north. Continue reading Panch, Wood Brothers Ruled Watkins Glen, Northern Tour in ‘65
Watkins Glen Test A Good Tune-Up For Pocono
July 28, 2016
Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team spent Tuesday and Wednesday of this week testing their No. 21 Ford Fusion at Watkins Glen International in preparation for the Aug. 7 Cheez-It at the Glen.
But crew chief Jeremy Bullins said the two-day test also will benefit the team this weekend at Pocono Raceway.
“It’s not a bad thing to have a road-course mindset going into Pocono,” Bullins said. “With the three distinct corners, you’re usually looking at how to make a car better in different circumstances, much like a road course. On top of that the strategy plays out much like a road course as well.”
There are other similarities too. Continue reading Watkins Glen Test A Good Tune-Up For Pocono
No Breaks For Blaney In Long Day At Indy
July 24, 2016
Throughout the 2016 Sprint Cup season, Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team have been able to get some lucky breaks when they needed them.
On Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Blaney and his blue Quick Lane Ford Fusion were able to race among the top 15 for most of the Combat Wounded Coalition 400. Continue reading No Breaks For Blaney In Long Day At Indy
Bullins, Quick Lane Crew Vow To Leave Nothing On The Table At Legendary Brickyard
July 20, 2016
Indianapolis Motor Speedway isn’t just any race track. It’s an iconic part of automotive history. It’s hosted 100 Indianapolis 500s and numerous other major events including 22 NASCAR Sprint Cup races.
Just touring the 2.5-mile track, with its massive grandstands on both sides of the long front straightaway, is an experience to behold. Being there during a race is one of the premier motorsports experiences for both fans and competitors. Continue reading Bullins, Quick Lane Crew Vow To Leave Nothing On The Table At Legendary Brickyard
Blaney Bounces Back From Speeding Penalty To Finish 11th At New Hampshire
July 17, 2016
Rookie driver Ryan Blaney and his Motorcraft/Quick Lane team took what could have been a disappointing day at New Hampshire and turned it into a very respectable finish.
Blaney was running just inside the top-10 and moving forward after starting 14th when he made a mistake on his first green-flag pit stop of Sunday’s 301-lap race, seemingly dooming his Motorcraft/Quick Lane team to a lackluster finish. Continue reading Blaney Bounces Back From Speeding Penalty To Finish 11th At New Hampshire
Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Looking For Speed, Strategy And Luck At New Hampshire
July 13, 2016
To be successful at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a race team needs a fast car, a good pit strategy and at times some good luck.
The Wood Brothers and their Motorcraft/Quick Lane team have enjoyed all three at times over the years.
With the long straightaways and tight turns of New Hampshire, passing can be difficult, thus the need for a good pit strategy and the luck. The Woods have used a combination of both to score two runner-up finishes at New Hampshire – in 1995 with Morgan Shepherd driving and in 2003 with Ricky Rudd at the wheel. Continue reading Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Looking For Speed, Strategy And Luck At New Hampshire
Mid-race wreck Drops Blaney To 35th At Kentucky
July 10, 2016
For the first 87 laps of Saturday night’s 400-mile Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway – and for the last 60 circuits – Ryan Blaney’s No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion was one of the fastest cars on the track.
In between there was a crash, and a Herculean effort by the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew to get Blaney back on the track, where he finished 35th, picking up two valuable points awarded for the two positions he gained after the wreck. Continue reading Mid-race wreck Drops Blaney To 35th At Kentucky
Blaney To Start 15th At Kentucky After Rain Washes Out Qualifying
July 8, 2016
What a difference a year makes for Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team.
Last year, Blaney was 16th fastest in the pre-qualifying practice at Kentucky Speedway, but did not get to race after qualifying was rained out and his then-part-time team did not have a provisional starting position.
This year, rain again washed out Sprint Cup qualifying at Kentucky, but Blaney will race as there are only 40 teams entered for the 40 starting spots. He’ll start 15th, as the lineup is now set by owner’s points in the event qualifying is cancelled.
“The good news is we are in the show,” said team co-owner Eddie Wood. “With rain interrupting things here at Kentucky, we’ll probably have to go into the race knowing we will have to make adjustments to the car as the race goes on.” Continue reading Blaney To Start 15th At Kentucky After Rain Washes Out Qualifying
Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team In Unchartered Territory At Kentucky
July 6, 2016
The No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team will write a new chapter in the team’s history as they compete at Kentucky Speedway for the first time ever.
The team’s rookie driver Ryan Blaney is no stranger to the Sparta, Ky., track. He’s won two Xfinity Series races there, in 2013 and last year, driving for Team Penske. In the Camping World Truck Series he has three top-five finishes and a pole position driving a Ford owned by Brad Keselowski. His third-place finishes were in 2014 and 2015. Despite these achievments, any advantage Blaney and his crew chief Jeremy Bullins might have from those earlier races has been lessened by a repave and reconfiguration of the 1.5-mile track. Turns one and two have seen the banking increased from 14 to 17 degrees, and those turns have been narrowed by a widening of the pit road exit. Turns three and four are basically the same as before, at 14 degrees of banking. Continue reading Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team In Unchartered Territory At Kentucky
Blaney Dodges Disaster At Daytona To Remain In Contention For A Chase Berth
July 3, 2016
On a night at Daytona International Speedway in which Ford Fusions were the dominant cars, Ryan Blaney and his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Fusion showed speed and skill en route to a 14th-place finish in the Coke Zero 400.
The rookie Blaney started 12th and ran as high as third in the early going, and in the top 10 for most of the race. He dodged two major crashes and a couple of minor ones, and his finish allowed him to move up two spots in the driver points standings to 15th place. Continue reading Blaney Dodges Disaster At Daytona To Remain In Contention For A Chase Berth
Donny Schatz Holds Tough at Rockford Speedway
Holds off David Gravel on the final lap to win 11th of the season
ROCKFORD, Ill. – June 29, 2016 – As the World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series feature field rounded the final lap of the inaugural Outlaw Clay Classic at Rockford Speedway on Wednesday night, Donny Schatz looked poised to win. But David Gravel was charging and as Schatz rounded the final turns, maneuvering through traffic, Gravel dove low as Schatz hugged the cushion. Side-by-side off the corner, Schatz edged Gravel to score his 11th win of the season.
Continue reading Donny Schatz Holds Tough at Rockford Speedway
Optimism Abounds As The Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Returns To Daytona
June 29, 2016
As the Sprint Cup Series heads to Daytona International Speedway for Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 and the traditional start of the second half of the season, there’s a sense of optimism in the Motorcraft/Quick Lane camp.
After the first 16 races, rookie driver Ryan Blaney is 17th in the points standings, 16 points out of 15th place, which would put him in the running for a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup based on his position in the standings. He has finished in the top 25 on 13 occasions. Among those finishes are six top-10s with one of them a fifth-place at Kansas Speedway. Continue reading Optimism Abounds As The Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Returns To Daytona
Blaney Stays On Course, Finishes 23rd At Sonoma
June 26, 2016
Rookie Ryan Blaney, his rookie crew chief Jeremy Bullins and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team turned in a commendable performance in Blaney’s first Sprint Cup race on a road course.
Blaney started 26th in Sunday’s 110-lap race at Sonoma Raceway, stayed on the course all afternoon and came home with a 23rd-place finish.
Bullins made the right strategy calls, making his first stops on Laps 18 and 42 and picking up track position in the process both times. That allowed Blaney to race among the top 10 and top 15 for most of the ensuing runs. Continue reading Blaney Stays On Course, Finishes 23rd At Sonoma
Blaney Qualifies 26th For First Cup Start On A Road Course
June 25, 2016
In his first 33 races as a Sprint Cup driver, Ryan Blaney has proven to be pretty adept at making left turns. In qualifying for his 34th career start, on the road course at Sonoma Raceway, he showed that he’s also good at turning right.
Blaney, in his first Cup start on a road course and first start in any kind of vehicle at Sonoma, qualified the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion in 26th position for Sunday’s 110-lap run. His official qualifying speed was 94.436 miles per hour.
Blaney made two qualifying laps and ran essentially the same time the second lap even though he had to negotiate traffic. Continue reading Blaney Qualifies 26th For First Cup Start On A Road Course
Blaney Using Ford Performance Technology To Get Up To Speed For Sonoma
June 21, 2016
Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team get a big test this weekend as they head to the road course at Sonoma Raceway. It’s a track the rookie Blaney has never raced on before, and it’s a place the Wood Brothers team hasn’t competed at since 2008.
But that doesn’t mean the team is dreading the weekend.
“Sonoma is a race we’ve had circled on the calendar for a while,” crew chief Jeremy Bullins said.
“We know it’s going to be a huge challenge for us for a number of reasons, but we are all looking forward to testing ourselves.”
Continue reading Blaney Using Ford Performance Technology To Get Up To Speed For Sonoma
The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series kicks off the summer stretch Tuesday, June 14 at Granite City Speedway, before dueling in the Dakotas at River Cities Speedway on Friday, June 17 for the First Leg of the Northern Tour and Brown County Speedway on Sunday, June 19.
CONCORD, N.C. – June 13, 2016 – This week the World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series will migrate north for a summer stretch that begins at Granite City Speedway in Sauk Rapids, Minn. on Tuesday, June 14, then heads to River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D. for the First Leg of the Northern Tour on Friday, June 17 and Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen, S.D. on Sunday, June 19. Continue reading The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series kicks off the summer stretch Tuesday, June 14