Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Encouraged By Strong Vegas Run
March 8, 2015
The Motorcraft/Quick Lane team used quick work in the pits and some determined driving by rookie Ryan Blaney during the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to overcome a disappointing 30th-place starting spot and finish 19th, the team’s first top-20 finish since last June at Michigan International Speedway.
Blaney was on the move from the start of Sunday’s 400-miler.
He moved up several positions in the early portions of the race and into the top 25 to stay with just over 100 laps left to run and cracked the top 20 with 60 laps to go.
His forward progress was hampered in the opening stages of the 400 by getting boxed into his pit stall on an early pit stop. Crew chief Jeremy Bullins called for a two-tire stop, but his strategy was foiled when the Motorcraft Fusion was partially blocked by another car and the time that should have been saved by the two-tire stop was lost. Then the loss of valuable seconds was compounded when that stop was followed by a long green-flag run that led to Blaney going a lap down to the leaders.
But as team co-owner Eddie Wood pointed out, no one wearing the red-and-white Motorcraft colors lost focus for the remainder of the race.
“We had great stops by the pit crew. Most of our stops were in the 11-second range. Jeremy made some great adjustments and some great strategy calls, and Ryan drove a great race.”
For a long run late in the race, Blaney drove his way into the Lucky Dog or free pass spot as the first car one lap down and stayed there for lap after lap even though many of the cars around him had fresher tires.
“We were really good but couldn’t get the caution when we were in the Lucky Dog spot,” Blaney said. “I was really wishing because I thought we could make up some ground.”
“I learned a lot as far as me driving, and Jeremy and everyone on the box learned a lot. Our race car was pretty good toward the end.”
“We will go to Texas, our next race and hope to take what we learned here to that.”
Wood said he too is very encouraged about the team’s potential and with its relationship with Team Penske, which provides the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team with cars and a platform to share technology.
“We had trouble at Daytona and didn’t get to the finish,” he said. “This race gets us off to a good start for the rest of the season. Everything’s going to be OK.”