Ryan Blaney wins inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway

MORE. YEAH, JEFF RYAN BLANEY RAN RIGHT TO THAT CHECKERED FLAG RIGHT UP AGAINST THE FENCE AFTER HE STOOD ON THE HOOD OF HIS CAR, CHEERED ALL OF THE FANS, THE 30,000 FANS HERE AT THE SPEEDWAY. THEN GRABBED HIS FLAG AND QUICKLY CAME TO THE WINNER’S CIRCLE RIGHT HERE IN THE INFIELD. YOU CAN SEE THE CORN BEHIND ME THAT HE DID PASS AND THE SPINOUTS FROM THE DONUTS THAT HE DID. I MEAN, HE HAD ONE HECK OF A RACE IN HIS FIRST ONE OF 2024. THE CONFETTI FLEW. HE JUMPED OUT OF HIS CAR, GOT TO CELEBRATE WITH ALL OF HIS CREW AND HIS TEAM. WHAT I NOTICED IS THAT HE SHOOK THE HANDS OF EVERY SINGLE TEAM MEMBER ON THAT STAGE BEFORE LIFTING UP THE TROPHY. YOU COULD TELL THAT HE IS A TEAM FIRST MAN. OF COURSE HE HAD FAMILY MEMBERS. SO MUCH SUPPORT, OVER 80 FAMILY MEMBERS WERE HERE CHEERING ON BLANEY. THEY HAD T SHIRTS. THEY WERE PRETTY CUTE. UM, I SAID IT WAS HIS FIRST WIN OF 2024, BUT HE WON THE TRUCK SERIES HERE IN 2012 AND HE XFINITY SERIES IN 2015. SO IT’S ABOUT DUE THAT HE COMPLETED THE SWEEP HERE. WILLIAM BYRON AND CHASE ELLIOTT KEPT IT CLOSE, BUT IT WAS NO MATCH FOR RYAN BLANEY. HE SAID THAT HE WAS JUST CATCHING HIS BREATH AT THE END. YOU COULD SEE FROM THE VIDEO THAT, MAN, IT WAS A TOUGH ONE TO WIN. I’M JUST WORN OUT. THAT WAS A LONG RACE. UH, I BEAT YOU UP A LITTLE BIT. THE TRACK DOES. SO, UH, YEAH, JUST JUST WORN OUT. EXCITED TO, UH, JUST KIND OF COME DOWN OFF OF IT AND CATCH MY BREATH, HONESTLY. BUT, UH. YEAH. COOL NIGHT, SPECIAL NIGHT. UM, THIS PLACE I’VE ENJOYED COMING HERE FOR A LONG TIME AND, UH, TO COME HERE WITH THE CUP SERIES, I THINK WAS REALLY SPECIAL. THIS PLACE DESERVED A CUP RACE, HONESTLY. AND WITH THE CROWD HERE TONIGHT AND THE RACE THAT PUT ON, I FEEL LIKE YOU KNOW, WE DEFINITELY SHOWED WHY. OKAY, THIS WAS THE CORN THAT THEY WERE EATING ON THE STAGE. I ACTUALLY HAVE A WHOLE TROUGH OF IT. UM, RYAN BLANEY WAS ENJOYING IT. I SAW HE HAD SOME STUCK IN HIS TEETH AND HE WAS LIKE, ALL RIGHT, I’M GOING TO KEEP EATING. HE DUG RIGHT IN, JUST LIKE AN IOWAN. I MEAN, HE IS A MIDWESTERNER IN THIS RACE. CAME TO THE MIDWEST FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1956. SO YES, THEY NEEDED THE CORN. I’LL HAVE MORE LATER. COMING UP IN SPORTS, I’M LIVE AT THE IOWA SPEEDWAY. RY

Ryan Blaney dominated the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway on Sunday night for his first victory of the season and a spot in the playoffs.Blaney led four times for a career-high 201 laps, finishing 0.716 seconds ahead of William Byron for his 11th Cup victory. The defending series champion came into the race 12th in the standings.Blaney regained the lead on Lap 263 after taking just two tires on a caution-flag pit stop. He led the rest of the way, getting through lapped traffic as Byron tried to close.Blaney, whose mother, Lisa, is from Chariton, Iowa, won in front of a sellout crowd of an estimated 40,000 fans that included 80 of his friends and family.It was fitting the first Cup Series race at the 0.875-mile track would go to a Team Penske driver — Penske cars have won seven IndyCar Series races and three NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the track.Chase Elliott was third. Christopher Bell, who had to start from the back of the field in a backup car after crashing during practice Friday, was fourth. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who like Blaney took two tires on the final pit stop, finished fifth.Joey Logano finished sixth. Rookie Josh Berry, who led 32 laps, was seventh, followed by Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez and Brad Keselowski.Kyle Larson, the series points leader and pole-sitter for the race, led 81 laps and won the second stage, but hit the wall on Lap 219 after contact from behind by Suarez. Larson had surged into the middle of a three-wide jam, with Suarez to his left and Keselowski to his right, when the contact happened. Larson finished 34th in the 36-car field.Getting a Cup Series race was an accomplishment for the track, located 40 miles from Des Moines. The facility opened in 2006 and was on the schedules of NASCAR's Xfinity Series and Truck Series from 2009-19. NASCAR has owned the track since 2013.

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) —

Ryan Blaney dominated the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway on Sunday night for his first victory of the season and a spot in the playoffs.

Blaney led four times for a career-high 201 laps, finishing 0.716 seconds ahead of William Byron for his 11th Cup victory. The defending series champion came into the race 12th in the standings.

Blaney regained the lead on Lap 263 after taking just two tires on a caution-flag pit stop. He led the rest of the way, getting through lapped traffic as Byron tried to close.

Blaney, whose mother, Lisa, is from Chariton, Iowa, won in front of a sellout crowd of an estimated 40,000 fans that included 80 of his friends and family.

Charlie Neibergall

Ryan Blaney celebrates in victory lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, June 16, 2024, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

It was fitting the first Cup Series race at the 0.875-mile track would go to a Team Penske driver — Penske cars have won seven IndyCar Series races and three NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the track.

Chase Elliott was third. Christopher Bell, who had to start from the back of the field in a backup car after crashing during practice Friday, was fourth. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who like Blaney took two tires on the final pit stop, finished fifth.

Charlie Neibergall

Ryan Blaney does a burnout after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, June 16, 2024, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Joey Logano finished sixth. Rookie Josh Berry, who led 32 laps, was seventh, followed by Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez and Brad Keselowski.

Kyle Larson, the series points leader and pole-sitter for the race, led 81 laps and won the second stage, but hit the wall on Lap 219 after contact from behind by Suarez. Larson had surged into the middle of a three-wide jam, with Suarez to his left and Keselowski to his right, when the contact happened. Larson finished 34th in the 36-car field.

Getting a Cup Series race was an accomplishment for the track, located 40 miles from Des Moines. The facility opened in 2006 and was on the schedules of NASCAR's Xfinity Series and Truck Series from 2009-19. NASCAR has owned the track since 2013.

Charlie Neibergall

Ryan Blaney crosses the finish line as he wins a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, June 16, 2024, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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