Jumping into the crowd to celebrate a big race win seems to have become a Team Penske thing.
Ryan Blaney edged out William Byron to win the rescheduled Coca-Cola 600 Monday at Charlotte Speedway, giving team owner Roger Penske a sweep of the best Memorial Day weekend races in the United States. Joined.
Josef Newgarden won the 19th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday for the Penske team. Like Newgarden, Blaney jumped out of his car and into the crowd to celebrate the win with the fans.
«I only did it because Josef did it,» Blaney said. «I was pretty excited. I don’t get that emotional very often, but I was super excited. I loved how Josef did on Sunday… I said, ‘I’m going to go to the stands like Josef did and have some human contact.'»
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Ryan Blaney, center, celebrates in his car on Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series car race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Monday, May 29, 2023, in Concord, NC (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Blaney compared it to jumping into a mosh pit at a metal concert.
A few moments later, he tried to hold back tears as the weight of a 59-race winless streak lifted off his shoulders.
«You start to feel like you can’t win anymore,» Blaney said. «We haven’t won in a long time and that can be difficult. I want to thank 12 (team) for believing in me.»
Blaney took the lead from Byron on a restart and led the final 26 laps to win his first Cup race since the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona in August 2021.
Byron finished second, followed by Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick.
Truex said Blaney’s emotions are understandable.
«He’s under a lot of pressure to perform,» Truex said. «They’ve won a lot of races since his last race. I’m sure he questioned himself at some point during that streak he was on. He’s had a lot of chances to win and they’ve slipped away. Those are the more difficult». think, so he’s probably thinking, ‘we finally made it’.»
It marks the first time Team Penske has swept the Indianapolis-Charlotte doubleheader.
«The pressure was on us to try and sweep the weekend,» said Blaney, who said he texted Newgarden after the Indy 500 win. «So that was the goal. Luckily we executed it what well enough to do it.»
Blaney’s victory came just days before Penske is hosting a race weekend on the streets of downtown Detroit. The return of racing in downtown Detroit is Penske’s gift to the city he calls home. Next, the 86-year-old heads to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, one of the few events he has yet to win.
DENNY HAMLIN SAYS CHASE ELLIOTT ‘SHOULDN’T BE RACING’ AFTER ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ MOVE IN COCA-COLA 600
Ryan Blaney smiles at Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series car race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday, May 29, 2023, in Concord, NC (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
The 5 1/2-hour race included five crashes in the final 50 laps, including one with 26 to go when last week’s All-Star race winner Kyle Larson spun and knocked out the defending champion of the Joey Logano, Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell Cup.
Blaney had passed Byron on the previous restart, and then jumped over him again on the final restart and got away at the checkered flag.
It was a rain-soaked weekend in Charlotte, which wiped out practice and qualifying and postponed the race to Monday. That meant the drivers started the race without even taking the NextGen cars for a lap on the 1.5-mile oval for the first time in Coca-Cola 600 history.
More rain caused the race to be red flagged for almost an hour after 158 laps, making the longest Cup race of the year even longer.
Defending race champion Denny Hamlin was left furious after his day ended with a crash on lap 186, prompting him to ask NASCAR to suspend its most popular driver, Chase Elliott.
Hamlin claimed the Hendrick Motorsports driver intentionally wrecked it by hooking its right rear bumper after a scuffle early in the race.
«It’s a tantrum and he shouldn’t be running next week,» Hamlin said of Elliott. «Right back hooks are absolutely unacceptable. I don’t care.»
Elliott denied intentionally ripping Hamlin apart in retaliation.
Hamlin wasn’t the only one excited.
During the rain delay, television cameras caught Aric Almirola shoving Wallace after the two exchanged words. Wallace declined to say what sparked the altercation, saying he was not surprised by what happened.
«When you walk around with two faces, that’s what you get,» Wallace said.
JOHNSON’S TEAM FIGHTS
It was a tough night for Jimmie Johnson and his new Legacy Motor Club team.
After saying that he had never been so poorly prepared for a race due to his inexperience in the NextGen car, Johnson spun on lap 78 in a car crash. He drove his No. 84 Chevy behind the wall a few laps later and was joined there by Legacy teammates Erik Jones and Noah Gragson, who suffered radiator damage.
After Johnson came back, he collided with Gragson and spun a second time and went behind the wall again. He finished last.
«I think I learned a lesson with this aero package that I didn’t know about,» Johnson said. «Very different from the car I’ve driven in the past.»
HARVICK’S LAST RACE
Harrison Burton (21) passes Kevin Harvick (4) exiting turn 4 during a NASCAR Cup Series car race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Monday, May 29, 2023, in Concord, NC (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Kevin Harvick finished 11th in his final Coca-Cola 600.
Harvick, who retires after the season, won the race in 2011 and 2013. He started Monday’s race on the front row but quickly dropped to 20 and was never a major factor in the race.
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UNTIL NEXT TIME
The Cup Series heads to Madison, Illinois on Sunday, where 2022 Cup Champion Joey Logano edged out Kyle Busch in overtime to win the opening race at World Wide Technology Raceway.