![\"Ryan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-1466423460.jpg\")
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Ryan Blaney stars in episode 1 of Netflix’s NASCAR: Full Speed<\/p>\n
Ryan Blaney fought through heavy contact and changing weather to finish third in the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium<\/a>, continuing a strong run in the preseason exhibition.<\/p>\n The Team Penske driver climbed from his No. 12 Ford Mustang after the race and walked around it to inspect the damage from what turned into a chaotic night. According to Kelly Crandall of RACER<\/a>, Blaney\u2019s car was listed in NASCAR\u2019s official report as being involved in three incidents. However, it appeared to have far more contact during the event.<\/p>\n Despite the setbacks, Ryan Blaney<\/a> still secured a top-three finish behind winner Ryan Preece<\/a> and runner-up William Byron. The result marked his second straight top-three finish in the Clash and showed his ability to stay competitive even when conditions quickly shifted.<\/p>\n Ryan Blaney Overcomes Damage for Third in Chaotic NASCAR Clash<\/p>\n According to Kelly Crandall of RACER<\/a>, much of the damage came from unavoidable crashes during the race.<\/p>\n \u201cI think all my damage is just from running into spun-out cars. I t-boned a couple of guys who were already spun out. I think a lot of it happened in the wet; they spin up top, and you\u2019re committed up top, and you literally can\u2019t go anywhere. You can\u2019t avoid (it).<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, it\u2019s not the prettiest-looking thing. It looked a lot prettier last year, but given the conditions, I\u2019ll let it have a pass.\u201d<\/p>\n Even with the contact, Blaney remained a contender. Crandall reported that, like the 2025 edition of the race, he moved through the field with ease and stayed in position to challenge for the win.<\/p>\n Bowman Gray Conditions Flip NASCAR Clash After Strong Dry Start<\/p>\n The first half of the race ran on a dry track, and Blaney advanced from 16th to fourth place.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just cars (that are) really good. Jonathan (Hassler, crew chief), our mindset coming into here, I think, just works for this place. I thought we were pretty good in practice, and in qualifying I couldn\u2019t run a crazy-fast lap, but in the race my car drove really well and hung on a lot longer than others. A fast race car makes me look excellent. It\u2019s easy to drive a fast race car. So, it\u2019s all those guys who prepare this thing, and it\u2019s fun to get to drive it.\u201d<\/p>\n At lap 102, NASCAR called the halfway break caution. Before the restart, rain and sleet arrived, forcing teams to switch to wet-weather tires and changing the race instantly. There were 13 cautions in the second half as drivers battled the slick surface.<\/p>\n NASCAR Clash Turns Chaotic as Late Restart Shakes Up the Field<\/p>\n According to Crandall\u2019s RACER report, Blaney dropped back as the field adjusted to the wet track but later worked his way inside the top 10 before the final stretch.<\/p>\n He moved to second place after the final restart with 19 laps remaining, but faded to third as Preece pulled away while Blaney battled Byron.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just a crazy, odd race. I thought we were by far the best car in the first run of the race; we came from 16th to fourth, and just not really pushing the issue. I felt excellent about our car. I just wanted to get some good track position for the second stage, but it rained at the break. I was a little nervous when we put rain tires on, and you can\u2019t do adjustments because I\u2019m like, \u2018What my car does really well in the dry will be awful in the wet.\u2019 And that\u2019s what it did. I went straight to the back and was just in the way.<\/p>\n Ryan Blaney faced unpredictable weather and chaos but still earned a top-three finish at the Cook Out Clash. He adapted well to setbacks, showing skill and composure in changing conditions. This performance proves his resilience and his team\u2019s strength. Blaney\u2019s result is a strong start to the season.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a sports writer who covers NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. With bylines at Total Apex Sports and Last Word on Sports, Wilberforce has built a reputation for delivering timely, engaging coverage that blends sharp analysis with accessible storytelling. Wilberforce has covered everything from major football transfers to fight-night drama, bringing readers the insight and context behind the headlines. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on NASCAR\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Ryan Blaney stars in episode 1 of Netflix’s NASCAR: Full Speed Ryan Blaney fought through heavy contact…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461766,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-461765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}