Ryan Blaney suffered the agony of defeat on Sunday afternoon during the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway, but Brad Keselowski was there to console the reigning champion.
While leading the race in the closing laps, Blaney ran out of gas, and his teammate, and ironically enough Keselowski’s replacement in Austin Cindric was the beneficiary, as the No. 2 Ford passed the No. 12 for the victory on the final lap. It was an awesome moment for Cindric, and a demoralizing one for Blaney.
It hasn’t been the easiest of seasons for Blaney, and that didn’t change on Sunday. However, Keselowski knows how Blaney is feeling, as he just ended a lengthy winless streak earlier this season at Darlington.
Check out the video below, shared by RFK Racing on social media, of the former Team Penske teammates and fellow Ford wheelmen speaking after the heartbreaking ending to the race for Blaney on Sunday afternoon. It’ll give you some hope, especially if you’re a fan of Blaney.
That’s pretty awesome from Keselowski. Him and Blaney are no longer teammates, he has no obligation to the No. 12 wheelman, so it was simply a moment of vulnerability from both drivers, something we don’t see too often in the Cup Series.
While Blaney was disappointed after the race, he still managed to congratulate his teammate in Cindric, while putting his situation in perspective amid another disappointing finish.
“They [Austin Cindric and his team] were great, they did a great job,” Blaney said, via Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “Yeah, happy for that team, I mean obviously, bummed for us. Just the nut shots keep coming here this past month.
“Hopefully, it straightens itself out just proud of the effort have to figure out what happened there if we thought we had more fuel than we did. It’s not like we left it short on purpose, just thought we had more. So we’ll have to figure it out, dig into that, but proud of all of Team Penske today.”
Meanwhile, it’s evident Cindric was disappointed for Blaney, as he never wanted to see his teammate go out that was, but he was elated with the win on Sunday, locking himself into the playoffs later this season.
“I don’t know what happened to him [Ryan Blaney] at the end of the race, but they deserved to win this race,” Cindric told Jamie Little of FOX Sports after the race. “Ryan’s been a hell of a leader for this team and this weekend was a great weekend for everybody involved.
“Like I said, heartbreaking for those guys but this is huge for me. Huge for this team. I’m so glad I was able to get a win with Brian [Wilson] as my crew chief in the Cup Series. You never know when it’s gonna happen again.”
Alas, time will tell when Ryan Blaney’s next win comes, but if he follows Brad Keselowski’s example, he could turn things around quick over the course of the summer, as he looks to join his teammate Austin Cindric and Keselowksi in the playoffs.
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