Ryan Blaney recovered from a steamy Sonoma race, where a cool-suit failure caused him to overheat. On June 18, Blaney gutted out a sixth-place finish, visiting the track's care center post-race for fluids.
What happened at Sonoma?
Blaney's cool-suit malfunctioned after Stage 1, and despite efforts to reset it, the system failed to cool him down. He received a pressure-filled tool during a pit stop to help flush the system, but it rattled loose to the floorboard.
The aftermath
Blaney suffered leg cramps with 20 laps left, especially in his left calf entering the Turn 11 hairpin. He was happy to have not run off the course and appreciated the quick response from the medical team.
Looking ahead to Chicagoland
Blaney arrives at Chicagoland Speedway in better health, riding a consistent streak into Sunday's eero 400. He has equaled a career-best streak of six consecutive top-10 finishes and is aiming for points gains.
Blaney is 104 points back of Denny Hamlin, the new series leader, with eight races remaining until the 16-driver Chase field is determined. He sees the task as difficult but doable, aspiring to claim the Regular Season Championship and the advantageous No. 1 seed.
The bigger picture
Ford is winless in the last 14 Cup Series races, dating back to Blaney's March 8 victory at Phoenix Raceway. Team Penske has weathered the last 10 races without a top-five finish, its longest dry spell since 2008.
Blaney has stayed steady through the season's first half, slotting him third in the Cup standings. He is looking to heat up in the second half of the season, having marked his last two summers with multirace performance spikes, and 11 of his 18 career Cup Series wins have arrived in the back half of the season.
The eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway will be Blaney's next opportunity to gain points and move closer to his goal of claiming the Regular Season Championship. The race is scheduled for Sunday, with coverage starting at 6 p.m. ET on TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.