Ryan Blaney's weekend at Kansas Speedway started in a manner that he did not want. He crashed during practice and went to a backup car for Sunday's playoff race.
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Blaney blew a rear tire as he completed laps during practice at the 1.5-mile track. He swerved to the left before turning back to the right and making hard contact with the outside wall. He then remained against the outside wall for a several seconds before pulling down onto the apron for the trip back to pit road.
Trouble for @Blaney in practice! pic.twitter.com/jFVdKRBmkl
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 27, 2025
The No. 12 Team Penske group confirmed that Blaney would go to a backup car. This meant that he would not qualify and would start Sunday's playoff race from the rear of the field.
"We blew a tire, so we'll have to look at it and see why that was," Blaney said after the accident. "I hate that we crashed a race car and stuff like that, but we'll take a peek at what we need to do differently and hopefully come from the back tomorrow.
"I'm looking forward to getting the race going tomorrow."
One of Blaney's teammates, Joey Logano, also had a flat tire during practice. He managed to keep the car relatively clean, so he avoided going to the backup car as well.
These two incidents occurring back to back created questions about Team Penske pushing the limits with air pressure. Blaney did not know the answer, but he noted that he did not feel anything unusual before the crash.
"It kind of had that normal feeling to it until it blew," Blaney said. "That's kind of the hard thing about when you blow tires like that.
"They don't feel way off and then they just kind of give out the next moment, so I didn't have any kind of caution beforehand. It's just unfortunate. I hate that we've got to get a backup out and do all that deal, but we'll fight through it. Like I said, I'm just looking to getting out there tomorrow and see what we've got."
Blaney will start the race well out of contention for stage points, but he will have 267 laps to gain ground. Fortunately for the 2023 Cup Series champion, he already has a spot in the Round of 8 after winning last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
