Ryan Blaney is not done yet……
Ryan Blaney wins inaugural Iowa Corn 350 to end victory drought
Ryan Blaney saved his best moment of 2024 for the home crowd.
In front of roughly 80 family members in the Iowa Speedway stands, Blaney finally found his way into the win column by leading a career-high 201 laps Sunday night, taking the inaugural Iowa Corn 350 NASCAR Cup Series race in Newton, Iowa.
The reigning series champion broke a 17-race winless streak by taking two tires on his No. 12 Ford on the final pit stop while most of the field took four, including runner-up finisher William Byron.
But in the season’s 17th event, the 30-year-old Blaney became the 10th different winner by beating Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet by 0.716 seconds.
The Team Penske driver has at least one win in seven of his past eight Cup seasons. He went winless in 2022.
Blaney now has 11 career victories, two on a short track, in 323 races.
A victory escaped him two weeks ago at Gateway outside St. Louis when he ran out of fuel coming to the white flag while leading.
He also won previously at the Iowa track in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series.
“What a cool way to win here. This place means a lot to me, means a lot to my mom,” said Blaney, whose mother, Lisa, is a Chariton, Iowa, native. “We had a lot of people here tonight cheering us on. They willed us to that one.