NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney during Daytona 500 media day at Daytona International Speedway. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Ryan Blaney thought he had Goodyear 400 at Darlington won

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Apr 6, 2025 8:31 PM ET

With three laps to go in Sunday's Goodyear 400, Ryan Blaney was sailing off into the South Carolina sunset.

After mounting a furious charge through the pack, Blaney had come from 17 seconds back to take the race lead from Tyler Reddick over the race's final long green-flag run. After Reddick slapped the wall on the exit of turn two on Lap 290, Blaney pulled away.

But on Lap 290, Kyle Larson spun on the backstretch, bringing out the yellow flag. The field descended on pit road — a place where Blaney had lost a plethora of spots early in the race.

Not at all what Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 team wanted to see. #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/B3LCPrXyAU
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 6, 2025

Unfortunately for Blaney, he went from first to fourth on pit road. As Denny Hamlin's No. 11 pit crew performed an incredible stop, Blaney would be forced to restart on the second row in overtime.

Blaney ended up finishing fifth, a disappointing result on a day where he could've walked away with his first win of 2025.

"I thought we had the race won," Blaney told Fox Sports. "Great strategy call of running long and giving us time to run down the No. 45. It was a great call and a great car. Pit road, we gotta work on a bit."

The good news for Blaney? He picked up his first top-10 finish since Atlanta on Feb. 23 and moves to seventh in the Cup Series points standings.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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