NASCAR: Ryan Blaney penalized before playoffs, drops below cut line
By Asher Fair
Ryan Blaney has been penalized ahead of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs and has dropped below the round of 12 cut line.
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney was slated to enter the 16-driver 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs in seventh place in the playoff picture, nine points ahead of the round of 12 cut line with 2,013 points to his name thanks to the 13 playoff points he accrued throughout the 26-race regular season.
He was set to start the opening race of the four-round, 10-race playoffs, the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, in seventh place as well behind the wheel of his #12 Ford.
However, he was penalized before this 367-lap race around the four-turn, 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometer) egg-shaped oval in Darlington, South Carolina.
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As a result, neither one of those seventh place positions will hold as the playoffs begin.
Pre-race inspection revealed that Blaney’s #12 Ford had an improperly mounted ballast. As a result, he was docked 10 points and is set to drop to the rear of the field for the start of the race.
The #12 team was docked 10 points as well, and crew chief Todd Gordon was ejected. As a result of this 10-point penalty, Blaney now sits in a 13th place tie in the playoff picture, one point below the round of 12 cut line.
Meanwhile, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer moved from below the round of 12 cut line to above it, and everybody above him is now one additional point above it than they had been. The three drivers who are still below it are now one point closer to it.
Here is an updated look at the playoff picture.
Rank – Driver, Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind)
1st – Kevin Harvick, #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 2057 (+54)
2nd – Denny Hamlin, #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 2047 (+44)
3rd – Brad Keselowski, #2, Team Penske, Ford: 2029 (+26)
4th – Joey Logano, #22, Team Penske, Ford: 2022 (+19)
5th – Chase Elliott, #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 2020 (+17)
6th – Martin Truex Jr., #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 2014 (+11)
7th – Alex Bowman, #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 2009 (+6)
8th – William Byron, #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 2007 (+4)
9th – Aric Almirola, #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 2005 (+2)
9th – Austin Dillon, #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet: 2005 (+2)
9th – Cole Custer, #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 2005 (+2)
12th – Clint Bowyer, #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 2004 (+1)
——————ROUND OF 12 CUT LINE——————
13th – Ryan Blaney, #12, Team Penske, Ford: 2003 (-1)
13th – Kyle Busch, #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 2003 (-1)
15th – Kurt Busch, #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet: 2001 (-3)
16th – Matt DiBenedetto, #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford: 2000 (-4)
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NBC Sports Network is set to broadcast the Cook Out Southern 500 live from Darlington Raceway beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET this evening.