Disaster, disappointment and devastation, these are all words that describe the first 13 weeks of Ryan Blaney’s 2025 season in the Cup Series.
Five DNFs, an average finish of 16.6 and only 200 laps led it was looking like the driver of the #12 was headed for another unlucky season and helpless to do anything to stop it. So it’s no wonder why Blaney broke out a burnout after taking the checkered flag at Nashville Superspeedway.
This wasn’t just another win, it was getting back to the Blaney who is confident in his team, car and self.
“I never gave up hope,” Blaney said in his front stretch interview. “We’ve had great speed all year, it just hasn’t been the best year in terms of good fortune.”
After a two tire pit stop helped him pick up track position at the end of stage one, Blaney used his series best passing ability to find his way up front. An intense three-wide battle between the eventual winner, Denny Hamlin and William Byron ensued with all three searching for a way around the other.
The leader for most of the race up until that point, Hamlin, held off Blaney initially, but allowed Byron to catch up. While they battled, Blaney took a run off of turn four and turned it into a daring dive into turn one which would ultimately give him the lead.
Clean air has been all that #12 car has been begging for all season and it took off like a rocket shop from there. With a caution free final stage, Blaney built an insurmountable lead of seven seconds before the final pit stop cycle.
Although lapped traffic let Spire’s walking controversy, Carson Hocevar, cut his lead to 2.5 seconds, it wasn’t enough and Blaney cruised to the win. The win locks him into the playoffs, becoming the ninth different winner in 2025.
The second place finish for Hocevar matches his Cup career best from Atlanta, continuing his and Spire’s rise in the series. The #77 couldn’t escape conversation after his refused to cut Ricky Stenhouse Jr. a break and instead introduced him to the fence in stage two.
The young driver continues to make headlines with his aggressive driving style, but like it or not, the field needs wildcards like Hocevar.
Blaney wasn’t the only driver to turn a page tonight, 23XI’s Bubba Wallace put together a rollercoaster of a race that landed him sixth when it was all said and done. It’s Wallace’s first finish inside the top 30 in a month and a tribute to the #23’s driver’s development.
Despite starting 12th, Wallace sped on pit road early in stage one, which buried him back in the pack. His resilience through a race more akin to trench warfare paid off, putting the nightmare of May behind him.
Fellow Toyota driver Erik Jones had a run reminsict of 2022 Darlington going early in Nashville, competing with Hamlin and Blaney for most of the day. While his long run speed hurt him, he brought home a seventh place finish for Legacy Motor Club.
Nashville Superspeedway delivered yet another sell out crowd, who were treated to a more typical NASCAR Next Gen experience with a few twist and turns. Pit road was critical, especially turning a caution ridden stage two, but cars were able to pass and race once the sunset on the track.
One of those cautions was caused by Truck Series phenom Corey Heim, who was back piloting the #67 for 23XI. Looking for another productive day, Heim overstepped and got spun by Brad Keslowski out of turn four.
After the wreck and race, Heim accepted responsibility for the incident, and while that won’t make RFK diehards feel better, proves his emotional intelligence is Cup ready.
If Blaney and Wallace were the glass half full of Nashville, Alex Bowman is most certainly carrying the glass half empty. A spin in stage two, not only collected Noah Gragson, but ended his day.
Michigan isn’t Bowman’s best track, he averages just a 23rd place finish, but he’ll need to start stringing together some competent finishes if he hopes to stay in the playoff picture.
The Cup Series heads to Michigan next Sunday, continuing Prime’s excellent coverage, with the green flag dropping at 11:00 a.m. PST.
The Wave Around | NASCAR and Motorsports Blog 
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