Penalties Amended for Buescher, RFK Racing Following Appeal
May 28, 2025
It's been an up-and-down year for Ryan Blaney, but that hasn't slowed down the former NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Blaney scored his first victory of the 2025 season on Sunday night, winning the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. The 31-year-old driver dominated a 102-lap green flag run to end the race, finishing nearly three seconds ahead of Carson Hocevar.
Blaney led 139 of the race's 300 laps, including the final 32 circuits of the race following the final green-flag pit cycle.
Race Results: NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville
The win comes one week after being collected in an early accident in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, finishing 38th in that race.
"I never gave up hope, that's for sure," said Blaney. "We've had great speed all year. It just hasn't really been the best year for us as far as good fortune. The 12 boys are awesome. They stick with it no matter how it goes. It's great to finish one out tonight."
Blaney took the lead for the first time after a two-tire pit stop during Stage 1, gaining valuable track position that benefitted him the rest of the night.
"I thought it was a good call," said Blaney of the early strategy call. "We drove up to seventh there in the first stage. I thought two tires were great. I thought my car was really good. That set us up for the rest of the race. Great job by him, as always.
Hocevar finished second, matching his best result of the season. Despite an early incident with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., the Michigan driver tallied his second runner-up result of the year.
"It just proves how strong this group is," said Hocevar. "To go from the disappointment last week to having a really bad qualifying draw, qualified really bad and sticking through it and having a shot."
Denny Hamlin held on for a third-place finish, despite a series of misfortunes inside the race car. Over the course of the race, Hamlin lost his drink system as well as his cooling system.
"That's three elements that other drivers had that I didn't have, so yeah, I got hot," said Hamlin. "I had to, you know, Carson Hocevar the helmet visor to get a little air in.
"I just couldn't run with the 12 there on the super-long run. After 40 laps, I could maintain with them, but then after that, he just pulled away and stretched it on us."
The next stop for the NASCAR Cup Series is Michigan International Speedway for the Firekeepers Casino 400. Coverage on Sunday, June 8 for the race will be available at 2:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
-Photo credit: Matthew T. Thacker, NKP for Ford Performance
