HOMESTEAD, FL. - Ryan Blaney passed Tyler Reddick with two laps to go and won Sunday’s Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The win is Blaney’s fourth of the season and 21st of his career, but it also marks the second straight year he’s won the final race of the year after doing it in 2025 at Phoenix Raceway.
This year’s victory was just as memorable because he was forced to come from the back of the field after a loose wheel caused him to lose the track position he had gained after finishing second in the first stage. He rebounded for a fifth place finish in the second stage and was running second with 92 laps to go before green flag pit stops cycled him back to sixth.
Blaney’s race turned, however, with 15 to go when caution came out and the field hit pit road. He restarted fourth on the final restart with eight laps remaining, but was able to work his way past Denny Hamlin and William Byron before making the decisive pass on Reddick.
For Blaney, it is the second straight year he has won four races and continues a run that has seen him win at least three times for four years in a row.
Austin Cindric finished seventh and Noah Gragson was ninth as three Ford Mustangs finished inside the top 10.
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang Dark Horse – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW –
WALK US THROUGH THE FINAL RESTART.
“We restarted third and went to fourth, so I just tried to pick the lane I thought was gonna go the best. We did a good job getting to second. I was able to wrap the bottom really well on both ends and was able to inch up on some guys and I got a really good corner of one and two. The 45 protected on the bottom and I was able to get to his right-rear and hold him off for the last lap. It’s was some really cool fight by this team for coming back the way we did and just bringing a really fast car and working on it all night. That’s a fun end to the season.”
END WITH A WIN AND YOU FINISH FOURTH IN THE STANDINGS. HOW DOES THAT FEEL?
“You definitely want to end on a high note. We hated coming in here and not having a shot to win a championship, but the best thing we could do was try to win the race and get as much points as we can and we’ll see where it takes us, so I was really happy we were able to execute that today and get all we could.”
DOES THIS FEEL LIKE REDEMPTION FOR WHAT HAPPENED TWO YEARS AGO HERE?
“It does. I'm going to be honest with you. Every time I come here, that race haunts me. I kind of gave that one away. I didn't do a very good job at the end of that race. Learned from it. Was able to apply some stuff we learned a couple years ago in that situation to tonight. Pretty cool night battling back from coming down pit road. Car was really, really fast. I appreciate everybody for sticking with it. Even though we weren't part of the championship fight, our goal was to try to win the race, end on a high note, get the most points we can. Appreciate Menards, Dutch Boy, Ford Racing. The Ford Mustang, appreciate all the work they do and continue to do. Advance Auto Parts, DEX Imaging, Wabash, the Wurth group, Discount Tire, BODYARMOR, everybody that puts into our program, I can't thank them enough for a really fun year. We'll re-rack and hopefully be better next year. Congratulations to Kyle Larson, Mr. Hendrick, Cliff Daniels, championship number three, two in a row. Those guys are awesome. Hopefully we can race with them next year.
HOW DID YOU NOT LET THE PIT ROAD ISSUE RUIN YOUR FOCUS?
“It's early enough. It was end of the first stage. Knew we had time. Knew it was going to be difficult, but our car was really fast. Just hoped we could make our way through there. Then we got to really see a big strength in our car, was able to be versatile. Honestly, I think that helped me coming through the field like that is I knew what my car needed all around the racetrack. I had to run around these lanes I wasn't running before that. I think that helped us prepare for the last run of the race. Sometimes things might hurt initially, they might help you down the road. I appreciate all the fans watching. We did this interview last year at Phoenix. Appreciate all the support. Have a good winter.
Ford Finishing Results:
1st – Ryan Blaney
7th – Austin Cindric
9th – Noah Gragson
13th – Josh Berry
14th – Zane Smith
17th – Joey Logano
18th – Todd Gilliland
24th – Chris Buescher
25th – Ryan Preece
28th – Brad Keselowski
38th – Chad Finchum
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse –
“That was much needed for our team, just being able to capitalize on another great Discount Tire Ford. The last stage of the race was probably our weakest, but still to come home with a top 10 is really strong. And to finish top 10 in points is the most important. We were kind of points racing there to the end, but with everything that’s gone on the last couple weeks, it’s a nice way to end the season. I appreciate everyone’s effort from Team Penske, Ford Racing and looking forward to introducing a new car next year.”
NOAH GRAGSON, No. 4 Long John Silver’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT WAS YOUR TAKE ON THE INCIDENT WITH SUAREZ? “
That was 100 percent on me. I drove it down to the bottom and I crossed the seam and got loose and I was chasing it. I didn’t want to get into Suarez, obviously. We were racing hard there at the end, but, truthfully, I never want to spin out a competitor. It kind of helped out both of us unfortunately with the caution, but a strong day. We didn’t have the weekend on Friday or Saturday with practice or qualifying that we necessarily wanted to. This is one of my favorite racetracks. Running the fence is so much fun. There’s a hole in the right-rear quarterpanel because I ran it pretty much the whole race, but this is really good for our team to come home in the top 10 and go into the offseason with a little bit of momentum. It’s good for Ryan Blaney to win the race. I appreciate Ford Racing, Long John Silver’s and everybody at Front Row Motorsports. It’s been a grind of a season, but grateful to come home top 10 and have a better mood going home tonight.” HOW DOES IT HELP GOING INTO THE OFFSEASON? “It’s one race. It’s probably my best racetrack and I feel like this is a place where we can at least contend and be competitive. I know I didn’t really show during practice and in the race. I was pretty frustrated at that, but it’s good momentum. We’ve got to keep cleaning it up and keep getting better, have better pit stops. I need to do a better job behind the wheel. If everybody can do one or two percent better each week, I think there’s a lot of potential out of this group. I don’t know if we fully showed it yet. It kind of sucks, but, at the same time, I know the potential is there and that kind of makes me happy too that if we fire on all cylinders, we’re gonna be good.”
JOSH BERRY, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Dark Horse –
“I was proud of the adjustments we made. We got our car much better towards the end of the race and it looked like we were in position to get a top 10 before that last caution. We had a good stop, but the line stacked up really bad on the restart and just kind of lost a bunch of momentum. I was a little too tight and lost a few spots, but, all in all, it was a really fun night. It’s been a fun two years, and I’m proud of how we ended this deal. I’m thankful for the opportunity, everybody at Wood Brothers, Team Penske, Ford Motor Company, Ford Racing. It’s been a lot of fun, so we’ll close this season and go on to what’s next.”
