NASCAR Cup Texas

Ryan Blaney blames his "dumb decisions" for Texas loss

Blaney is lamenting a missed opportunity on a late-race restart at Texas, as he is now the only Penske driver this year without a win

Nick DeGroot

Edited: May 5, 2025, 1:30 AM

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A lot changed in the final 50 laps at Texas Motor Speedway, to the point where each restart became extra critical. Kyle Larson was in control of the race, but lost the lead on a late-race restart when Michael McDowell powered around him from the outside. Larson was never able to get the lead back, fading to fourth in the final running order.

"You don't want to give up the lead on a mile and a half. It's hard to get it back," said Larson. "Yeah, Michael [McDowell] just did a good job timing it. I left early the restart before and was going to leave early again then. He just anticipated and left probably right with me or just barely before, and he had [Tyler] Reddick pushing him behind him. So, yeah, wish I could go back and do that all over again. Yeah, just a bummer, but try to learn from it."

Blaney says he "can’t do anything right"

But this same restart proved to be a missed opportunity for another driver as Blaney willingly gave up a position on the front row. Blaney was actually running second and McDowell third when it was time to choose restart lanes. Surprisingly, Blaney chose to file in behind Larson. McDowell happily jumped at the opportunity to restart on the front row, making the most of the clean air while Blaney watched a shot at the race lead slip through his fingertips. He ended up getting passed by teammate Joey Logano, who went on to take the win.

In his post-race interview, Blaney was hard on himself — while his teammate did burnouts on the frontstretch.

“The one time I didn’t pick the outside (lane), the 71 [McDowell] got the lead and then I couldn’t get it back," said Blaney. "Just (the) driver making dumb decisions and not doing his job ... The 12 car was a fast car today. I just can’t do anything right currently. Hopefully it will work itself out.”

The good news is that Blaney now a top five finish in the las three races where he actually reached the checkered flag. The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion also has four DNFs this year, but his Texas 'podium' is now his best result of the 2025 season.

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Previous article How Michael McDowell's underdog run for the win ended in the wall

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