How NASCAR’s New Darlington Aero Package Led Ryan Blaney to a Career First
Mar 22, 2026; Darlington, South Carolina, USA; Team Penske Ryan Blaney (12) comes out for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway | Credits- Scott Kinser-Imagn Images The new short-track package, which worked wonders for racing in Phoenix earlier this season, returned to the Darlington Raceway on Sunday for the Goodyear 400, and opinions are divided. Common word suggests that the improvements were minimal, with overtaking still a difficult job. However, Ryan Blaney feels that the direction in which the ball moved had reason for optimism.
The changes brought about focused on reducing downforce and increasing horsepower. But with how narrow the racing groove is at Darlington, the improvement was always going to be insignificant. Blaney, however, found reasons to be happy with it.
He said , “I thought the package was really fun. You could kind of make it angry, and you were going to pay the price, and that stuff is pretty good. I think it was the first time in my Cup career that I have let guys go on a restart or on a green flag cycle, and I said to myself, I’m going to see you in about 20.
That happened multiple times. ” Issues with the Team Penske driver’s pit crew prevented him from finishing higher than third. It was not the shortcomings of the package itself.
During a pit stop before the start of Stage 2, his crew had an issue with the left-side wheels and failed to secure a lug nut properly. He had to pull back into Austin Cindric ‘s pit box to get it fixed. Nevertheless, Blaney did praise his team for putting up a solid show and hyped the package up.