Ryan Blaney crashes early at Las Vegas, title hopes in peril with last-place finish

Ryan Blaney’s car sustained significant damage near the end of Stage 1 when a left-front tire went down.

The Penske driver and 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion was running 12th when disaster struck the No. 12 team. He was unable to maintain control as a left-front tire went down, careening into the outside wall.

Blaney limped the car back to the pits before exiting the vehicle, which instantly puts him in a large points hole when looking at the Round of 8 playoff fight. He was quickly evaluated and released from the infield care center.

Huge playoff implications on Lap 72! @Blaney has trouble and gets into the wall. pic.twitter.com/MoCg5bEGHx

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 12, 2025

NASCAR says the car is officially out of the race, so Blaney will finish 38th, scoring just one point. He entered this race 19 points above the cutline. All of his fellow playoff drivers scored stage points, making the situation worse for him. 

"Nope, no warning," said Blaney when asked about the wreck. "The left-front tire blew into (Turn) 3 and yeah, unfortunate to be going home early."

This is Blaney's eighth DNF of the 2025 season, but his first during the playoffs. The last time he failed to finish a race was at Sonoma Raceway in mid-July. 

The only good news for Blaney are the tracks ahead of him in the rest of this round: he has multiple wins at both Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway (three at Talladega and two at Martinsville). Unless his title rivals suffer similar misfortunes, he is likely going to be facing must-win situation.

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