September 8, 2025

Ryan Blaney went through some struggles, but recovered well during Sunday's Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway to finish in the fourth position. Blaney started the race from the fifth position and ran in the top five throughout the first stage. He also stayed off of pit road and went on to finish the stage in fifth, earning six stage points. During the second stage, Blaney went to pit road and wound up deep in the field, leading him to spend the rest of the stage trying to recover up to the front. Blaney did eventually reach the top five once again, but lost his position after being spun by Kyle Larson on lap 134. Blaney finished stage two in 18th, making him unable to earn further stage points. Blaney then once again drove from the back of the pack to the front in the final stage, making it back to the top five once again and even briefly inheriting the lead during a green flag pit stop sequence. Although he ran as high as second in the closing laps, he could not hold off Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott and finished the race in fourth position. Blaney is now 42 points ahead of the playoff cut line heading into the last race of the Round of 16 at Bristol, giving him a solid chance of advancing to the Round of 12.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com