NASCAR Pocono recap: Ryan Blaney brings Wood Brothers back to the winner’s circle

Anytime Ryan Blaney keyed the mic to talk, crew chief Jeremy Bullins could hear his driver hitting the button, though nothing else.

Mere silence is a less an ideal way to communicate during the middle of a race. But this was the predicament Blaney, Bullins, and Wood Brothers Racing found themselves in after about 40 laps during Sunday’s Monster Energy Cup Series race at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. A faulty radio meant Blaney couldn’t talk to his team, though he could hear Bullins relay instructions to him. Not wanting to remove themselves from contention by taking additional time to fix the issue on pit road, Bullins instead went old school and came up with hand signals.

If Blaney’s car handled tight, he would place his hand on the door. If Blaney’s car was loose, he would place his hand on the roof. If Blaney was happy, he would give a thumbs up. If he was displeased, he would give a thumbs down.

And yet, despite a radio not working, and despite having to contend with a pair of former Cup champions over the final 13 laps — Kyle Busch, who doggedly tried to prevent Blaney from taking away his lead by throwing two monstrous blocks, and Kevin Harvick, who relentlessly hounded Blaney and was sitting ready to pounce if Blaney had one errant turn of the wheel — it wasn’t enough to keep 23-year-old from winning for the first time at NASCAR’s highest level.

“I think it exceeds the dream a little bit,” said Blaney, a third-generation racer. “I grew up watching my dad race on this race track and it’s so cool to get the Wood Brothers in victory lane, and to do it here at a race track that is really close to Ohio — a home to me — is pretty awesome.”

Blaney is among a crop of young talents NASCAR is hoping steps into the spotlight Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, and Tony Stewart have recently vacated, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, and other veterans over the age of 40 will soon do so as well. But possessing potential is one thing, turning promise into tangible results is another thing altogether.

Before Sunday, Blaney had his moments. In this his second full season with legendary Wood Brothers, NASCAR’s oldest continuous operating team, he had come close on several occasions to that initial victory. He had finished runner-up at Kansas Speedway in May, had led the most laps at Texas Motor Speedway in April.

Still, that first win hadn’t yet materialized. In consecutive races leading into Pocono, a broken rear axle snuffed out potential strong finishes. On Sunday, the radio problem along with a loose wheel requiring an additional pit stop appeared to be the hurdles to keep Blaney out of victory in this his 68th career start.

But if there is a characteristic synonymous with the Wood Brothers it is resiliency. Once a powerhouse that dominated NASCAR with a roster full of a who’s who of Hall of Fame drivers, the single-car organization fell on hard times in the mid-2000s, lacking the resources and funding to compete against the superteams that fielded multiple cars and had an array of Fortune 500 sponsors footing the bill.

Nevertheless, the Wood Brothers preserved. First, the team scaled back to a part-time effort where it selected a handful of races to contest based on tracks that best played to its strengths. Then came an alliance forged with Team Penske in 2015, where the Roger Penske-owned operation supplied the Wood Brothers cars, technical data, and personnel.

The relationship also brought with it Blaney and Bullins, a driver and crew chief on the rise but whose options were limited at the moment with Penske, which wasn’t in a position to expand. In their first season together, Blaney would drive the famed No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford in 16 races, twice finishing in the top 10.

Liking what it saw and wanting to get the Wood Brothers back to full-time status, Ford stepped up its support so the team could race the entire schedule in 2016. Blaney’s rookie season saw him record three top-five finishes, nine top-10 finishes, and rank a respectable 20th in points.

This season has brought an ever-close union with Penske and continued growth where the Wood Brothers have resumed their place at or near the front of the field. Seemingly it was only a matter of time before Blaney’s first and the team’s 99th victory would occur.

And that the breakthrough finally transpired in old-school fashion hearkening back to David Pearson and Cale Yarborough wheeling the white-and-red No. 21 car only made it all the sweeter. After all, who better prepared than the Wood Brothers to revert back to the primitive ways of communication than a team that’s been in existence since 1950.

“It was just like us going back to the old days with no radios,” team co-owner Eddie Wood said. “It was just like I had flashbacks. It was really cool.”

Considering their current trajectory it’s entirely conceivable Blaney could deliver the Wood Brothers its first-ever premier series championship sometime in the near future. Unfortunately this is unlikely to be the case, as their partnership comes with a shelf life.

Blaney is destined to end up returning to Penske either next year or in a season shortly thereafter. Roger Penske has spoken publicly about expanding to three full-time teams and his preference to have Blaney in one of his own cars. Such a transaction would leave the Wood Brothers without the driver who played a prominent role in rejuvenating the storied team.

“Whenever it happens, that’s fine,” Wood said. “Everybody will move on, and he’ll go on to bigger and better and greater things. He’s going to win a lot of races, and I think he’s going to win some championships.

“Whatever we do from there, it’ll be fine. We’re just excited to be where we are. It’s a great place to be.”

Where Blaney may end up and who the Wood Brothers would get as a replacement will be sorted out down the road. For now, Blaney and the Wood Brothers are going to enjoy their moment. A driver who proved he was worthy of the hype, and team that showed it still can get the job done.