LEBANON, Tenn. — Ryan Blaney and Team Penske have been fast with his No. 12 Ford Mustang this year only to have races slip away when it mattered most.

Not Sunday night.

Blaney ran away down the stretch for his first Cup Series victory of the year Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway, then he celebrated with a burnout in front of the roaring fans after what he called a rough year.

“I’m ready to go celebrate,” Blaney said.

The 2023 Cup champ had been racing well with five top-five finishes over the first half of this season. He finally got to victory lane for his 14th career victory and first since Martinsville in November.

“I never gave up hope that’s for sure,” Blaney said. “We’ve had great speed all year. It just hasn’t really been the best year for us as far as good fortune. But [No.] 12 boys are awesome. They stick with it no matter how it goes.”

He became the ninth different winner this season and the fifth driver to win in as many races at Nashville. He also gave Team Penske a second straight Cup win at Nashville’s 1.33-mile concrete track.

Blaney, who started 15th, quickly drove his way to the front as he won the second stage. He easily held off Carson Hocevar by 2.83 seconds. Hocevar matched his career-best finish at Atlanta in February after complaining during the race that his No. 77 Chevrolet was undriveable.

“Either I’m really dramatic or they’re really good on adjustments,” Hocevar said. “Probably a little bit of both, but, yeah, proud of this group proud of this car. A place that is really, really difficult to pass, we’re able to go 26th to second.”

Denny Hamlin finished third in his 700th career Cup Series race, matching the third-place finish by Jeff Gordon at Darlington in 2013 for the best finish in a driver’s 700th race. Joey Logano, who won here last year, was fourth and William Byron fifth.

Hamlin was hoping for one more caution that never came after seven cautions for 35 laps.

“Just couldn’t run with the 12 [Blaney] there in the super long run,” Hamlin said. “After 40 laps, I could maintain with him. But then after that, he just pulled away and stretched it on us.”

There was a sprint to the finish under green forcing teams and drivers to pick and choose when to pit. Blaney had led 107 laps when he went to the pits under green flag on lap 248. Hamlin took the lead before going to pit road on lap 256.

Crew chief Jonathan Hassler said they decided on Blaney’s fifth and final pit stop to try to make sure he could get back out into the cleanest air possible.

“It was really nice just to finish off a race,” Hassler said.

Brad Keselowski had the lead when he went to the pits on lap 269. Blaney took the lead for the final 31 laps.

Waiting on a call

Hamlin raced Sunday night hoping to take advantage of his starting spot spot beside pole-sitter Chase Briscoe. Whether Hamlin would chase his third win this season had been in question with his third child, a boy, due the same day.

Hamlin practiced and qualified well, so he drove his No. 11 Toyota even as Joe Gibbs Racing had Ryan Truex on standby in case Hamlin got the call that his fiancee was in labor. Hamlin won the first stage and survived the final stretch without water or fresh air.

Tyler Reddick beat his boss Hamlin, a co-owner of his 23XI Racing team, to new parent status, which Reddick announced on social media earlier Sunday.

His family welcomed their second son at 2:20 a.m. on May 25, then Reddick followed up hours later by finishing 26th in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

Early night

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. didn’t finish his first race this year. He was the first out when Hocevar tapped his No. 47 Chevrolet, spinning Stenhouse into the wall between Turns 3 and 4 for the second caution of the race on lap 106.

Punishment and more penalties possible?

AJ Allmendinger started at the back of the field and served a stop-and-go penalty after the green flag for an unapproved adjustment to the splitter during Saturday’s practice. His No. 16 Chevrolet was sent back to the garage and then the scanning station before practice and qualifying.

The No. 66 Ford of Chad Finchum failed inspection twice leading to engineer Austin Webb’s ejection. The Garage 66 team also lost pit stall selection.

Up next

NASCAR heads to Michigan International Speedway for the Cup Series on June 8.

The Kansas City Royals are calling up slugger Jac Caglianone, one of the top prospects in baseball, less than a year after choosing him with the sixth pick in the draft, sources tell ESPN.

In his first full professional season, the 22-year-old Caglianone has crushed pitching at Double-A and Triple-A, combining for 15 home runs and 56 RBIs across 50 games while hitting .322/.389/.593.

A 6-foot-5, 250-pound two-way player at the University of Florida, Caglianone transitioned to a full-time offensive player after joining the Royals organization following last July’s draft. Originally a first baseman, he has spent the majority of his Triple-A games in the outfield and is expected to play there when he joins the Royals for their series that starts Tuesday in St. Louis.

Caglianone’s calling card is top-of-the-scale power, seen in numerous tape-measure home runs this season. With exit velocities that rival Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, Caglianone is expected to eventually be a staple in the middle of the Royals’ order along with Bobby Witt Jr.

For a player with such immense power, Caglianone has struck out in only 20% of his plate appearances this season. Kansas City was loathe to promote him, though, because of fears that he chased too many pitches outside of the strike zone and could be exposed by premium pitches in the major leagues.

Kansas City’s offensive struggles buried those fears enough to summon him to the big leagues.

The Royals, in fourth place in the American League Central with a 31-29 record, have allowed the second-fewest runs in Major League Baseball, 201, behind only the New York Mets. They’ve scored the second fewest, 194, ahead of only the Colorado Rockies, who at 9-50 are trending toward the worst record in MLB history.

The Royals’ outfielders in particular have struggled mightily. In 663 plate appearances this season, they are hitting .237/.283/.330 with seven home runs and 46 RBIs. The slugging percentage, home runs and RBI totals are all the worst in MLB.

PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks ace Corbin Burnes was lifted after just 70 pitches Sunday against Washington with right elbow discomfort.

Manager Torey Lovullo told reporters after Arizona’s 3-1 win that Burnes would have an MRI on Monday.

Arizona led 3-0 in the top of the fifth when Burnes allowed a single by CJ Abrams with two outs. The right-hander then gestured toward the dugout with his glove and yelled in frustration.

Jalen Beeks replaced Burnes and gave up an RBI single before getting the third out. Arizona won the game 3-1.

Burnes allowed a run and four hits in 4 2/3 innings, with a walk and six strikeouts. He is 3-2 with a 2.66 ERA in 11 starts this season.

Arizona signed Burnes to a $210 million, six-year contract before the season. He has been effective, but the Diamondbacks have dealt with a slew of pitching injuries. Jordan Montgomery (Tommy John surgery) is out for the season, Eduardo Rodríguez (shoulder) is on the injured list, and reliever A.J. Puk (elbow) is on the IL as well.

Arizona allowed 10 runs in the first inning Saturday, its ninth loss in 10 games.

Durability hasn’t been much of a concern for the 30-year-old Burnes, who has made at least 28 starts in every season since he won the 2021 National League Cy Young Award for Milwaukee. He spent his first six years with the Brewers before being traded to Baltimore before the 2024 season. After one year with the Orioles, he signed with the Diamondbacks as a free agent.