Blaney wins first Cup race at Iowa Speedway
NEWTON, Iowa — Ryan Blaney had his concerns heading into the final laps Sunday night in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway.
The problem was, he didn’t hear his crew chief’s reassurance.
There was no need to worry, though, with the defending series champion holding on for his first victory of the season and a spot in the playoffs.
Blaney seemed in control of the race but was worried about fuel a couple of weeks after running out on the final lap while leading at World Wide Technology Raceway. It’s why crew chief Jonathan Hassler came on the radio with fewer than 10 laps to go in this race to let him know he was good on fuel.
“I don’t even remember him saying that,” Blaney said. “I figured we were (OK). But I don’t remember him saying that.”
“I wanted to make sure he knew the whole situation,” Hassler said. “Sometimes I forget he doesn’t know what I know. So I just try to communicate as much as I can so he knows what’s going on.”
Blaney led four times for a career-high 201 laps, finishing 0.716 seconds ahead of William Byron for his 11th Cup victory.
“Ryan and those guys were really good,” Byron said. “He had a really good car. He was up front, contending a lot.”
Blaney regained the lead on Lap 263 after taking just two tires on a caution-flag pit stop. He led the rest of the way, getting through lapped traffic as Byron tried to close.
It was the decision to take two tires, on a weekend when tire wear was a concern for the Cup Series and Xfinity Series cars, that worried Hassler.
“There were not a lot of guys on two tires,” Hassler said. “At some point those guys are going to be a little bit better than you are. So, yeah, really nervous.”
Blaney, whose mother, Lisa, is from Chariton, Iowa, won in front of a sellout crowd of an estimated 40,000 fans that included 80 of his friends and family.
It was fitting the first Cup Series race at the 0.875-mile track went to a Team Penske driver — Penske cars have won seven IndyCar Series races and three NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the track.
“I think, as a whole company, we do a good job of these places we go to for the first time,” said Blaney, who also has wins at the track in the Xfinity and Truck series.
But Blaney, who started on the outside of the front row, admitted he had concerns about how good his car would be for the race.
“Friday, I didn’t feel very good,” he said. “I wasn’t very confident in the speed in our car. And we really went to work — we got a lot better qualifying to the race and got better through the night tonight. And I think we’re great at some points of the night. The last few runs were phenomenal. “
Chase Elliott was third. Christopher Bell, who had to start from the back of the field in a backup car after crashing during practice Friday, was fourth. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who like Blaney took two tires on the final pit stop, finished fifth.
Joey Logano finished sixth. Rookie Josh Berry, who led 32 laps, was seventh, followed by Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez and Brad Keselowski.
Kyle Larson, the series points leader and pole-sitter for the race, led 81 laps and won the second stage, but hit the wall on Lap 219 after contact from behind by Suarez. Larson had surged into the middle of a three-wide jam, with Suarez to his left and Keselowski to his right, when the contact happened. Larson finished 34th in the 36-car field.
Getting a Cup Series race was an accomplishment for the track, located 40 miles from Des Moines. The facility opened in 2006 and was on the schedules of NASCAR’s Xfinity Series and Truck Series from 2009-19. NASCAR has owned the track since 2013.
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Ball State fired coach Mike Neu, the school announced Saturday. The Cardinals are 3-7.
Neu was 40-63 in nine seasons at Ball State. Neu led the Cardinals to the MAC title in 2020, which was his only winning season at Ball State.
Sources told ESPN that the staff was informed of Neu’s dismissal early Saturday.
Offensive line coach Colin Johnson will serve as the interim head coach for the last two games, athletic director Jeff Mitchell said in a statement. Ball State hosts Bowling Green on Nov. 23 then plays at Ohio on Nov. 29.
Neu, 53, is a beloved alum with a strong campus reputation, but the lack of results ultimately led to his dismissal. Ball State lost 51-48 in overtime at Buffalo this week and fell to 2-4 in MAC play.
That clinched a fourth consecutive losing season for Ball State.
“Coach Neu has poured his heart into the Ball State football program,” Mitchell said in the statement. “I commend him for his professionalism and the positive team culture he has constructed. His efforts have greatly impacted the lives of hundreds of young men. He has represented the Ball State brand with integrity and class, and I wish him well in future pursuits.”
Neu led Ball State to two bowl games. That included a win over San Jose State in the Arizona Bowl to conclude the 2020 season, when Ball State finished 7-1 and won its first MAC title since 1996.
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Pittsburgh quarterback Eli Holstein will not play against No. 20 Clemson on Saturday, with redshirt junior Nate Yarnell getting the start for the Panthers.
Holstein hadn’t been cleared medically, sources said, and was considered a game-time decision by coach Pat Narduzzi after leaving two of Pitt’s past three games following apparent head injuries. Holstein took part in warmups Saturday.
Yarnell, who lost a camp battle to Holstein, will make his first start this season and fourth in his career for the Panthers. He has a 2-1 record as a starter, with wins over Western Michigan (2022) and Boston College (2023) and a loss to Duke (2023).
Yarnell has a strong amount of experience for a backup, as he has thrown for 1,104 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career. That includes a 65.3% completion percentage and an average of 8.9 yards per attempt. This season, he has thrown for five touchdowns and two interceptions while playing in the past three games.
Holstein has been a revelatory player for the Panthers under new offensive coordinator Kade Bell. Holstein, a transfer from Alabama, has thrown for 17 touchdowns with six interceptions.
Pittsburgh has the country’s No. 16 scoring offense at 36.7 points per game. That’s up from No. 114 last season, when it averaged 20.2 points.
Holstein has completed 61.9% of his passes and thrown for 2,174 yards.
Indiana has agreed to a contract extension with Curt Cignetti amid the Hoosiers’ unprecedented 10-0 start, the school announced Saturday.
Cignetti’s new eight-year contract runs through the 2032 season and will pay him an average of $8 million per year with an annual $1 million retention bonus, putting the total value of the new contract at $72 million.
“I am beyond appreciative for the tremendous commitment, confidence, and support from President Pam Whitten and Athletic Director Scott Dolson,” Cignetti said in a statement. “Manette [his wife] and I love Bloomington and are grateful for how the IU community has embraced us. I look forward to leading this outstanding program and doing my part to continue the momentum for Hoosier football.”
Cignetti originally received a six-year, $27 million contract when he was hired in December. He took the Indiana job after leading James Madison to an 11-1 season in 2023 — when he made $677,311 — with the goal of changing the Hoosiers’ historically woeful image in football.
He then led Indiana to the first 10-win season in school history and a possible push for the College Football Playoff. No. 5 Indiana (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) has one more win than its combined total over the previous three seasons. Its No. 5 ranking is one spot shy of the team’s highest ever, last reached in 1967, also the last time the Hoosiers won or shared a Big Ten title.
Indiana has scored at least 40 points seven times, won nine times by 14 or more points and trailed only twice briefly all season.
“We were confident IU could become a winning program and we love what he’s building here,” Dolson said in a statement. “We love the student-athletes that he’s bringing here. We love how our fanbase has rallied around this team and made Memorial Stadium the place to be on Saturday afternoons. And now, we love the fact that he’s going to be doing all those things right here in Bloomington for a long, long time.”
A source told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg that Indiana will also significantly increase the pool for Cignetti’s assistants and staff.
The Hoosiers are on a bye this week before a pivotal matchup with No. 2 Ohio State next Saturday that could determine Indiana’s playoff hopes and a potential spot in the Big Ten championship game.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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