Ryan Blaney’s woes on pit road in 2026 have been a major topic of conversation in the NASCAR world this week.
The driver of the No. 12 has lost 88 spots on pit road across the first eight races of the season. Despite that, the Team Penske driver sits second in the points standings and won at Phoenix last month.
Yet, the pit road struggles could not be overlooked by Team Penske for one more week. On Thursday, April 16, it was announced that Blaney’s pit crew will have a different look in this Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at the Kansas Speedway.
Ryan Blaney gets new jackman ahead of Kansas
On Thursday, Team Penske made the call to bring in a new jackman for the No. 12 car.
Patrick Gray, formerly the jackman on Josh Berry’s No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing car, will now service the No. 12 machine starting Sunday at Kansas.
Gray replaces Landon Honeycutt, who will now assume Gray’s position as the jackman for Berry’s No. 21 Ford. The jackman is the only change made to Blaney’s team ahead of Kansas.
Although Blaney has posted a quality season so far, the struggles on pit road have held him back.
The 2023 Cup Series champion has recorded one win, three top fives, and six top 10s. He sits runner-up in the points standings, 62 points behind leader Tyler Reddick.
However, Blaney’s pit crew ranks 35th among 36 full-time teams, per a stat pulled from NASCAR Insights.
In Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol, Blaney surrendered 11 positions on pit road. The North Carolina native finished second to Ty Gibbs after leading 190 of 505 laps at the 0.5-mile short track.
Gray is not a stranger to shifting around through the Team Penske stable. He was formerly the jackman for Austin Cindric’s No. 2 car.
In 2024, Gray was brought on to Joey Logano’s No. 22 team as a relief jackman in the driver’s championship-winning season that year.
Now, Gray steps into the role as the jackman for the No. 12 car, and will attempt to get Blaney off pit road faster than he has been this season.
What Ryan Blaney said about his pit crew after Bristol
After a difficult day on pit road, Blaney made it clear what needs to happen going forward.
“We’ve got to get better. We’ve got to get better, for sure. If we’re going to keep competing and have cars that can win races and stuff, we’ve got to clean that up,” Blaney said.
Blaney fell short in his bid for his first Bristol victory on Sunday. He was door-to-door with Ty Gibbs coming to the checkered flag, but the latter got the run on the outside line and outdueled the former to the line.
For Gibbs, it was his first career NASCAR Cup Series win in his 131st start.
This Sunday at Kansas, Blaney will seek his first win at the 1.5-mile track. The 32-year-old has finished top five in two of the last three Kansas races. His best finish at Kansas is third, which he achieved twice: October 2017 and May 2025.
Blaney is in his 11th full-time season of Cup Series competition and his ninth campaign with Team Penske. He has 18 career Cup victories and one championship in 2023.
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