Ryan Blaney’s ongoing pit road struggles added another chapter Sunday at Kansas Speedway — and this time, it came with contact, damage, and a penalty.
During the AdventHealth 400, Blaney made contact with AJ Allmendinger while exiting his pit stall, an incident captured on in-car camera that quickly snowballed into a costly sequence for the No. 12 team.
The contact sent Allmendinger around on pit road and left Blaney with visible splitter damage, forcing Team Penske to bring the car back down pit road for further assessment.
What followed only made matters worse.
Pit Road Contact Sparks Chain Reaction
Blaney entered pit road running inside the top 10 but lost ground almost immediately after the incident. As he attempted to exit his stall, his car made contact with Allmendinger’s No. 16, triggering a spin and disrupting both teams’ pit sequences.
NOTE: The team will attempt to fix the damage so they will likely lose track position ahead of Stage 2.
The No. 12 car sustained damage to the front splitter — a critical aerodynamic component — which required additional attention from the crew.
According to updates from the team, Blaney slipped to 15th by the end of Stage 1 as the damage impacted performance and forced adjustments.
Penalty Adds to the Damage
While attempting to repair the splitter, Blaney’s team was hit with a penalty for too many crew members over the wall.
As first reported during the FOX broadcast and echoed by multiple reporters, the violation occurred as the team worked to assess and fix the damage from the pit road contact.
“Ryan Blaney gets a penalty for too many crew members over the wall but they made multiple stops because they were trying to assess the damage,” NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck noted.
The penalty dropped Blaney further back in the running order, forcing him to restart deep in the field.
A Familiar Problem in 2026
The incident wasn’t an isolated mistake — it’s part of a growing trend.
Through the first eight races of the 2026 season, Blaney had already lost 88 positions on pit road, one of the most glaring weaknesses for a driver who otherwise has shown race-winning speed.
Sunday’s sequence at Kansas only reinforced that pattern.
From contact on pit entry to damage, penalties, and lost track position, pit road once again proved to be the difference between contending and recovering.
Speed Isn’t the Issue
Despite the setback, Blaney’s underlying pace remains undeniable.
He entered the weekend as one of the fastest drivers in the field and has consistently shown the ability to charge through the pack when needed. But as the season progresses, the repeated losses on pit road continue to put him in difficult positions.
It’s becoming a defining storyline.
Blaney has proven he can overcome adversity — but as Kansas showed, the margin for error is shrinking.
Ryan Blaney’s Pit Road Troubles Strike Again After Costly Kansas Incident With AJ Allmendinger