“I'm really excited about going to Vegas,” Blaney said. “Trying to gain momentum from Daytona will be really big for us in this race.”
Sprint Cup rookie Blaney has experience at LVMS, driving in the last two Camping World Truck Series races there. “I've been there a couple of times and I’m looking forward to my first Cup start and my first XFINITY Series start.”
In his previous visits to Las Vegas, Blaney started 15th and finished 20th in Brad Kezelowski’s No. 29 Ford F-Series in 2013 and started on the pole and finished 6th a year ago.
This weekend, Blaney will be driving both the Motorcaft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion in Sunday’s Sprint Cup race and the No. 22 Penske Racing Mustang in Saturday’s XFINITY race.
“Being able to do double duty this weekend is really going to help me out with the racetrack,” Blaney said. “Anytime a driver can run double duty it helps. The driver gets more seat time and can compare both cars with positive or negative changes.
“Tracks change as rubber gets laid down on them throughout the weekend, so running the XFINITY race can help you for the Cup race by feeling what the track does as it changes,” he said.
Blaney and his crew chief, Jeremy Bullins, look forward to the challenge of attacking the 1.5-mile LVMS after the 2.5 miles of Daytona.
“To get on our first mile and a half of the year is going to be exciting,” Blaney said. “At Vegas we can adjust the car and it's a lot more technical than Daytona from a driver’s perspective.”
Bullins said, “At Daytona and Talladega we worry more about raw speed and less about handling, plus you’re in the draft all day. At the 1.5-mile tracks we focus more on handling and tire wear and other performance metrics to try to find our speed. We have a lot more tools to work with at the 1.5-mile tracks to find the handling we need.”
This weekend will be the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team’s first race with NASCAR’s new rules package. Any concerns from the pit box? “Not really,” Bullins said. “I think for us it’s just a matter of getting to a good race balance as quickly as we can and understanding the feel that Ryan needs with the new rules.”
Blaney concluded, “It's going to be a fun weekend for our Wood Brothers No. 21 team. We are really excited to get out on the racetrack and get going.”
Practice sessions for Kobalt 400 qualifying begin at 3 p.m. ET on March 6 and can be seen live on FOX Sports 1. Qualifying will take place at 7:45 ET on March 6 and will be broadcast live either on FOX Sports 1. Saturday practice sessions for the Kobalt 400 will be shown on FOX Sports 1 at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. ET on March 7. The Kobalt 400 begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

Kobalt 400/Las Vegas Motor Speedway Facts
Track: 1.5-mile super speedway
Laps: 267
1st Race: 1998
Wood Brothers Wins: 0
Race Record: Mark Martin, 1998, 146.554 mph
2014 Winner: Brad Keselowski
2014 No. 21 Finish: 20th

-- Press release courtesy of Wood Brothers Racing