Team Penske makes pit crew change for Ryan Blaney amid struggles

It is no secret that the No. 12 team of Ryan Blaney has had issues lately. So, Team Penske is making changes in the off week. No NASCAR Cup Series race this weekend, but a tripleheader of ARCA, Truck, and Xfinity Series action.

Ryan Blaney has had a really fast car. Crew chief Jonathan Hassler managed to find the only setup that could race through traffic at Darlington. The pit crew has been a letdown in late-race situations, though.

As part of the change, the front tire changer is getting swapped. Skip Flores, co-host of Stacking Pennies with Corey LaJoie, is now being moved to the No. 38 car of Zane Smith. Team Penske provides the pit crews for Front Row Motorsports.

In place of Flores will be Keiston France. Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports confirmed the news earlier this morning.

Front Row Motorsports confirms that Skip Flores, formerly on the Ryan Blaney car, will be the front changer for Zane Smith starting at Talladega. Penske provides the pit crew for Smith and his former front changer Keiston France moves to Blaney's car starting at Talladega. https://t.co/RA68Sn2c4J

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 17, 2025

This is a similar situation to what we saw with Hendrick and Spire a couple of weeks ago. Kyle Larson had a pit crew that was struggling. So, Hendrick brought in the crew from the No. 7 team, which they loan out to Spire.

It is times like these when teams like 23XI Racing are glad to be building their own pit crews. Having a Penske or Hendrick crew can be awesome, but if they are too good you could lose them to a front runner like Larson or Blaney.

Ryan Blaney should not have to worry about his pit crew performing. He is a champion of the sport and has shown that he is a driver to be feared on the track. When the 12-car is hooked up, it has long run speed and maneuvers in traffic, unlike anyone else.

Ryan Blaney running better than results show

This season has been a little up and down for Ryan Blaney. He is having a much better season than his results might show. Blaney has three DNFs, but he also has three top-five finishes. He has led 197 laps total this season. He even has 92 stage points, leading the Cup Series.

This team is doing great things. Then the end of the race comes and the pit crew can’t get them off pit road fast enough. Meanwhile, teams like Denny Hamlin’s are able to propel themselves from P5 to a win with one stop.

More and more, pit crews are the deciding factor. This Next Gen car is what it is and with pit stops dipping down into the mid-8 seconds at times, any mistake can cost a driver and team. So, Team Penske is doing something about it. It is very interesting to only replace one member of the crew.

Ryan Blaney is doing fine. If he can get this pit crew situation under control, then he’s going to be winning races. A week off before Talladega sounds like the perfect time to get ready for another Blaney photofinish at the superspeedway.