NEWTON, Iowa — (AP) — 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 less 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 …