Team Penske swaps pit crews for Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric

Team Penske has reassigned the pit crews for the No. 12 and No. 2 Ford entries ahead of the NASCAR Chase opener at Darlington Raceway. Ryan Blaney, currently the No. 2 seed for the postseason, will now utilize the crew previously assigned to Austin Cindric. The change follows regular-season data from NASCAR Insights indicating that Blaney’s original crew ranked 32nd in performance, having cost the driver a series-worst 129 positions on pit road. Cindric’s former crew ranked 10th in the series. While Cindric remains in the championship field as the No. 15 seed, the team opted to prioritize the pit-road performance of Blaney due to his higher standing in the points. The new alignment for the No. 12 crew, which includes jackman Jourdan Osinskie and tire changer Justin Armwood, takes effect for Sunday's Southern 500.

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