NASCAR Cup Bristol
Ryan Blaney, Jonathan Hassler bit by no-win scenario
'Do the opposite of the leader' is an unenviable position
Matt Weaver
Edited: Apr 13, 2026, 4:04 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports
Photo by: Jonathan Bachman - Getty Images
Jonathan Hassler was introduced to the Kobayashi Maru test on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway.
For those who are not fans of Star Trek, this is basically a no-win scenario exercise that basically just tests your decision-making prowess when presented with two options that were not going to produce a victory.
Now, to be fair to the test, Ryan Blaney nearly drove the Penske No. 12 car back to the front anyway but his crew chief faced an unenviable position when the penultimate caution flew with 24 laps to go.
There were 13 cars on the lead lap and the decision from those teams to pit or not to pit is often dictated by what the leaders choose. If the leader stays out, the second-place team frequently comes down and drags everyone else with them. If the leader pits, there will always be someone willing to take clean air and track position.
Blaney and Hassler dominated the second half of the Food City 500 but faced that scenario and chose to pit. They took four tires and were leap-frogged by Kyle Larson and crew chief Cliff Daniels, who dominated the first half of the race, by taking two tires. Tyler Reddick stayed out with Gibbs and put up a valiant fight when the race resumed.
Blaney got by Larson and Reddick but just couldn’t find a way to make enough speed on the bottom while Gibbs ripped the top.
“I’ll pick it apart a little bit, but like, I don’t know, it was so hard to hit the bottom in (Turn) 3 with pace,” Blaney said during his post-race scrum. “I mean, so many guys missed it all day and I’ll probably think about corner more than any.
“I don’t know if I could have done anything differently. I had to commit and I just probably missed my entry by like a foot and missed the whole bottom. Any slip up and it’s a handful so I’ll think about it a little bit tonight and forget about it tomorrow.”
Hassler isn’t going to spend a lot of time questioning his decision either because there wasn’t a lot he could pick apart either.
“We had talked about this exact scenario, where the field will kind of split in half and that makes you a sitting duck as the leader,” Hassler told Motorsport.com afterwards. “They’re just going to do the opposite of whatever you do.
“Not a lot of guys came down pit road there so we had decided to do two tires honestly and when not that many came down, took four, and thought we were in a pretty good position. Talking to Ryan before the restart, we felt we were in a good position to get by the 54, but I wouldn’t change anything.”
Again, what makes this decision all the more dynamic is that this isn’t just Hassler versus Gibbs crew chief Tyler Allen. Daniels and Larson’s two tire call factored into the results too.
“Honestly, our first reaction was to consider staying out because I knew many would,” Daniels told Motorsport.com. “But at the same time, I thought we were going to be better playing a little bit of offense rather than just being stuck completely in defense.
“Would four have been better for our car than just right (sides)? I don’t really know but we were obviously able to hang right there with the 12.”
For his part, Allen said there were a lot of options from his war room.
“Not quite that simple,” Allen said. “We were discussing over that green flag stint what we would do at any given point. As the laps wound down, you get the caution, you know you're going to have seven, eight or nine caution laps for a 15-lap run. I'd much rather have control of the race than be trying to go catch somebody. So that was really the biggest factor in making that decision.”
And Gibbs executed by holding off two former Cup Series champions who each had a tire advantage.
It's super cool. Ryan and Kyle, I have a ton of respect for them. To be able to race them is awesome. Honestly, I was just happy that the race was sick at the end and we were all sliding around and racing for the win. I think that was super cool. Hopefully it put on a great show for the fans.
“Super cool,” Gibbs said. “I've watched those guys a lot of my life in NASCAR. To race with them is awesome, it's an honor.”
And despite to Kobayashi Maru decision not working out, Hassler maintains he has one of the best overall teams in the sport, with some work to do on their pit crew, but it’s a good start.
“I think our team has been super good,” Hassler said. “Our performance with the car and on the track, our speed, has been really good. Yeah, we’ve had some issues on pit road and today was no different so we have to buckle down to get that better.”
Photos from Bristol - Sunday
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
Bristol - Sunday, in photos
NASCAR Cup
53
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Complete NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Bristol spring race
Next article Ty Gibbs first win is about validation but they don't see it that way
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Matt Weaver
Why Chase Elliott has removed his name from NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Ballot
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
23 h
Why Chase Elliott has removed his name from NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Ballot
Kyle Larson all but clinches NASCAR championship with Dega win
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
Kyle Larson all but clinches NASCAR championship with Dega win
There will be even less drag in Cup cars at Talladega on Sunday
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
There will be even less drag in Cup cars at Talladega on Sunday
More from
Ryan Blaney
How the seven NASCAR Cup title contenders perform at Talladega
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
How the seven NASCAR Cup title contenders perform at Talladega
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix
More from
Team Penske
Winners and losers from a frantic NASCAR Cup race at Talladega
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
22 h
Winners and losers from a frantic NASCAR Cup race at Talladega
Palou pushes IndyCar’s IR-28 chassis to the limit in rugged Sebring test
IndyCar
IndyCar
Palou pushes IndyCar’s IR-28 chassis to the limit in rugged Sebring test
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Latest news
HMD Motorsports confirms Leonardo Escorpioni to 2027 Indy NXT roster
Indy NXT
IndL Indy NXT 10 min
HMD Motorsports confirms Leonardo Escorpioni to 2027 Indy NXT roster
“I couldn’t disappear” – Oliver Bearman rues “crazy” penalty for Pierre Gasly clash
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
1 h
“I couldn’t disappear” – Oliver Bearman rues “crazy” penalty for Pierre Gasly clash
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe