Gold Line: Ryan Blaney '2017 Throwback' Ford Fusion

It felt appropriate to feature a Darlington throwback paint scheme this week, what with Darlington's 75th anniversary upon us, and the Goodyear 400 coming up in just a few days. As a big Ryan Blaney fan, I had to get this one featured early on in the life of the blog. in 2017 Blaney raced this Kyle Petty tribute car to a disappointing 31st place finish. While the 1/1 is fantastic, the 1/64 version is less so, for more...

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The real thing: Ryan Blaney navigates a narrow racing line at Darlington, in September of 2017. (Photograph by Zach Catanzareti, Wikimedia Commons)

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Blaney enjoyed a 12th place starting position for the 2017 Southern 500. But just three laps into the race, Blaney slapped the wall exiting turn 4 trying to use the momentum from the turn. The damage was extensive as a result of some pretty heavy contact, and things went from bad to worse when Blaney missed the entrance to pit road on the next lap. This early incident would forever put Blaney several laps down for the day and would end any hope for a good result. Even with a full race of effort, the Wood Brothers and Ryan Blaney would have to settle for a 31st place finish, 10 laps down. 

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Notes: 
I'll cut to the chase here, this was a poorly executed replica from Lionel. They had a great opportunity to take an ascending driver with growing popularity, on a legendary team, with an iconic throwback, and make a top tier product. Instead the model is riddled with errors.  The history behind the car is great, but everything about the 2017 Southern 500 for Blaney, and this 1/64 model is not. For an extended look at the issues, stay tuned.