LEXINGTON, Ohio— Ryan Blaney qualified third and finished third in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Mid-Ohio Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, but it was far from that simple or cut and dried on Saturday afternoon.

“Not a bad day, lots of ups and downs and luckily it ended on a high note,” Blaney said of his day at the 2.258-mile track.

The downs of the day came early as the Team Penske driver had to start at the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments but he wasted no time navigating his way to towards the front. By Lap 30, he had cracked his way back into the top five. That was not the only adversity Blaney battled through.

Wet weather came early at Mid-Ohio, bringing out a caution on the opening lap that allowed teams to put on rain tires.

“It was such a weird race, starting fairly dry and then raining,” Blaney said. “Everyone has to learn how to rain race right away and then it drying back out and trying to figure out when to put slicks back on or stay on the wets and then it started pouring again.”

While Blaney held his own in the rain, the No. 22 car was at its best when the track was drying out. The 22-year-old led six laps (Laps 48-53) just past the midway point of the 75-lap event.

But then the rain began falling again and after restarting on the front row on Lap 56, Blaney had some contact with the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Sam Hornish Jr. After going off track briefly, Blaney was in 12th place on Lap 60. He made up some ground late in the event, gaining nine spots over the final 15 laps for his first top-five finish (in just his fourth start) of the season in the XFINITY Series.

The rain and the constantly evolving strategies made for an interesting day for the young racer amid his first time racing in the rain.

“There’s some moments where it’s fun and some moments where you’re ready to rip the steering wheel off,” Blaney said of of the task. “I had a handful at moments. At the end of the day, it was a lot of fun and you get to experience a race in the rain.

“…There was some calamity at some points but I thought it was overall pretty fun. Just to get that experience and go back and forth between slick and rain (tires). That was really challenging, and drivers like challenges. Just nice to race in the rain finally. That’s my first time.”

This start came on the final off weekend for the NASCAR Sprint Cupp Series, where Blaney pilots the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford. Blaney enters Saturday’s night race at Bristol (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) outside of the 16-driver Chase Grid with just four regular-season races left before the postseason field gets set.

He sits 18 points back of Kyle Larson for the last spot, with Trevor Bayne and Kasey Kahne between himself and Larson. Should Chris Buescher claim a spot in the top 30 in points by the end of the Richmond race on Sept. 30, Blaney would be in a deeper hole to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Entering the 0.533-mile track, Blaney’s mindset is focused on joining Buescher as a rookie winner.

“We are going to go into the last four races trying to win just like we always do every week,” Blaney said of his pursuit of a Chase spot. 

A win over any of the final four regular-season Sprint Cup races (Bristol, Michigan, Darlington or Richmond) would essentially lock the Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate into the postseason field.

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RELATED: Mid-Ohio results

LEXINGTON, Ohio — For Alon Day, sitting next to race runner-up Sam Hornish Jr. in a post-race press conference was a thrill.

Day received congratulations from one of his “childhood heroes” after a 13th-place finish in his NASCAR national series debut in the XFINITY Series’ Mid-Ohio Challenge Saturday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The NASCAR Next driver was the first Israeli driver to make a NASCAR national series start as well.

The 24-year-old turned plenty of heads with a lengthy amount of time in the top 10 during a wet race at Mid-Ohio.

The No. 40 MBM Motorsports Dodge had a best finish of 30th this year at Talladega coming into Mid-Ohio, something that was not lost on Day.

“When the deal came, they told me you were going to drive the No. 40 car,” Day said. ” … My expectation wasn’t that high to be honest. I said if I would finish like 25th, I’d be super happy with that and to find myself fighting for the lead, that’s not bad.”

In road racing, it’s been said that rain is the great equalizer. Day, for one, was excited by that prospect — so much so that it came in conversation with Hornish earlier in the week.

“He said the other day, ‘I want it to rain,’ ” Hornish shared. “I said, ” ‘Be careful what you wish for.’ “

The wet weather, though, proved beneficial for Day, who started 22nd. A caution for weather came out quickly, leading teams to pit for rain tires on Lap 3.

“The moment the rain hit, I realized we were going to change to rain tires,” Day said. “I knew I had the speed to attack as soon as possible. Just on the first restart, I began attacking immediately.

“I knew some guys would be a bit slow on the rain. I have some experience in the rain in Europe, we’re used to driving in the rain all the time. I’m really happy. (You) can’t imagine how excited I am sitting here.”

Day has honed his skills in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, scoring a second-place overall in the championship run for the 2015 season. He has raised his game in 2016 in that series with two wins and four top-fives, en route to becoming the first driver outside of North America to be selected to NASCAR Next.

Day is set to drive for MBM again at another road course, Road America, on Aug. 27 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and hopes to do more beyond that.

“We expect to do five more races but it all depends on sponsorship and finding the budget,” Day said.