This isn’t the first time Ryan Blaney has found himself with his back against the wall during the most crucial stretch of racing in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Three drivers are set to join Denny Hamlin, winner of the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in NASCAR’s championship weekend at Phoenix Raceway. If Blaney is to be one of those three, he’ll have to repeat what happened one year ago: have a bad opening race before winning his way into the title race.
Blaney’s Round of 8 started off in the worst way imaginable, crashing out early in the race and finishing last of the eight remaining playoff drivers. A blown tire sent the No. 12 Team Penske Ford hard into the outside wall late in stage one, leaving Blaney with a disappointing 38th-place finish.
The early outing puts the 2023 champion 31 points below the playoff cut line with two races remaining before the Championship 4 is set.
Speaking to members of the media following a visit to the infield care center, Blaney, visibly frustrated after recording a DNF, simply stated, “I’m not overjoyed, tell you that. I hate that we have to come from behind like we did last year. Hopefully we can win one of the next two weeks.”
A tall task for some, but not for a champion like Blaney. The race-ending crash that ended his day might’ve been a blessing in disguise, as two of his better tracks, Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway, make up the remainder of the Round of 8 schedule.
If history is any indication, Blaney has nothing to worry about the next two weeks to race for another championship despite the early setback suffered in the Round of 8 opener. The series’ next stop on the schedule at Talladega lines up well for Blaney as it’s the site of three of his career Cup victories, two of which occurred in the heart of the NASCAR playoffs. In particular, his 2023 win at the track ultimately propelled him to Phoenix Raceway, where he went on to claim his first championship.
Despite his last two trips to Talladega resulting in DNFs, Blaney is the most recent winner on a drafting track this season, taking the checkered flag at Daytona International Speedway. Chances are high Blaney and his Team Penske teammates will be strong again this weekend.
Martinsville also represents another great opportunity for Blaney to become championship eligible, as he is the winner of the two previous playoff races at the Virginia short track. Also working in Blaney’s favor is his series-leading average finish of 4.6 in the last seven Martinsville races, which includes those two clutch victories in the playoffs.
Last year, Blaney entered The Paperclip in a 31-point hole ahead of the cutoff race, needing a victory to reach Phoenix for a second-straight season to race for the title. Channeling the same determination that guided him to his first title the year prior, Blaney raced his way into the Championship 4 once again, showing that his No. 12 team thrives when the pressure is at its highest.
Riding the high of his Martinsville win, Blaney took the fight to teammate Joey Logano before coming home with a second-place finish in both the race and the championship. The sting of defeat was evident as Blaney climbed from his car after the checkered flag.
Since joining Penske as a full-time driver in 2018, Blaney has become a regular fixture in the playoffs, having made the Championship 4 the last two seasons. It certainly hasn’t been the simplest path in getting to the championship race though. His 2023 Round of 8 started off on a positive note, scoring a sixth-place finish at Las Vegas, before finishing second the next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Despite those solid performances, Blaney still entered the elimination race at Martinsville below the cut line. At a track where he led the most laps in several races but was unable to score the race win, Blaney silenced the critics and pulled off his most clutch win of his Cup career at the time, scoring his first grandfather clock trophy at Martinsville to race for his first Cup title one week after. We all know what happened next, as Blaney crossed the finish line ahead of his three rivals to score his first Cup championship at Phoenix, a monumental moment in his career.
Last year found Blaney in the same position he finds himself in this year: having to overcome a poor result in the Round of 8 opener to make the Championship 4. A 32nd-place finish after being involved in a crash sent Blaney tumbling down the playoff standings after one race. His resurgence began the following week with a strong but heartbreaking second-place finish at Homestead where he led on the final lap and had victory within reach.
Unfortunately for Blaney, Tyler Reddick stormed past in turn 3 on the outside to steal the win and one of the four spots in the Championship 4. This left Blaney below the cut line for a second year in a row entering Martinsville in a must-win situation. Despite entering the penultimate race of the season below the cut line, Blaney was able to come through when it mattered most and won his way into the Championship 4 for a second consecutive season.
The next few weekends will be more of the same for Blaney, as he is essentially in the exact same position as he was at this time last year. The pressure is certainly at its peak, especially with the uncertainty of Talladega looming large. If anyone can rise above the pressure, it’s Blaney, who has shown that he has what it takes to rebound from one bad race and still find a way to advance to the championship race.
It’s hard to keep champions down in a title fight, especially in NASCAR’s playoffs. The champions are the ones that can get back up and bring the fight to the next race, which is exactly what Blaney must do once more to race for his second Bill France Cup at Phoenix.
