DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—For anyone who thought Ryan Blaney’ s 2023 title run was fluke, think again.
The NASCAR Cup champion proved during the Playoffs that he could elevate his game when push came to shove—and not just with fellow contender Denny Hamlin at Homestead.
The preseason Busch Clash at the LA Coliseum on Feb. 3, was no exception. The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford used a provisional to get into main event, then blasted from the back of the field to the podium over 150 laps on the quarter-mile track.
“Our race car was good, and when we got in the race, we just kind of took our time,” Blaney said. “We really didn’t go anywhere the first 10-15 (laps) but guys started falling off and I just kind of started picking my way through.
“I didn’t plow through guys—I don’t really do that—I would just lean on them going into the corner. Just kind of saved our stuff and with a good car, it’s a little easier to do.”
The confidence Blaney gained over his championship quest cannot be overlooked. At 30, Blaney is far from an overnight success. The third-generation racer scored just seven wins in his first seven years on tour. His eighth victory came in one of NASCAR’s crown jewels—the Coca-Cola 600 last May.
But to advance through three rounds in the postseason, just to sniff the title as one of the Championship 4, Blaney had to learn to be tough. He had to channel his aggression in the right direction. He had to win.
Blaney was 11th in the standings when he transferred to the Round of 12, then crashed in the first race at Texas Motor Speedway. Before taking the green flag the following week at Talladega Superspeedway, Blaney learned his spotter, Josh Williams was leaving. He responded by winning on the 2.66-mile track to advance to the Round of 8.
Forced into a must-win situation again, he was victorious at Martinsville Speedway—NASCAR’s oldest venue and one Blaney considers his home track. While he didn’t win the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, he ran second. As the top-finishing title contender, he clinched the championship.
Throughout the closing laps, Blaney expressed his ire over the radio towards eventual race winner Ross Chastain. Mr. Nice Guy had officially retired and Blaney adamantly said there was no stuffing that genie back in the bottle.
Growing up as “a scrawny little kid,” Ryan Blaney knew his options were few to satisfy his competitive juices—let alone monetize his passions. Football was out. Following his uncle’s footsteps to college basketball? Not a chance in hell for the five-foot, nine-inch driver.
But being a race car driver—like his father and grandfather—suited his stature, not necessarily his temperament, until now.
Following his remarkable comeback from the 23rd starting position at the Coliseum, where he picked off one competitor after another, Blaney never got mad. Still, finding that balance remains a work in progress.
“I didn’t get upset at all,” Blaney said. “Just kind of I’m trying to go through these things where I can get that energy in that fire without like exploding with it. So I’m trying to work my way through getting all the benefits from when I get frustrated, and it motivates me to go faster.
“I’m just trying to learn how do I get that motivation without getting frustrated? And so, hopefully, my Zen this winter helped that out.”
A meditative state should help Blaney keep his cool when tension rises during the Daytona 500 on Sunday. He has already proven his mettle when battling in tight packs at superspeedways, here and at Talladega where he scored his third win in the fall. While Blaney won the 2021Coke Zero 400 and has two second-place results in the Daytona 500, the Harley J. Earl trophy has eluded him.
“I remember every little detail of how you run second,” Blaney said. “Drivers obviously remember it. You remember the ones you lose. The ones that sting I feel like you remember those even more. You remember every little detail about them. We’ve run second here twice. I feel like I’ve had a great shot to win it maybe two or three other times and it just hasn’t played out.
“I try to take those as things like running second or close to winning this thing and not doing it, but I always try to take things from it as, ‘OK, we did a really good job of putting ourselves in a spot to win this race. What can I do and what can we do as a team to try to change the outcome of that?’
“Someone told me that this is my 10th Daytona 500, which is crazy. I’ve been lucky to have some good runs in it, so you just try to get all of that stuff that you’ve learned and try to change it.”
Certainly, confidence has to factor in. Blaney says he can feel a difference not just in himself but is team as well.
“It’s not only me, it’s everybody on our team having confidence in knowing that you can do things that you believe in,” Blaney said. “I think everybody believes obviously that you can win the championship, but until you’ve done it, you don’t know if you can do it, so that knowing part, I think, is really a strong thing to have. I think our group is really good at accepting that and holding their heads up high.
“You never want to be cocky, but confidence is really important to have and I think our group is embracing that very well, so I’m really happy they get to experience that, too.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
