Daytona Beach, Florida.As the sky was filled with pyrotechnics, Ryan Blaney parked his vehicle into the high-banked outside wall at Daytona International Speedway and floored it, spinning his rear tires and sending smoke plumes into the grandstands.
For the Team Penske star, who doesn’t typically do celebratory burnouts, it was a novel celebration that could be the first of many that he has coming up this year.
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Blaney won at Daytona to move into fourth position in the Cup Series standings going into the playoffs, capping up NASCAR’s regular season with a bang. Next week, he will start the postseason at Darlington Raceway, three points behind Denny Hamlin and six points behind Kyle Larson and William Byron, the co-leaders.
And given his past and present, Blaney might be the clear favorite to win it all. With the Daytona triumph, Blaney, 31, became the series’ hottest driver and recorded his sixth consecutive top-10 result.
Recalling seven instances in which he either crashed or experienced engine issues, Blaney remarked, “I think it speaks volumes to how good we have been when we’ve finished races.” We had a decent chance of winning the race or at least placing in the top five, in my opinion, if we had half of those DNFs (did not finish).
It just indicates that we have been performing well in the races and stages, even though we may not have received the finishes we were due. However, it has been pleasant for the past month and a half to go rather smoothly and for us to finish where I believe we should.
This one was by far the most spectacular. In a four-wide finish, Blaney gained 12 positions over the last two circuits to defeat Cole Custer, Justin Haley, and Daniel Suarez. Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports was forced into the 16-car field and all three of those competitors were eliminated from the playoffs due to the comeback victory.
After that, Bowman claimed that he owed Blaney seven million beers.
Holding a half-empty red plastic cup between his legs, Blaney joked, “Oh, I’ll take five million.” I’ll give him a financial boost. I’ll accept the deal. If he’s still here, I do need a refill. I can begin with one.
No one should be shocked to see Blaney drinking alcohol in victory lane following the season finale at Phoenix Raceway in November, considering how well he and Team Penske have performed in the playoffs over the past three years, as the dominant team has won three straight. Joey Logano’s two titles are sandwiched around Blaney’s 2023 championship.
Blaney won his first Cup title in 2023 after finishing first or second four times in the last six races. The following year, he was just as strong, placing second, first, and second in the last three events before losing to Logano in the championship match.
Blaney scored four top-five finishes in his last seven outings, including in 2022, when he finished eighth in the standings.
Jonathan Hassler, the chief of Blaney’s crew, stated, “He’s pretty special.” To cross the finish line, we simply needed a few things to go our way. However, he is there each week.
It was unusual for Blaney’s parents to attend the race this season, and it was even more unexpected that they traveled to Daytona, where the action is fierce and the crashes can be terrifying.
Dad is a huge fan of speedway racing. According to the younger Blaney, he detests watching it. My mother is quite anxious the entire time. “Just stay home,” I say. They simply pace endlessly. It was nice to see him in victory lane, though, and we were lucky to pull one out.
Blaney gave them a smoke display, as well as everyone else inside the renowned track. Why? He had a number of sponsors in town for the weekend, stopped Ford’s 11-race winless streak, and provided one of the event’s most unlikely conclusions.
“Man, I was fired up,” Blaney remarked. It gives you a boost whenever you win at these speedways. It was a big night, and winning here is really awesome. I felt that the culmination of many things deserved to be a burnout.
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