Halfway through the regular season, Tyler Reddick appeared unstoppable in his bid for that title, but then Denny Hamlin passed him, and now with Ryan Blaney’s dominating performance at EchoPark Speedway, the third-generation driver has transformed the fight for the regular season championship into a three-way battle.
It was a contest no one anticipated as early in the season Blaney’s crew struggled on pit road. Blaney won the season’s fourth race, but each week his gains on the track were lost on pit road due to his over-the-wall crew’s mistakes. He knew work was on-going to fix the issues and eventually the problems would be resolved. However, it was obvious he was surprised to learn after his victory in the Quaker State 400 that he trailed standings leader Hamlin by a mere 65 points and the second-place Reddick by 41.
Blaney, who trailed Hamlin by 113 points entering the Atlanta event, made the giant leap by winning both Stages as well as the race and leading the most laps to total 80 points. Blaney now possesses four Stage victories this season, second only to Hamlin who has five.
With six races remaining in the regular season and half of them on tracks under a mile in length, Blaney could find his Ford on more equal footing with the dominating Toyotas that have failed to win only eight of this season’s 20 races.
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When coupled with his on-track tenacity, it’s Blaney’s demeanor that could make him the biggest threat to his competitors. He can get animated on the radio during a race, but, like his father, he approaches his racing intensely but quietly, never showing his hand to his rivals. Blaney is reflective and quietly stores the on-track knowledge he gains from his mistakes for future reference.
For example, two years ago he lost the spring Atlanta race to Daniel Suarez by inches. Suarez, Blaney, and Kyle Busch were in a three-wide drag race off turn four to the checkered flag. Blaney in the low groove, Suarez on the outside, and Busch in the middle. Suarez’s official margin of victory over Blaney—0.003 second.
He can get animated on the radio during a race, but, like his father, he approaches his racing intensely but quietly.
Blaney never forgot that lesson. That’s why he elected the outside lane at Atlanta last weekend as he, with Christopher Bell in tow, drag raced Bubba Wallace and Carson Hocevar to the checkered flag. Bell gave him the push he needed for the 0.068-second victory.
“I was still a little burnt over that finish a couple years ago,” admits Blaney, who’s 1880s-style mustache makes him look like he just walked off the Tombstone movie set. “Tonight’s (Sunday) finish makes up a little bit for two years ago. Suarez won it from the top. I won it from the top.”
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Blaney’s second victory this season provided him with his eighth consecutive top-10 finish and ninth in the last 10 races. The Team Penske driver has finished outside the top 10 in only five races this year with his worst finish being 37th at Talladega due to his involvement in a 26-car crash.
Seven races ago, Blaney was third in the standings, trailing then leader Reddick by 174 points. If his current performance continues, he could make the next six races the most interesting of the regular season.
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.