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Ryan Blaney celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway.
Ryan Blaney didn’t hide the fact that the pressure was real.
After delivering a NASCAR Cup Series victory for Team Penske, Blaney admitted the entire organization understood what was on the line during a rare weekend that brought Penske’s NASCAR and IndyCar programs together at the same track.
Blaney captured the win Sunday at Phoenix Raceway in the Cup Series race, completing a dominant weekend for Penske across both NASCAR and IndyCar competition.
With Roger Penske watching both series compete side-by-side, the expectation inside the organization was clear: finish the weekend the right way.
“There’s a little more internal pressure,” Blaney said after the race. “You don’t want to be the guys who don’t finish out the whole weekend for RP.”
Blaney ultimately delivered exactly that.
The victory capped off a dominant weekend for Team Penske and provided a major boost in the early NASCAR Cup Series standings after four races in the 2026 season.
Team Penske Already Had Most of the Weekend Locked Up
By the time the NASCAR race began, Team Penske had already stacked up an impressive list of accomplishments.
The organization’s IndyCar program captured the pole position and the race victory, while Joey Logano added another highlight by winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway.
That meant the organization had already checked off three major accomplishments before Sunday’s race.
Blaney knew exactly what the situation was.
“We had three out of the four boxes checked,” he said. “IndyCar pole, Cup pole, IndyCar win. You gotta finish it out.”
Inside Team Penske, the final result of the weekend was now riding on the NASCAR team.
Josef Newgarden Made Sure Blaney Knew the Stakes
Blaney said the IndyCar drivers didn’t hesitate to remind the NASCAR side of the expectations.
“It was cool to have those guys be on the racetrack this weekend. That was a fun weekend for us,” Blaney said. “I love watching IndyCar racing.”
But the message from the IndyCar garage quickly turned serious.
“Josef put the pressure on us,” Blaney said. “This weekend is going to be absolutely ruined if you don’t do it on Sunday.”
With the IndyCar team already delivering a victory, Blaney understood the responsibility that now rested with the Cup program.
“You don’t want to mess it up,” he said.
Winning for Roger Penske Still Carries Weight
Blaney has already delivered major victories for Team Penske during his Cup Series career, but he said wins for Roger Penske still feel different.
“It’s always special to win it for Roger,” Blaney said.
Penske had invested significant effort into making the cross-series weekend possible, bringing NASCAR and IndyCar together in a way fans rarely see.
For Blaney, that made the result even more meaningful.
“On a weekend like this where he put a lot into having these two series together … for us to finish it out is definitely neat,” he said.
The victory ensured Team Penske completed a near-perfect weekend across both major racing series.
Blaney’s Win Adds to a Strong Start in the NASCAR Cup Series Standings
Blaney’s trip to Victory Lane also adds momentum to what is shaping up to be an important start to the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Through the first four races, drivers like Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott have already begun separating themselves near the top of the early standings.
Blaney’s win not only helped Team Penske complete its dominant weekend but also strengthened his position as one of the drivers to watch early in the championship battle.
For Blaney, however, the focus on Sunday wasn’t about standings or points. It was about finishing the job for Roger Penske. And making sure Team Penske didn’t leave the weekend with one box left unchecked.
Maggie MacKenzie Maggie MacKenzie covers NASCAR for Heavy.com. She previously worked for NASCAR.com, where she reported, wrote, and edited race-weekend coverage and traveled to key events throughout the season. She has more than ten years of experience in sports media and is based in Boston, Massachusetts. More about Maggie MacKenzie
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