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DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 11: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards\/Peak Ford, speaks to the media during Media Day for the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 11, 2026 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Patrick McDermott\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Ryan Blaney continues to stay near the top of the NASCAR Cup Series<\/a> standings<\/a> in 2026, sitting second behind Tyler Reddick<\/a>. The No. 12 Team Penske driver pointed to his pit crew as a key part of that strong start.<\/p>\n Earlier in the season, the team faced issues on pit road, including loose wheel problems. Those moments affected results and brought attention to the crew\u2019s performance. Instead of making changes, the team stayed together and focused on improving timing and communication. After a clean race at Martinsville Speedway, Blaney said the group showed clear progress and delivered one of its most complete efforts so far.<\/p>\n NASCAR Cup Series Driver Ryan Blaney Explains Martinsville Performance and Crew Progress<\/p>\n Blaney said in an interview<\/a> that the team put together a strong race without the mistakes seen earlier in the season.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought those guys put together a really good day at Martinsville. You know, I really didn\u2019t have any mistakes. So they bonded together.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the team has been working through pit road issues over the past few races.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of been a big talk of our loose wheel problems and stuff like that,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have a new jackman, and it takes a little bit of time to create that bond with everybody and create that rhythm and timing.\u201d<\/p>\n Blaney pointed to the new crew member\u2019s effort as part of that improvement.<\/p>\n \u201cLandon\u2019s done a good job of trying to get where he needs to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Pit Road Work Requires Speed and Precision<\/p>\n Blaney said pit stops require the same level of focus as racing on track, as teams must balance speed and control to avoid mistakes.<\/p>\n \u201cThat stuff\u2019s so tricky because you want to be fast, right? So you\u2019re pushing it all the time,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re on the edge, like racing, sometimes you make mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n He compared pit road work to driving at full speed during a race.<\/p>\n \u201cI could go out there and run half a second off the pace and never make a mistake all day. But if I\u2019m trying to push it to the edge and the limit, then I might make a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n Blaney said pit crews face the same decision during every stop.<\/p>\n \u201cThey could slow down half a second, but now you\u2019re losing time on pit road,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re working on the brink of perfection.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that occasional mistakes can happen when teams push for speed.<\/p>\n \u201cThey might just make a mistake every now and then,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Team Keeps Focus on Improvement and Consistency<\/p>\n Blaney said the team chose to stay with the same group and continue improving rather than making changes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to make any changes,\u201d he said. \u201cWe wanted those guys to just keep working on it and keep doing what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the goal is to refine performance over time and build consistency.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s just try to refine it because I think they have potential to be one of the best crews on pit road,\u201d Blaney said.<\/p>\n Blaney also pointed to the timing of the strong result.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a great weekend for them to have going into the off week,\u201d he said. \u201cLet\u2019s use this momentum and continue to work.\u201d<\/p>\n He closed by recognizing the group\u2019s effort.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m proud of them for keeping their head down and working through it together,\u201d Blaney said.<\/p>\n The performance at Martinsville showed improvement on pit road and added to Blaney\u2019s consistent start. The No. 12 team remains near the top of the standings as the season continues.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a writer covering NASCAR, Formula 1, and the IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. He has also written for Sportsnaut, FanSided, Total Apex Sports, and Last Word on Sports. Wilberforce focuses on the NASCAR Cup Series, breaking down news, driver stories, and key moments with a clear, fast, and engaging style. His work connects headlines to context, helping readers understand what matters most in the sport. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on NASCAR\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 11: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards\/Peak Ford, speaks to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586081,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-586080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}