Despite back-to-back DNFs Ryan Blaney poised for title defense

gettyimages-2170043974 — HAMPTON, GA - SEPTEMBER 07: Ryan Blaney (#12 Team Penske Dent Wizard Ford) during qualifications for the Quaker State 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on September 7, 2024 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Ryan Blaney believes the experience he gained in last year’s NASCAR Cup Series championship run will inform his defense of the title this season.

Despite crashing out of the final two regular-season races, at Daytona and Darlington, Blaney thinks his No. 12 Team Penske Ford team is up to the challenge.

The path to the Championship 4 race at Phoenix will be different this year, given the unique mix of race tracks in 2024 Playoffs, starting with Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at
Atlanta Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“I definitely think you’re more confident in trying to get back to Phoenix,” Blaney said. “It’s not as simple as just do what you did last year, though, but I feel like once
you have that experience and you persevere through the three rounds to get there, then I think it really motivates your team and just gives them a level of confidence of like,
‘Hey, we know we can do this.’

“We’ve been there before and now let’s try to figure out a way to do it again and accept all the challenges that are going to be thrown at you and use your experience to your advantage.”

Last year, Blaney handled the Playoff pressure with aplomb. He won at Talladega to earn a spot in the Round of 8 and secured his berth in the Championship 4 race with an 11th-hour victory at Martinsville.

“Hopefully, we can bring that same intensity that we did to the Playoffs last year again,” Blaney said. “The first couple of rounds were a little funky, obviously, but it’s the same for everybody, so hopefully you kind of stay clean the first round. I think that’s the biggest thing.

“It’s like finish where you are supposed to finish. You never know what’s going to happen, but I think our group is doing really well right now. The last two weeks obviously haven’t been very fun, ending up on the hook, but it was none of our doing. I don’t think that’s really bothered us at all. We’re just ready to go, and Atlanta is the first task in a task of 10 that we have to achieve.”