Ryan Blaney might be the only man in NASCAR who can say he’s celebrated at Phoenix Raceway twice—and won only once. The first was two years ago, when a second-place finish was good enough to hand him the 2023 Cup Series title. The second came Sunday, when he actually crossed the line first.
It’s a strange kind of poetry, really.
Team Penske came into the final stretch of the season with the kind of swagger that makes Vegas oddsmakers nervous. But after Blaney’s elimination a week earlier at Martinsville, that swagger evaporated faster than a cold beer on pit road. The team title hopes were gone—but the race itself was still there for the taking.
And take it Blaney did.
In a season finale dominated by tire drama and championship nerves, Blaney did what Blaney does best: keep his head while everyone else lost theirs. He bided his time, stayed clean, and when the race went to overtime chaos, the No. 12 Ford muscled its way through. Twenty laps led, twenty starts at Phoenix, and finally—mercifully—a win in the desert.
“It’s just cool to end it on a good note,” Blaney said, almost underselling the moment. “We had a fast car all day. Those other guys were just kind of faster getting going, but it was a really good call for two tires and keeping track position. I got a decent restart and was able to roll the bottom in three and four and eek the 6 out at the line.”
That “6” was Brad Keselowski, Blaney’s former teammate turned familiar foe. The two went wheel-to-wheel in the final two-lap shootout, Blaney edging him by the slimmest of margins. Behind them, the title fight was imploding. Denny Hamlin—who had led the most laps and looked unstoppable—was watching his championship slip away thanks to a late caution and a slow pit stop.
“It’s a shame we weren’t in the Championship 4,” Blaney said. “Congrats to Kyle (Larson) and that whole team. I’m happy for this team that we could end it the best way we could.”
It was, in every sense, a redemption drive—if not for points, then for pride.
Blaney admitted there were nerves about the tires, given how many Goodyears had already given up the ghost. “There’s always worry,” he said. “Everybody was flirting with air pressure. It’s kind of the game—how low can you go? We learned from the Ford wheel-force test where the basement was, and fortunately, it didn’t happen for us.”
On the final restart, Blaney had to thread the needle between championship contenders running on various tire strategies. “You’re just aware of everybody around you,” he said. “You don’t want to be the storyline that messes up a guy’s championship. So it was good we could just run our race and run it clean to the end.”
That mix of awareness and aggression is what’s made Blaney one of NASCAR’s quiet assassins—never the loudest, never the flashiest, but always there when it counts.
There was, however, empathy amid the celebration. When asked about Hamlin’s late-race collapse, Blaney didn’t hide his respect. “Yeah, you do have to feel for that group,” he said. “They had a great race car. We were the two best cars. He had it locked up until the 24 blew a tire. Just unfortunate racing luck. It sucks sometimes.”
Asked if the win felt bittersweet—knowing it came a week too late—Blaney just shrugged. “No, I try not to think about that. Living in the past if you’re thinking that way. Our goal was to win the race and have momentum going into the winter. I’m going to enjoy this one just like any other win.”
And perhaps that’s why Blaney’s likability stretches even beyond the Team Penske garage. He’s the rare Cup driver who can win a race, empathize with the guy who lost it, and still make it sound as if he’s just finished mowing the lawn.
He finally conquered Phoenix—a track that had mocked him with three straight second-place finishes—and did it with a grin and a shrug. “It’s nice to finally get in Victory Lane here after being so close for so long,” Blaney said. “Those things kind of stick in your brain a little bit. It’s nice when you can finally break through.”
Ironically, the man who once won a championship without winning the race now has a Phoenix trophy to go with it. Call it karmic symmetry—or just Ryan Blaney being Ryan Blaney. Either way, it was three kind of ending that felt like a beginning.
Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, and a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.
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