AVONDALE, Ariz.— Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney smiled and acknowledged that having won a title in NASCAR’s premier series last year helped prepare him for his second shot this weekend.
Should the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford capture another title Sunday, he would be the first driver since Jimmie Johnson’s five-consecutive-championship run from 2006 through 2010 to win back-to-back titles. It would be the third consecutive for team owner Roger Penske, with teammate Joey Logano winning one in 2022.
“We have a chance to bring him (Penske) three in a row on the Cup side, and I’ve always thought internally to myself, ‘How do you make Roger proud?’” the 30-year-old Blaney explained.
“That’s my only goal in my racing life the last 12 years, how do I make Roger proud — because he’s given me my life really and bluntly — it’s to win races and win championships he hasn’t done before.
“And it’s a very small list of things he hasn’t done in motorsports, and we have a chance to do it for him. It’s just great to be in a position to do it for him, and we have two cars that can do it.
“He’s meant a ton to me, and it would mean the world just to keep bringing him things,” Blaney continued. “You can’t buy him anything, so you’ve got to win him championships and races, and that’s really all he cares about. It’s pretty amazing how dedicated he is to motorsports for how long he’s been in it.”
Blaney is coming off a walk-off victory, taking the trophy at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway last weekend, prevailing in a must-win, must-perform situation similar to what he will need to do this weekend at Phoenix to repeat.
A three-race winner this season with 11 top fives, Blaney is the No. 1 seed in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race.
He is bolstered, he says, by having learned a lot from last year’s experience—his first time racing for a championship. He’s comfortable, smiling and insisting no lucky trinkets or superstitions necessary.
“Mentally, I think it’s been a little bit different because I have some experience being in the Championship 4—last year was my first time and I was just excited to be a part of the Champ 4 and going for a title and still am,” he said. “But I had a lot of unknowns last year. I didn’t know how the week would go. This year, you just have more experience, and you know what to expect.
“I’ve always said, experience is kind of king over everything,” he added. “You just get more comfortable in these positions when you have the reps in it.”