The playoffs have been a rollercoaster ride for Ryan Blaney, with moments of success and challenges. The driver has been in the top 10 for almost every playoff race so far, except The Glen, where he had to retire his car after the lap 1 incident. He was in the lead of the playoffs until William Byron snatched the position following the Kansas race by coming in second. As of now, Blaney is 6 points behind the playoff leader, and a part of that can be blamed on Joe Gibbs’s grandson.

Ty Gibbs and Ryan Blaney were battling it out for the top 5 positions. However, with Gibbs not being in the playoffs, Blaney got annoyed at the fact that he was being aero-blocked by the No. 54. This led to some on-track frustration where Blaney let out a few expletives. Although there was no contact between the two, Blaney expressed his frustration when Gibbs overtook him. So let’s take a look at why that was the case.

Ryan Blaney’s reason to be mad at Ty Gibbs

The two drivers in question had a relatively clean race. Both drivers were fighting for the top 5 positions and amidst their battle, Gibbs overtook Blaney. This made Blaney quite mad, as on the radio he decided to share a piece of his mind. According to Blaney, Gibbs should have let him pass considering the fact that he is not in the playoffs.

Although there is no official regulation requiring a non-playoff driver to yield to one in the playoffs, Blaney argues that Ty Gibbs should not have obstructed him with his aero-blocking tactics. On the radio, when Ty Gibbs overtook Ryan Blaney, the No. 12 Ford driver exclaimed, “What a f–king p–ck.” Getting overtaken in a race can be frustrating, and those emotions come out in the heat of the moment. Ultimately, Blaney did overtake Gibbs and placed a rank higher than the JGR driver.

Although Ryan Blaney came in 4th, he lost the championship lead to William Byron, who finished second at Kansas. The Team Penske driver started the race with some difficulties during the pitstop, which led him to have a lost tire when he went in for his first tire change. That led to him having to pit and lose a lap during the race.

Hope started showing when Kyle Busch spun out, giving Blaney a chance to be in the top 10, from where he pushed himself into the front of the field. After a difficult start, Blaney got frustrated to see that Ty Gibbs was blocking his car along with other championship contenders. Nonetheless, Ryan Blaney still has a chance of defending the championship from where he stands as he is still second in the playoff standings. It all comes down to the next 6 races, which will determine the outcome of the season.

Ryan Blaney leads NASCAR in power ranking

This season, Ryan Blaney has had the worst average finish since he joined Team Penske. However, despite his performance and bad luck, he still shines as the strongest driver in the playoffs. Ever since the playoff started, Blaney has been in the top 10, except for the time he got wrecked at The Glen. The postseason finishes are what make him such a strong contender, and let’s not forget that he is the defending champion.

It was none other than NASCAR.com who shared the report, saying that he is the No. 1 driver among the remaining 12 in the playoffs to win the championship. With Blaney being the winner of the Talladega playoff race in 2023, there is a high hope that he will pull off yet another win on the track to propel him to the title. Let’s not forget his performance at Martinsville, where he won yet another race and made his way into the top 4.

At Phoenix, Blaney has had a top-5 finish in the last 3 years, and looking at his form in the playoffs this year, fans believe that he can win a consecutive title. Judging from his past performance, do you think that Ryan Blaney will be able to win his back-to-back title this year? Share your thoughts in the comments below.