After Ryan Blaney carried home the 2023 Cup Series championship trophy, he was promised a family gift. His father, dirt racing champion Dave Blaney, wanted to build him a trophy case. Almost a year has rolled by, and it is yet to be seen due to a simple reason. And, as per Blaney Sr., “I need to know if I build one or two.” 

Indeed, after Blaney picked up the grandfather clock trophy at Martinsville, that is a legitimate question. However, Blaney’s dominating victory hardly made the headlines. While the Team Penske driver was battling two Hendrick Motorsports rivals, another fight for points was ongoing behind him. That fight involved crossing several lines in racing, and Blaney ardently hopes that Phoenix will be devoid of these blemishes.

Ryan Blaney is pinning hopes on a flawless Phoenix race

The 2024 Xfinity 500 was tumultuous one. Besides Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick, the Round of 8 drivers were neck-deep in the battle to advance. For some, things got out of hand in terms of OEM strategy. Bubba Wallace appeared to slow down to let Toyota teammate Christopher Bell pass. Both Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain let a fading William Byron hold the lead. This landed them massive penalties from NASCAR and criticism about the falling standard of racing. All this chaos threw Ryan Blaney’s victory in the shadow.

While he may be okay with that, he is not okay with a possible repetition of the race manipulation we saw on Sunday. In an interview with NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass, Ryan Blaney fervently wished for some good, hard racing in Phoenix. “I really hope that the last four can just race it out. You know, ’cause that’s how it should be.” 

Blaney went on to concede a little empathy for the penalized drivers. After all, they were trying to stick up for their team: “I understand other people racing, why you have to deal with the whole feel.” However, blatantly abandoning racing ideals just to get your teammate through is also wrong. “But when it’s a little egregious, like in some instances that we’ve seen, that’s not really racing.” 

Ryan Blaney crossed his fingers that no such race manipulation would get in the Championship Four’s way. “That’s not gonna let the four guys do their thing. I hope no shenanigans go on on Sunday in Phoenix. And us four can just race it out.” 

In Martinsville, Blaney overturned expectations by beating two HMS heavyweights. He passed Chase Elliott for the lead on Lap 486 of 500 and pulled away to win by 2.593 seconds over the latter. Kyle Larson trailed behind in the third, missing his entry into Phoenix despite holding a series-high six race wins.

Amidst this dazzling success, Team Penske is extremely busy preparing for a third consecutive title.

A championship is in the air

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When the 2024 season began, Ford registered miserable results for a long streak. Only Ryan Blaney put up consistently good results, although a couple of DNFs rushed his way. Yet fast forward to November, and how the tables have turned! Both Chevy and Toyota were penalized, and Ford has the most drivers in the Final Four—plus both are from Team Penske.

After 2022 champion Joey Logano fixed his berth in Las Vegas, 2023 champion Blaney followed suit in Martinsville. And if one of them wins the championship, Penske will hold the privilege of a third Cup Series title. This feat has not been accomplished since Jimmie Johnson won five straight for Hendrick Motorsports from 2006 through 2010.

So the Team Penske race shop is brimming with excitement and busy schedules. Vice chairman Walt Czarnecki said, “Since Joey won that race at Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago, locking him in, the excitement level and preparation level has really amped up at our shop in Mooresville (North Carolina), that’s for sure.”

He added, “Of course, Ryan’s win (Sunday) has compounded it. Everybody was back at the shop (Monday) morning, hard at work. … We will be prepared, I promise you.” Blaney will have the opportunity to achieve a double championship run for the first time since Johnson. “It is so hard to win at this level, even one race.”

Czarnecki said. “So, to put yourself in a position and have a team that’s in a position to be a back-to-back champion — and in our case, three championships in a row — is quite extraordinary.”

Evidently, emotions are buoyant within the Team Penske fold at present. As we proceed to Phoenix next weekend, let us wait and see how the finale rolls out.