“Your real shot is if you get to Phoenix, right?” Ryan Blaney said these words while posing beside the gigantic Bill France Cup last year. This year, the Team Penske star is struggling in the playoffs. Blaney accumulated three finishes outside the top 30 across three rounds, the latest coming in Las Vegas. He hit the wall hard in practice, causing a headache during the race. Additionally, a lap 90 accident broke the right rear toe link of his No. 12 Ford. However, the last two races of this season may be a game-changer for Blaney.

Although both Kyle Larson and William Byron outrank him in terms of points, history shows promise for something different. In 2023 and 2022, Blaney outsmarted Rick Hendrick’s stars multiple times. This year might also spell something similar, as a NASCAR insider claimed.

Ryan Blaney looking poised for a table flip

William Byron’s pace looked solid in the first half of 2024—he picked up 3 wins across the first 8 races. But then his progress lagged and the No. 24 team faced three DNFs in the final five races of the regular season. Kyle Larson’s story is bizarre—the golden boy has won six wins and led 1615 laps, 613 more than anyone else. Yet now he finds himself 7 points below the elimination line, and Byron holds a 7-point advantage over the line. Both of their points are better than Ryan Blaney’s, who is currently 38 points below. However, the Team Penske driver may flip the script soon.

As T.J. Majors joined Dale Earnhardt Jr. for a recent episode of the Dale Jr. Download, Majors cited past history to support this claim. Ryan Blaney’s marvelous championship run in 2023 was backed by a Martinsville win. While William Byron grappled with a faulty helmet and a 13th-place finish, Blaney stamped his third win of the year. Majors said this year as well, Blaney has a solid chance in the upcoming week. “I think Blaney can win Martinsville and I think he does (well). Watching him run every lap there – he will run 500 laps within 3 inches of the curb the entire time. And he’s figured out Martinsville.” Blaney winning at Martinsville could oust both Byron and Larson from the playoffs on points unless Christopher Bell slips up.

Phoenix Raceway also holds some special memories where Ryan Blaney ousted Rick Hendrick’s drivers. He lost the lead with 37 laps to go last year due to a caution. Yet Blaney battled back on the ensuing restart and overtook both Byron and Kyle Larson with 20 laps to go. In 2022 as well, he hounded Joey Logano for the title in Phoenix.

So Majors continued, “I think Blaney, his next best track to me is Phoenix. Where’d he finish there last year? …The year before, who ran behind Joey and played blocker the entire race? He rode right behind him. So if there’s some guy that could ruin this – (it is) Ryan Blaney. He is equally as good at these places…It could be a good race.”

Ryan Blaney’s ability to get over the Homestead heartbreak may be enough to achieve what Majors is predicting.

Blaney is looking ahead

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After all, the task of beating the Hendrick duo is more important. During the Straight Talk Wireless 400, Ryan Blaney performed well—he started 20th and ended up vying for a victory in the end. However, Tyler Reddick’s superior speed got to him. The 23XI Racing driver led 97 of 267 laps, grabbing the checkered flag 0.241 seconds ahead of Blaney. This punched Reddick’s ticket for the Championship 4 race, while Blaney wallowed in misery with 38 points below the cutline. Despite his heartbreaking runner-up finish, Blaney patted his team on the back for a good run. And all his eyes are now on the following two races, where he holds amazing history.

Blaney tipped his hat to his rival: Reddick just blitzed off in there, and it stuck for him, which is pretty impressive. Yet the No. 12 driver also dropped hints of meticulously preparing for the next few races. “I’ll be thinking through it all night what I should have done different, probably. Overall, really proud of the effort. Hopefully, we can bring it to them next week. It will suck for the night, then we’ll look forward to Martinsville. We try to forget things quick. I’ve tried to do that more and more as I’ve gotten older. This team will do it. I can’t say how proud I am of them coming in and understanding what we needed to do. Just a shame it didn’t work out.”

Rick Hendrick faces threats from both Team Penske drivers. Let us wait and see if Ryan Blaney can accompany Joey Logano in the playoffs or not.