NASCAR is a contact sport—always has been, always will be. It’s not just part of the game, it’s part of the culture. Rubbing fenders, trading paint—these aren’t just expressions, they’re traditions. Even NASCAR officials don’t shy away from it. When Chris Buescher came under fire for colliding with Todd Gilliland after a late restart at Darlington, Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s Senior VP, was quick to shut down any controversy: “It’s tight. It’s hard racing, we’ve said that for years.” In NASCAR, sometimes it’s not about avoiding contact—it’s about surviving it.

But tell that to Ryan Blaney, who had his race dreams crushed in the blink of an eye after getting caught in the crossfire of a skidding Martin Truex Jr. at Darlington. Both drivers—taken out of the race before it even really began. A wreck that early in the race? It’s gut-wrenching. There’s nothing quite as frustrating as seeing your hopes for victory snuffed out before you can even settle into your rhythm. Especially at a place like Darlington, a track that demands perfection.

Yet, despite the heartbreak of an early exit, Blaney isn’t licking his wounds for long. Both he and Truex made it to the Playoffs, and Blaney’s got his sights set on redemption. “I’m ready to defend my title,” he says, focused on joining the ranks of legends. There’s no room for doubt—Blaney knows the Playoffs are where champions are made, and he’s ready to fight through the chaos, contact and all, to carve out his place in NASCAR’s rare air.

Are the championship chances bright for Ryan Blaney?

The #12 Team Penske driver has had a great season so far this year, even better than his last when he won the Cup Series title. In his words, “I thought at this time last year, we were kind of scrounging to figure out how we were going to perform how we need to because we were off a little bit. And this year, I think we’re in a much better spot.” Blaney is just one victory short of his win tally from last year, with 10 more races ahead.

The Dark Horse has been utterly fast in the summer. There were some issues in the beginning of the year due to technological changes, but the team picked pace mid-season and hasn’t backed down since. And it’s not just Team Penske who has reaped the benefits of a fast car, even Harrison Burton managed to bag a win owing to the raw speed. Wood Brothers Racing is in a technical alliance with Team Penske and uses their Ford Mustang for the #21 entry.

So, Blaney hopes that the team can further build upon its strengths and perform even better than last year. Bob Pockrass tweeted a video of Blaney explaining how he feels about defending the title in four words. “We’re still in title defense. How do we try to do it again? How do we retain it? So, I like that feeling. I think everyone in our group loves that feeling of everyone’s trying to take it away from you. So, hopefully we can make that motivate us and try to, we have a great shot at doing it again.” challenged Blaney.

Blaney was seen visibly hurt with a sprained arm post the Darlington crash. But he later quelled the perception of pain in a post-race interview and again recently during a media interaction for the Playoffs. He instead invited the top-15 for a fierce battle as he told his team, “I want to scare every other team. Like, I want you guys to be so good that everyone is nervous about us when we unload.”

Ryan Blaney’s teammate is equally optimistic about his defense

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It is so confidence-inducing to have your peers support your cause and appreciate your work. And Blaney has that support from his two-time Cup Series champion, #22 teammate Joey Logano. Ryan Blaney is not just competing against his teammates but also learning a lot from them and striving to have a consecutive title season.

Blaney and Logano have been teammates since 2018 when Logano won his first premier series title. Logano has observed the change in Blaney from that time, which was only his 3rd year in the Cup Series. “You can tell that over the last couple years, he’s become more confident, not only off the race track, but you see it on the race track, where he’s putting whole races together now, and all those type of things, right? That’s why he won the championship last year. He’s able to do all that.”, said Logano.

Enriched with all that positivity, Blaney is ready to bring his thunder to the Atlanta Motor Speedway to kickstart the Playoffs on a high. It will be interesting to watch him pave his way through the competition and defend his reign.