Since the next-gen car’s 2022 debut in the NASCAR Cup Series, it’s been Team Penske’s dominance. First, Joey Logano, after having a dominant season, bagged a championship. And the very next year it was Ryan Blaney who gave Penske their third. Even in the 2024 season, the same form seems to be continuing as Joey Logano after the recent Las Vegas race is the first one to reach Phoenix.

However, as opposed to Logano, Las Vegas wasn’t as kind to the defending champion. Following the race, Blaney finds himself in the elimination zone being -47 points below the cut line in 7th position. The next race is going to be an uphill battle for the Ohio native and he needs all the luck and help that he can’t get to make it to the final four.

What are Ryan Blaney’s chances in Homestead Miami?

The #12 was having a decent playoff. After a P10 finish at the ROVAL, Blaney was only -4 points below the cut line in 5th position. However, it all went downhill in the Las Vegas race. It all started in the practice session. Blaney crashed into the wall after getting a flat tire and could not run in the qualification, getting awarded an automatic last position. However, after climbing to the 22nd position in stage 2, he got wrapped up in a domino effect of the Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott wreck.

Reddick tried to squeeze in a three-wide move on the outside of Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. However, Elliott got loose and had contact with Reddick. It led to the two cars spinning. Brad Keselowski came in hot, leading to all three cars spinning on the infield grass. However, Keselowski’s out-of-control car came back on the track, and Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric, not having enough time to avoid the #6 faced a wreck. Blaney however continued the race but had to pit, post-restart as his car suffered some problems from the crash. Putting him several laps down, finishing the race in the 32nd position. This has put the Penske driver in a must-win situation, heading into the next two races. However, this time going into Homestead, Blaney would probably have Joey Logano and the entire #22 team aiding him.

However, according to NASCAR analysts, the #12 has a good chance of finishing on top, after his P2 finish in 2023. NASCAR analyst Ryan Stevens joined Eric Estepp in a recent video to discuss Blaney’s Miami chances. Stevens said, “In 2018 he (Blaney) finished 17th, 2019 he finished 11th, 2020 he finished 3rd, so he’s trending in the right direction. Then 2021 he finished 29th, but he was top 10 in stage two and he was involved in a wreck in lap 201. 2022 finished 17th top five in stage two, spins out lap 212. 2023 last year finished second top three in both stages…I would expect him to be running up front and he is the only one who can defeat himself.”

Blaney has shown year-on-year progress. If that’s the case, after P2 last year, a chequered flag is all that’s left for him this time. This is also the need of the hour, as pointing his way in the final race looks close to impossible.

Joey Logano ahead of the Homestead Miami race, vouched to help Blaney, he said, “Don’t get me wrong, we’re not gonna lay up, but the focus has to be on Phoenix. We’ve earned that right to be able to do that. It would be a total waste if we do not take advantage of that. It would be horrible. So that’s gonna come at the price of something, maybe the next few races, but we’ll run and do what we can to try to get the 12 in.” And Logano kind of owes Blaney one. Blaney, who was several laps down, pushed the #22 with 5 laps to go in the Vegas race. As a result, Logano moved past race leader Daniel Suarez and took the win. Now it’s time to return the favor. The #12 needs all the help he can get, especially on a track where he’s not seen much success in the past. Blaney has only finished twice in the top 5 in the 9 races so far at Homestead. The rest all have been outside the top 10.

Would team Penske unite to help Ryan Blaney get to Phoenix?

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It wasn’t long ago that Joey Logano credited the team Penske camaraderie for his success. Logano had said,“(I have) been around long enough to realize that it’s good to see your teammate win. I know you want to be the top dog, right, obviously? The more I’m around the sport, the more I realize how that really raises the whole team…But I truly believe that. That teamwork all the way through with Austin, Blaney, the guys building the cars, we’re all on the same page and truly happy for each other’s success.”

If Logano stays true to his word, he’ll aid the #12 like he’s done twice in the playoffs. Even in the playoff opener at Atlanta, in a similar situation, Blaney pushed Logano past Suarez and the #22 took the chequered flag. According to NASCAR analysts, Penske would use all their might to help the #12. Stevens said, “I know Logano was quoted saying he I mean he’s going to try, but he doesn’t really care about this race anymore he’s worried about the championship so I would imagine Penske putting all of their resources into giving Blaney a fast car this weekend. “

Even Estepp echoed the same emotion when he said, “Like Logano may show up to the track with the same setup as Blaney and they’ll kind of go take different swings at it to sort of relay that info back to Blaney and (Jonathan) Hassler (Blaney’s crew chief), so they can help them out.” What Esstepp is trying to say is that Logano might run the race as an experiment to find the best possible lines on the track to eventually convey it to the #12 team. Well, only time will tell if this happens.

What do you think? Will team Penske race as a unit to help Blaney? Share your thoughts with us in the comments down below.