From a winless 2022 season to an impressive playoff finisher win, Team Penske‘s Ryan Blaney’s life has come around in full circle. Blaney and his #12 Ford looked invincible as they took the competition by the throat to punch his ticket into the final 4. Blaney‘s triumph over the 500-lap race was monumental as he cleared the field, edging out the JGR and 23XI Racing Toyota that had the upper hand at the half-a-mile track.

In fact, the race was an utter nightmare for Toyota fans as 3 cars out of the 4 were Toyotas. Along with Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr, Tyler Reddick also met his match on Sunday, finishing the race at a dismal 26th spot.

On the flip side, it was a treat for Ford fanatics as the all-American manufacturer secured 4 out of the 5 top spots. The race saw a brief contact with the race-winner, Blaney and Reddick for which the Coca-Cola 600 triumphant conveyed his apologies to the #45 driver, moments after running him up the track.

Ryan Blaney extends his apologies after the early contact with the #45

Nobody gave the Blaney a chance, a shot at the title when he won the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte earlier this year. While fans were relieved to see the Ford driver lose his bleak 59-race winless streak, absolutely no one expected the 29-year-old to be a part of the championship race in Phoenix.

Even while his teammate and reigning champion, Joey Logano lost his way, getting knocked out in the first playoff eliminator, Blaney endured the hardship and soldier on. Despite everything going against him, from the inconsistent equipment he had to the driver’s inability to finish races, the driver turned things upside down once the action reached the playoff rounds.

He brilliantly capitalized on the opportunity to blast his way, acing the playoff rounder at Talladega and the past race in Martinsville along with a couple of top 10 finishes to advance further into the chase. His iconic win on Sunday now has the competition scrambling with the #12 Ford back in action.

The dramatic 500-lap race also saw a brief contact between Tyler Reddick & Blaney for which the #12 driver extended his sincere apologies to the Toyota driver, showing absolute class. On the radio to his team, he said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to(hit him). Tell him my bad.” Coming into turn 3, Blaney made contact with the #45 Toyota in the 212th lap of the race sending Reddick up the track.

WATCH THIS STORY: Blaney’s triumph amidst Hamlin’s tactics 

With that decisive maneuver, Blaney went on to win Stage 2 before he went on to finish off things in style, acing the race while Reddick never really got a foothold on the race and ended his day at the 26th spot.

Blaney slaps back on NASCAR reporter after his Jimmie Johnson reference

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Inch by inch, Ryan Blaney clawed his way into the Championship 4. While he clinched 2 decisive wins at the right time to stay relevant in the fray, his Martinsville triumph also extended Ford’s reputation – to be a strong championship contender – something his teammate, Logano did last year when he stunned everyone, winning the championship race in Phoenix.

Following the #12 driver’s win, a reporter asked him, “Ryan(Blaney), over the past 3 weeks, you’ve kind of found Jimmie Johnson’s lucky horseshoes so to speak, aside from your luck, your performance has been strong. What has been the turning point for your team?” To which the driver had a simple yet resounding answer.

He said, “What’s been lucky about it? I don’t think anything’s been lucky about it. Last three weeks we’ve been running amazing.” Obviously not impressed by the way the question was set up, he further continued his answer, saying, “I don’t think there’s any luck that it goes into this. Yeah, there may be lucky moments, but I don’t think the horseshoe is really true at all. We’ve worked really hard to get to the point that we need to at speed and our group has executed very good races and they deserve to be here…”

READ MORE: “Trying To Play Some Games” – Denny Hamlin Exposes Ryan Blaney’s Self Detrimental Action After in Race Drama Stirred Rivalry Theories