The 2024 South Point 400 had a bittersweet ending for Team Penske. While two-time Cup Series winner Joey Logano secured his third victory of the season to progress into Championship 4, defending champion Ryan Blaney had a race to forget at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In the spirit of being a team player, the No. 12 Ford Mustang driver gave a helping hand to Logano in the closing laps, ensuring that his teammate entered Victory Lane at the expense of Christopher Bell.

However, according to a prominent NASCAR Insider, Ryan Blaney might come to regret his selfless decision in the future. With just two races to go at Homestead-Miami and Martinsville, the Ohio native has plenty of work to do to salvage his title hopes in the coming weeks.

Could Ryan Blaney’s selflessness come back to haunt him?

It seemed like whatever could go wrong did go wrong for Ryan Blaney at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 30-year-old racing driver crashed during practice, which forced him to drive the backup car in the opening Round of Eight playoff fixture. Given the circumstances, he started the race at the back of the grid and was forced to play catch-up until the end. Even though his spare car struggled to make it to top-15, Blaney was playing the long game patiently, until he was caught up in the multi-car wreck on Lap 89 involving Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Tyler Reddick.

Despite being down and out in the closing laps, Ryan Blaney chose to look at the bigger picture and helped his teammate Joey Logano at the 1.5-mile track. Ultimately, the ‘assistance’ made all the difference, as the No. 22 Ford finished less than a second ahead of Christopher Bell when the checkered flag was waved. Despite the overall result, NASCAR Insider Freddie Kraft believes that Blaney could regret lending a helping hand to his teammate in the future. Speaking on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, the spotter said, “Going back to Ryan, it’s something that I think he didn’t, just in the moment he knew was the right thing to do for his team but it’s something he may learn to regret coming down in the next couple of weeks.”

With just two races remaining before the season ends, Ryan Blaney is facing an uphill task to remain in contention for the Cup Series title. As things stand, he is seventh in the playoff standings, 47 points below the elimination cutline going into Homestead-Miami. Having finished runner-up on the track last year, the 30-year-old will be hoping to improve on it this time around, with victory being the only viable option he can rely on to defend his championship crown. However, the Team Penske driver won at Martinsville Speedway last year and the short track could prove to be his last-ditch hope of making it to Phoenix.

After the race in Vegas, Christopher Bell felt that Blaney was ‘blocking’ for Joey Logano in the opening Round of Eight race, a claim that was swiftly refuted by the Team Penske driver. He said, “20 didn’t get to me until the last corner. I don’t know what the hell you think I’m blocking for.” However, by lending a helping hand for Logano, could Ryan Blaney have inadvertently ignored what it might do to his title hopes? That would depend on the outcome of the remaining playoff races. If the Ohio native manages to make it to Phoenix, it would be every driver for himself in the winner-takes-all race. However, if he fails to make it to Championship 4, he might come to regret helping his teammate.

Blaney’s playoff mindset is clear after Las Vegas heartbreak

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It’s now or never for Ryan Blaney. The Team Penske driver has two more opportunities to keep his title hopes alive and is under no illusions as to what needs to be done to remain in contention. Having performed well at Homestead-Miami and Martinsville in the past, the 30-year-old can be confident about his chances going into the business end of the season. However, luck will play a crucial role in the coming fixtures, a factor no amount of preparation can guarantee in the weeks ahead.

Revealing his expectations in the upcoming races, Blaney candidly said, “We have to win, you know. I mean, we’re way too far away on the cut line to try to point our way in honestly. So, yeah, just go try to try to win Homestead or Martinsville. And we honestly thought, like going into this round, we had the idea of just, You’re probably gonna have to win one of these races anyway to advance. So that mindset changed a little bit. Now we don’t really worry about points. It’s just a matter of, like, trying to win the race.”

If the past is anything to go by, Ryan Blaney has the experience to pull off clutch performances. Last year, the No. 12 Ford Mustang driver didn’t finish lower than 2nd in his last three races, showing just what he’s capable of with confidence and moment on his side. If he’s able to get on a similar run this time around, there’s no reason why he can’t be alongside Joey Logano at Phoenix Raceway. Team Penske has won back-to-back championships in the Next-Gen era. Could they go on to win three in a row?