“Shove All You Want”: Ryan Blaney Delivers a Bitter Reality Check to Drivers’ Talladega Aspirations

Superspeedway racing is just not the same anymore in the NASCAR Cup Series. Gone are the days when drivers would bank on a late caution to gain track position late in the race. However, according to Ryan Blaney, the only way to win these famed NASCAR events is to control the rest of the field, running in the top positions.

Blaney has a good record running at Superspeedway races, especially at Talladega. Out of the last four starts at the 2.6-mile asphalt venue, three times he has finished inside the top 5, including the win that came last year. However, to dish out these results, Blaney had to tweak his racing strategies. Speaking on the NASCAR Live podcast show, the defending Cup Series champ explained what it takes to get a decent finish or a winning run at Talladega, and how the dynamics of superspeedway racing have changed in recent years.

Ryan Blaney reveals the tactics and strategies that lead to winning outcomes at Talladega

Superspeedway races are notorious for their big wrecks and pile-ups. But recently, there has been a trend toward fuel-saving and trying to control the field by being in the lead position. Blaney, who has been in the position himself, went on to explain the changing dynamics of racing at tracks like Talladega and what drivers need to do to get close to winning results.

“I feel like it’s harder to make your way up from the back to the front, and just because of the lack of the third lane, we haven’t seen those big wrecks. As before, you come five to go, you could be 20th, alright there might be a big wreck, so you kind of wiggle your way up through there, but now you gotta be in those first three rows,” the Penske driver said.

Diving deeper, he further explained the advantage of being in the leading position in the front rows. “If you’re fourth, fifth or back row, you’re not really doing anything. You can shove all you want, that would be just stacking everybody up. So the first three cars kind of do something, so that really where you want to be and just then it depends on your situation.”

Furthermore, the 30-year-old also spoke about his run so far this season and how his team is trying to build on the momentum from last year, despite a winless string of performances so far.

It’s too soon to press the panic button, says Blaney

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The Chevys have been pretty much solid on every race surface, while the Camry is looking strong on short-track ovals. As far as the Ford teams and drivers are concerned, there’s nothing positive to show apart from the pole wins which came early in the season.

This is an alarming situation for teams that haven’t been able to fine-tune their cars with the new changes Ford promised. But Blaney is just not sold on hitting the panic button, arguing that there’s a long way to go in the season to make a turnaround. “You have a lot of things to learn, and I feel like what we learned from last year, going into the playoffs bring that same mentality, like, hey things might not be going how we want to right now, but we’re continuing trying to learn and get better.”

Although he did agree that a little bit of speed will help his cause, “There’s still time to get better so, I mean, if we get in late summer and we’re still struggling, then you need to figure something out quickly. But right now, there’s still plenty of time. Obviously, we want to run a little bit better but not close to the panic button.”

It feels like a win is just the momentum push Ryan Blaney and his team need right now. And who knows, Talladega just might turn out to be a big turning moment for the No. 12 Ford team from Penske.