From time to time, NASCAR sees talented drivers getting ousted from championship contention due to the lack of consistency. Team Penske supporters are hopeful about their chances of winning the championship, and Ryan Blaney is their only hope. It is safe to say that Blaney’s last-minute win was not merely a fluke. The way he cleared Kevin Harvick on the inside and used William Byron‘s push to grab the checkered just goes to show the immense amount of talent that this 24-year-old speedster possesses. But the tag of inconsistency does not seem to leave Blaney alone.

His driving impressed an array of NASCAR legends, Kyle Petty being one of them. Earlier, Kyle Petty had compared Blaney to Kasey Kahne. Former Hendrick Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne amassed 18 wins in his 15-year-long career, as well as 93 top-5 finishes, 176 top-10 finishes, and 27 pole positions. This gifted driver showed incredible driving prowess despite not making it to the top of the headlines often. Petty feels that Blaney is somewhat like Kahne and while talking to NBC journalist Nate Ryan, he explained why.

NASCAR analyst Kyle Petty sees endless potential in Ryan Blaney

Just last week at the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 in Texas, Ryan Blaney crashed hard on lap 257 which left him with a 28th-place finish and 11 points below the cutline. Fast forward to this week, and he has already secured his spot in the round of 8s. This dichotomy in Ryan Blaney’s performance concerned Kyle Petty.

Even Nate Ryan wondered the same. He exclaimed, “It’s weird to me, on one hand, there were these inexplicably bad mistakes just talking about a week ago, but on the other hand, he seems to have this presence of mind in a split second.”

Kyle Petty admitted that is exactly why he compared him to Kasey Kahne, adding, “So much freaking potential. Ryan Blaney has so much potential. And then he makes a move like he made today and you say see I’m telling you the kid’s got potential. But then he’s just as likely to go and throw it away for the next six races and that’s the problem that I believe Ryan Blaney has.”

Ryan Blaney has the car, the speed, and the talent to win. But what he lacks is consistency. Once Roger Penske‘s #12 Pennzoil pilot gets hold of that, he will be unbeatable. Petty warned every driver on the roster, saying, “If this Ryan Blaney shows up at the ROVAL, shows up at Vegas, shows up for the rest of the year, you’re not going to beat him.”

“But this Ryan Blaney has very rarely shown up two or three weeks in a row,” he added.

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Looking at his current situation, Ryan Blaney merely needs to survive the Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway next week. However, a win might help him to get into that consistent mindset and prove Kyle Petty right.

Charlotte further ignites hopes for Blaney fans

With his second win of the season, Ryan Blaney is locked into the round of 8 of the playoffs. This means it doesn’t matter how good or how bad he runs in the next race at Charlotte ROVAL. However, wild predictions regarding Blaney’s performance at Charlotte will surely arise considering how he seized his first victory of the season on the same track back in May. As a matter of fact, his victory was special for many reasons.

Blaney snapped a 59-race-long winless streak at the Charlotte Motor Speedway to win his first crown-jewel race since his last win at Daytona back in August 2021. Moreover, his win in the Coca-Cola 600 this year was the only time when Team Penske won both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same year.

As the crowd chanted his name, Blaney tried his best to contain his emotions and exclaimed, “I might shed a tear. Man, this has been a cool weekend. Obviously Memorial Day weekend means a lot, growing up here watching Dad run this race for a long time. And it was so cool to just be a part of it, let alone win it.”

“You start to feel like you can’t win anymore when you don’t win in a while. It can get hard. So just super thankful to the 12 guys for believing in me,” he added while tears tried hard to burst out of his bloodshot eyes.

Do you think Ryan Blaney will obliterate his reputation as Kasey Kahne and prove himself to be a consistent winner? Only time will tell, but do let us know what you think!

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