Ford powerhouse, Team Penske starts off its 2024 with the same line-up as last year with 2023 champion, Ryan Blaney alongside its 2-time champion, Joey Logano and young sensation Austin Cindric. Blaney’s win last year became the perfect heel for Logano‘s second title in 2022. However, as the elite Stock Car Racing faction returns to the calendar, the #22 driver looks like he might have lost his focus.

While the Penske trio returns to the schedule with their updated Dark Horse Mustangs, Logano’s recent stats don’t favor the veteran one bit but instead, point to his teammate, Blaney’s stellar rise to the top. But why is Blaney seen as the team’s ace driver and how will the 2-time champion fare in 2024?

Comparing Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney’s past seasons

Straight out of the gate, it’s no secret that Logano wasn’t at his best last season. While the early wins at Atlanta and Daytona gave his fans a lot of confidence, the later rounds showed the driver’s vulnerability. The driver was the first to expose the Ford camp’s inadequate equipment. However, as the tournament unfolded, slowly the community understood that it was just about the driver as Blaney snagged two decisive wins – one in the playoff and the other acing the longest race of the schedule, the Coca Cola 600 – to win his first Cup Series title.

While Blaney kept on chipping away, performing consistently, Logano was among the first few drivers to be eliminated from the tournament in its very first eliminator at Bristol. The drop in performance is evident once we take a side-by-side comparison of his 2022 and 2023 performances. In his championship-winning year, he racked up four wins, 11 top fives, 17 top 10s, and 784 laps led to advance into the championship race, which he dominated.

His early two wins in the season secured him a playoff berth and a decisive win at Las Vegas ensured he had the momentum needed to blast his way into the final fray where he won his second title, trying it up with his rival, Kyle Busch. But in 2023, the scene was drastically different. He led only 308 laps along with 11 top-5s and 17 top-10s. On the other hand, his teammate, Blaney, will be on a roll, coming off from his first title for whom consistency is the name of the game.

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So, with the new season, can Blaney achieve success once again?

Ryan Blaney, Ford’s best bet: Can he repeat his success in 2024?

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Right off the bat, it would be hard for Blaney to top it off given he shot for the moon and got there with his championship-winning performance last year. The third-generation driver from the Blaney family etched his family name with three wins, eight top fives, and 18 top 10s. Wins at Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway came in when it mattered most, and a couple of decisive victories in the Cup Series Playoffs helped to secure his title shot.

Though his partnership with crew chief, Jonathan Hassler will continue into its third season, Blaney will have a change as veteran spotter Tim Fedewa replaces Josh Williams, who has been in that role since 2015. While the back-to-back title wins were a thing of the past with the great Jimmie Johnson being the last to do so, an encore from Blaney will take him to NASCAR halls, becoming its first champion to win consecutive titles in the current playoff format.

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