LOUDON, N.H. — Ryan Blaney winning the playoff race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway certainly helps his chances of winning a second Cup title.
But shortly after he celebrated the victory holding a lobster in victory lane, he wouldn’t say that this was the catch needed to feel that he could win it all in 2025.
“I don’t think the win makes me feel any more that way,” Blaney said. “I think we can contend. This team has been really good all year.
“It’s a championship-contending team. It’s a championship-winning team a couple years ago. It’s pretty much the same group of guys. My mindset really hasn’t changed. I believed we can do it all season, and this win doesn’t make me believe we can do it even more than what I felt like going through the whole year.”
Ryan Blaney celebrates after winning at New Hampshire.
The whole year has not gone smoothly for Blaney, who has had seven races where he failed to finish. He led laps in 10 of the first 21 races but has now led laps in eight of the last nine events.
He has won two of the last five races, capturing the regular-season finale at Daytona and now the opening race of the quarterfinal round (Round of 12) of the playoffs.
The win Sunday earned him an automatic bid into the semifinal round (Round of Eight). This gives him two weeks without having to worry because he can race at Kansas and at the Charlotte road course knowing that how he finishes won’t impact his advancing. But if he can earn a stage win or a race win in either of those races, the playoff points earned could help him advance.
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So he can play with a little more freedom when it comes to strategy.
“It opens up your box a little bit, and it makes you feel a little bit better if it doesn’t work out,” Blaney said. “If it backfires on you, it’s not as big of a deal if you’re fighting for your life for points, every point you can get.”
Blaney and his Team Penske crew chief Jonathan Hassler executed the strategy to perfection at New Hampshire after Blaney took the lead. He made his final green-flag pit stop with 69 laps left in the race, which could have been considered a little early.
Ryan Blaney secured his spot in the Round of Eight after winning at New Hampshire.
He then pitted for two tires with 46 laps remaining, coming out of the pits in third behind Josh Berry and Chase Elliott, who had stayed out.
Blaney snagged the lead with 39 laps remaining and never looked back.
It was no surprise that Blaney battled Berry for the lead late in the race as Berry — who drives for Team Penske affiliate Wood Brothers Racing — had been strong all weekend. Penske drivers led the majority of the laps, with Joey Logano leading 147 of the 301 laps, Blaney leading 116 and Berry out front for 10.
Logano was one of three drivers to do a tire test at the track in late July.
“We were fortunate that Joey was able to come here and test,” Hassler said. “I give Joey and [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe] a lot of credit for getting through a lot of things at the test that made our cars faster.
“We all worked together to kind of go through the things that were tested and the different philosophies that have and haven’t worked throughout the year and make sure that we were all as competitive as we could be when we showed up.”
Logano won the pole and Blaney started beside him on the front row. It was a weekend full of speed at a track that typically has been one where Joe Gibbs Racing has thrived.
Joey Logano won the pole for New Hampshire on Saturday.
“The 12 [of Blaney] was wicked fast in practice, and he showed that again in the race,” Logano said. “Our only chance was beating him on pit road and beating on details.”
When that’s the only chance, Blaney will often emerge as the winner.
“Anytime you can win in the playoffs, it’s just momentum,” Blaney said. “I’m a big believer in momentum and confidence. … It’s definitely not something to where you don’t get to relax. That’s a big thing to me. We’re not going to go relax for two weeks.
“We’re not going to go kick our feet up and just ride around. Like, we’ll go try to win two more races. Got to stay in that mode. Got to stay in that on-kill mode. That’s super important. It’s nice when we can do that.”
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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