Ryan Blaney Returns to Phoenix, Hungry for Victory

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series Champion Ryan Blaney is all smiles before hoping in his No. 12 Ford Dark Horse Mustang back in Las Vegas. (Photo: Myk Crawford | The Podium Finish)

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Ryan Blaney aims for victory at the Shriner’s Children’s 500 after scoring last season’s championship while missing the win at Phoenix.

The defending NASCAR Cup Series Champion heads into the weekend sitting second in points trailing behind last week’s Las Vegas winner Kyle Larson. Despite his recent string of second place finishes in the desert, Blaney is determined to clinch a victory this time around.

“We’re going to try to get a ‘one’ on the finishing column, instead of a ‘two, It’s hard to complain about ‘twos’ because we’ve had really good runs there, but hopefully we can just bring the same speed.” Blaney said.

Ryan Blaney’s No.12 Dark Horse Mustang roars around the track. (Photo: Myk Crawford | The Podium Finish)

Reflecting on those runner up finishes, he said, “I thought those three races that we’ve run second at that we could have won if a couple things go our way. That’s really all I can ask for is to just have the speed to try to win the race, so hopefully we can bring that and see what this car has on the short-track package. that’s the big thing as well is trying to figure out this new package and how it runs in traffic. Hopefully, we’re competitive.”

In a press conference on Friday, Blaney remarked, “For whatever reason, I’ve always enjoyed this place and it fits whatever we do as a company. It’s just kind of worked with how we prepare our race cars, our mindset on setups. Me as a driver, I like it. So hopefully that continues.

“Hopefully we can be as strong as we’ve been here the last couple of years. You never know how you’re going to unload compared to everybody else or what everyone else has found or if you’ve done your homework enough to improve. It just kind of works for us and hopefully that trend continues.”

LAS VEGAS, NV – March 3, 2024 – Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series Race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Myk Crawford | The Podium Finish)

The Ford Dark Horse Mustang has displayed impressive speed this season, securing all three pole positions to kick off the races. Two of these poles were earned by Ryan Blaney’s Team Penske teammate, Joey Logano, with the other claimed by Team Penske’s alliance team, Front Row Motorsports.

Despite their speed, the Dark Horse Mustangs have yet to translate it into victories, with Chevrolet sweeping all three NASCAR Cup Series races this season. Nevertheless, the driver of Team Penske’s No. 12 Ford remains optimistic for the challenges ahead.

“It’s kind of hard to tell,” Blaney observed. “I thought all the Fords were really strong in Atlanta and Daytona. Even though one of us didn’t win, I thought we were all really strong. But then last week, Joey sat on the pole, which was encouraging. We didn’t qualify great, but we raced okay. I didn’t think we had a winning car at all last week. I thought we maximized our day running third. Whereas the fall race at Vegas, there was like one or two runs in the race. I was like, I think I have a car that can win if we can kind of just get up there.

“So I think we just got our work to do, you know, with the new car and hopefully we can fine tune it to where it needs to be. I obviously would have liked to be, have been a little bit more competitive last week as far as racing for the lead. But not many guys race the five for the lead. Hopefully, as we get running this car, this week will be a big test to say, okay, where’s our short track program at with this new car, and if we really need to get to work or if we’re a little bit closer than what we think. It’s early to tell. You’ll get a really good idea here in the next month or so of where you stand and if you’re in trouble or you’re not.”

Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 from Phoenix is set for 3;30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriuxXM NASCAR Radio.