Ryan Blaney looks on as he rolls off from the fourth spot at Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
DARLINGTON, S.C. – In much the same way that Joey Logano had a quiet, steady regular season in 2022, Ryan Blaney hopes this year’s Playoffs play out like the former’s postseason one year ago.
Last year, Logano tallied two wins while parlaying consistency to win his second NASCAR Cup Series championship. The 29-year-old Hartford Township, Ohio native hopes he can play his cards right like his Team Penske teammate starting with tonight’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
So far, it has been a smooth, steady start at the 1.366-mile egg-shaped speedway. Although he posted the 16th fastest time in Saturday’s practice session, he was the second quickest in the 10 consecutive lap average charts, an indication that he has a strong car for a potential long, green flag run.
Prior to arriving at Darlington, Blaney observed the need for his team to have the pace to contend for wins in the postseason.
“Just working hard trying to find pace and speed,” Blaney said. “You hope you bring your best stuff. Everyone is working really hard to figure out where we need to be, so I feel good going into Darlington.
“Our cars were OK there in the spring. This race is a little bit different with getting into the night and stuff like that, and in this race a lot of people always seem to have problems in this one.”
A year ago, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott fell victim to separate issues that put them behind the 8-ball. As for Blaney, his most three most recent results at Darlington include a 17th, 13th and ninth.
A strong result is not out of the question for Ryan Blaney and Team Penske. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
It seems like the pieces are starting to come together for Blaney to have a solid result at this 73-year-old speedway. After practice, he drove to the fourth fastest time in qualifying, a solid Row 2 position and even better pit stall choice.
For the driver, a great starting spot means an easier time to pace oneself at the onset of the race. As for the pit crew, pit stall 37 is a clear opening that should make pit exit less muddled.
Attention to details proves as pivotal for Blaney and company as a marketing specialist needing to know their Ps and Qs with strategies and documentation. In this case, Blaney understands the complexities of this crown jewel event.
“It’s the first race of the Playoffs, it’s the 500, it’s a tough race to finish, so there are a lot of mistakes made,” he said. “I think at Darlington you just have to try to have a mistake-free night, run all 500 miles of it and figure out where you’re at at the end of that thing, but I feel good about Darlington.”
Better yet, Blaney finds himself starting far ahead of his Playoff rivals for tonight’s postseason opener. Although he nearly has clear track ahead, it does not mean that it is time to be complacent.
“That’s not a bad starting spot,” Blaney said. “It’s nice to start in the top five and starting fourth. That’s really good. I’m proud of the effort and now it’s just a matter of staying in it.
“Five hundred miles is a long race. It’s a super long race and you can make mistakes real easy, so it’s just a matter of focusing in on tomorrow. It was a good effort. We just have to keep improving.”
