NASCAR Cup Series Chase driver Ryan Blaney is ready for Bristol and hopeful for the upcoming stretch of intermediate tracks after his chance at improving his title hopes blew up on him at Gateway.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — With no way to pump the brakes on it happening, Ryan Blaney saw his NASCAR Cup Series championship hopes take a hit in the second race in the Chase.
Blaney blew a brake rotor entering turn one at World Wide Technology Raceway Gateway on lap 155 of 240 in the Enjoy Illinois 300. The issue dropped him to 35th in the final finishing order.
"You can't have multiple sub-30th-place finishes if you want to win the championship," Blaney said.
Despite using maybe his last mulligan in the Chase, 14 stage points in Sunday's race kept him fourth in the points standings – 33 behind leader Denny Hamlin.
Now, Blaney is headed to the perfect place – Bristol Motor Speedway – where he earned 17 stage points and led 190 laps before Ty Gibbs edged him out for the win in the spring.
Blaney earned the third-most points that day (53), behind Gibbs (59) and Kyle Larson (54). They earned more points than current championship contenders Tyler Reddick (33), Chase Briscoe (45) and Denny Hamlin (41), who ran inside the top-10 and finished there that day.
Ryan Blaney: The Horsepower Whisperer?
Ryan Blaney has been a beast with the NASCAR Cup Series' new 750 horsepower package. He is tied with Ty Gibbs and Joey Logano for two oval wins with the package, which he described as a "step forward."
While Blaney said he'd like to see more front downforce on the cars, he added that NASCAR is on the "correct path" that he'd like to see them keep going down.
The lower-horsepower intermediate track package hasn't been as kind but Blaney is hopeful, seeing how Joey Logano finished third in the Brickyard 400.
Penske has to keep hope. Blaney said they will need to keep up with the Toyotas in an upcoming stretch of intermediates – Kansas, Las Vegas and Charlotte – to go for the title.
Surviving the Chaos of the Chase
Then comes Talladega – a source of chaos befitting of the Chase we've seen already where the format has motivated drivers to race hard.
"Before, it was you could get through this round and see where you are. Now, you can't just 'see where you are.' You can't afford to give up anything because in two to three weeks, you could be out of touch," Blaney said. "It's been a great Chase and compelling to see which teams can rise to the occasion. Now, guys are trying to stay in touch so they're taking every run and every move and that's how it should be."
Blaney is keeping an eye on his points overall and not where he is in the standings.
"I don't look as much at position as I do points back of the leader. If you're eighth in points, 40 points back... I look at overall points. You can get the win bonus and jump up," Blaney said.
Where Can Ryan Blaney Win? ...where can't he?
Although Blaney has never won a race at the next three tracks, Blaney has won at the four tracks immediately after that:
- Charlotte Motor Speedway (Oct. 11): Won the 2023 Coca-Cola 600
- Phoenix Raceway (Oct. 18): Won Fall 2025, Spring 2026
- Talladega Superspeedway (Oct. 25): Won Fall 2019, June 2020, Fall 2023
- Martinsville Speedway (Nov. 1): Won Fall 2023, Fall 2024
Blaney's best finish at Bristol (Sept. 19) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Nov. 8) each is second. He has led at least 47 laps in the last three races at Homestead-Miami. He finished second in 2023 and 2024 and led 124 of 207 laps before blowing an engine in 2025.
Third is his best finish at the other two tracks: Kansas Speedway (Fall 2017, Spring 2025), Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Spring 2024).
The races at Kansas and Las Vegas are set for Sept. 27 and Oct. 4, respectively, following the Bristol Night Race:
