"Everyone is there for a reason": Ryan Blaney rules out favorite talk despite Team Penske dominance in playoffs
Despite Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano being the only teammates in the Championship 4 lineup, the Martinsville race winner ruled out any favorite talks. Blaney won the final race of the Round of 8 and joined his 2x champion teammate in Phoenix alongside Tyler Reddick and William Byron.
Martinsville turned out to be Blaney's third win of the season. On the other hand, his teammate Joey Logano has also won twice in the playoffs this year.
But despite the growing ascendency of Team Penske in the playoffs, Blaney ruled out any talks of being a favorite because of his team in a post-race press conference.
"I don’t think there’s, like, any favorites, to be honest with you. I never look at favorites when it gets to the Champ 4 because everyone is there for a reason, and all teams are really fast. They can be fast no matter what, any given weekend, any given track," Blaney said.
Blaney mentioned that with him and Logano having a shot at winning a Cup title is a nice feeling to have. He added that it'd be nice to bring Roger Penske another championship, which would be the team owner's third in a row, following Logano in 2022 and Blaney himself in 2023.
Ryan Blaney brought back the focus on needing to perform in Phoenix.
Ryan Blaney believes the #12 team is performing to the best of their ability despite bumpy playoffs
With three finishes inside the top 5, a couple inside the top 10, and a walk-off win at Martinsville, Ryan Blaney's playoff campaign in 2024 has seen it all. His finishes at Watkins Glen, and Talladega, 38th and 39th, turned out to be his worst results in the post-season.
But despite that, Blaney attested that the #12 team has been performing at their best as he said:
"I think this group’s speed honestly has been pretty spectacular. I look at the Glen, I look at Talladega, Vegas was a long weekend. One race in each round has been just awful for us, just getting in a wreck. Nothing really we’ve done. Just has happened. It’s nice to fight and persevere through that and still make it to Phoenix. Hasn’t been the smoothest of Playoffs for us, but we’ve dug down deep and really believed in each other, trust find each other."
Blaney claimed that he has seen 'many, many times' how the #12 team never loses their mojo despite facing setbacks, and how they always find a way to be better and figure those setbacks out. The defending Cup Series champion emphasized that the 2024 playoffs haven't been the smoothest for the #12 team, but right now, they are performing to the best of their abilities.
Ryan Blaney added that he wants to improve every year. And in his eyes, the #12 team has done that in the last two seasons.