Ryan Blaney Sets High Expectations As Reigning Nascar Cup Series Champion

Reigning Nascar Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney has plenty of pressure on his shoulders.

The Team Penske driver currently sits eighth in the regular season standings and 11th on the playoff grid heading into the series’ longest race, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. At this point in the season last year, Blaney was seventh in the standings. But a crown jewel victory at Charlotte propelled his Team Penske group to second.

“We’ve done a good job of executing races really well, maximizing days when we can only run 10th but we run fifth,” Blaney said of his 2024 performance. “I feel like our group is doing a good job at looking at the broader picture of things. We just have to find a little bit more speed.”