NASCAR Pocono takeaways: Ryan Blaney’s continued improvement, NASCAR’s crown jewel races

Ryan Blaney is not on pace for career highs in important statistical categories like top-five or top-10 finishes in 2024. Previous seasons from Blaney have seen more consistency in terms of his average finish.

But this year — and dating back to midway through the 2023 playoffs — Blaney has seemed like a different driver. Namely, a winning one.

“You love tracks that have special meaning to you, places where you get your first win and things like that,” Blaney continued, “so this place means so much to me.”

Blaney took control of the 160-lap race on a restart with 40 laps remaining and kept the lead despite multiple restarts. The No. 12 Team Penske crew gave Blaney great track position to start Stage 3, choosing to call him to pit road a few laps before the end of the second segment and forgo stage points. That strategy move allowed Blaney to begin the third stage on the front row alongside Chris Buescher and take control of the race.

“It was nice to stick to the plan today and our plan was to have track position at the end,” Blaney said. “I knew our car was fast enough.”