NASCAR: Is Ryan Blaney really a championship contender?

After finishing the NASCAR Cup Series regular season strong, Ryan Blaney is in the best position of his career so far to compete for the championship.

Ryan Blaney closed out the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series regular season by collecting his second and third wins of the year at Michigan International Speedway and Daytona International Speedway. Entering the playoffs, he sits in a second place tie in the standings, 19 points above the round of 12 cut line.

Over the last nine races, Blaney has an average finish of 6.56, the best in the series during that span. The #12 Team Penske team finally seem to be putting together consistently strong runs, something that had been lacking at times in the past.

Blaney and crew chief Todd Gordon are finally gelling, which was the goal when team made the move to pair the two before the 2020 season.

As a result, Blaney is in the best position of his Cup Series career thus far to compete for a championship.

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To capitalize on this golden opportunity, Blaney must carry his momentum into the playoffs. Last season, he experienced a disappointing early exit in the round of 16. He must navigate three of his toughest tracks to survive the round of 16 this year: Darlington Raceway, Richmond Raceway, and Bristol Motor Speedway.

In nine career starts at Darlington Raceway, Blaney has only one top 10 finish and an average finish of 19.00. He earned his first top 10 there this past May, finishing in eighth place. He will need a solid run there to maintain a points cushion to start the round of 16.

Statistically, Richmond Raceway is Blaney’s worst track. He has no top 10 finishes, an average finish of 23.40, and a highest finish of 11th place this past April.

But if the spring races from earlier this season signal an improvement trend at these tracks, he has a strong chance to advance.

And then there is Bristol Motor Speedway. Despite the fact that he has shown speed in many races here, bad luck always seems to plague the #12 team in Thunder Valley.

Blaney has led 60 or more laps at Bristol Motor Speedway four times, but he crashed out in two of those races. He has four finishes outside the top 30 in 11 starts there. If he keeps the car intact, he should have the speed to contend for at least a top 10 finish.

And if he he survives the round of 16, he will have seven great tracks for him to close out the 2021 season.

In the round of 12, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval are two of Blaney’s best tracks. He has posted average finishes of 9.20 and 4.67 at those two venues, respectively. In a thrilling finish, Blaney won the inaugural race at the latter in 2018.

Talladega Superspeedway is a wild card, but Blaney has won there twice and is one of the series’ best superspeedway racers with three wins, all since October 2019. Given the chaos at this track, this race provides a great opportunity for multiple drivers to position themselves well in the standings.

The round of 8 consists of races at Texas Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Martinsville Speedway. Blaney and the #12 team have shown speed and led many laps at all of these tracks and should be a threat to win at each one.

If Blaney manages to advance to the Championship 4, Phoenix Raceway is another good track for him, and the modern playoff system gives any of the Championship 4 drivers a strong chance to capture the series title.

WynnBET currently lists Blaney as the ninth favorite to win this year’s championship at +1400.

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If Blaney can improve at the round of 16 tracks, he will be in a great position to go on a deep playoff run. He is experiencing the best season in his Cup Series career to date and has his best opportunity to win the title.