Ryan Blaney’s maiden Cup Series triumph was not achieved without challenges. One particular challenge that the driver of the #12 was facing was Ross Chastain. The driver of the #1 car won the race in Phoenix with Blaney finishing P2. The two drivers were locked in a battle for the lead for the most part. The Team Penske star seemed to lose his patience with the Trackhouse Racing man’s defensive approach at one point during the race which led to an intentional coming together.

For Ryan Blaney, finishing the race ahead of Ross Chastain was not the goal. He was just trying to get ahead of Kyle Larson as much as possible. The Hendrick Motorsports star never stopped pursuing the #12 towards the end of the race. It seemed like Blaney’s dream run would be crushed by the HMS juggernaut at one point. But the 29-year-old persevered.

Ryan Blaney explains his aggression against “douche” Ross Chastain

In the post-race press conference at the Phoenix Raceway, Ryan Blaney revealed how he vented out his frustrations with Ross Chastain. The #12 car was seen bumping into the #1 hard which threw Chastain off his game. The Trackhouse Racing star later revealed that he felt Blaney was racing him too hard. As far as the Team Penske star is concerned, it was all about winning the Cup Series title.

“The fact that Ross said I raced him hard, I mean, the douche blocks three lanes getting in the corner every lap, I don’t know how I’m racing him hard. When you’re looking in your mirror and you’re going left and right and left and just following wherever I go, I don’t understand how he thinks I’m racing him hard, he’s just backing me up to the 5 so I have to go, I mean he’s backing me up to Larson to where I’m going to be in trouble,” the 2023 Cup Series champion said.

Ryan Blaney then admitted to hitting Ross Chastain on purpose which drew raucous laughter from those assembled at the time. In his mind, the driver of the #1 had intentionally blocked him several times, pushing him back into his championship rival. So it was only fair that he returned the favor.

“Well, right I hit him on purpose. I mean yeah, yes I hit him on purpose. He blocked me on purpose 10 times so yeah I hit him on purpose. I mean what do you expect me to do? He’s backing me up to the other championship guy and I gotta go. I mean we were just racing hard but did I over-excessive on the blocks? Yes, very much so,” the Team Penske star added.

Ryan Blaney was one of the underdogs going into the 2023 playoffs. Team Penske did not seem to have the speed that Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing had throughout the season. For him to beat the JGR and HMS drivers to the title is a testament to Team Penske’s never-say-die attitude, and the team owner was chuffed with his team’s performance.

Read More – “I Was Just Not As Good” – Kyle Larson Publicly Admits Inferiority to Ryan Blaney & Ross Chastain Amidst Championship Failure

Roger Penske adds another feather to his cap

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Roger Penske might not have expected to be on the winners’ side in Phoenix considering how 2023 had mostly gone, but there he was. The legendary team owner achieved back-to-back Cup Series title wins for the first time in his illustrious career. At the end of the race on Sunday, he expressed his pride in his organization.

“We’ve had a lot of championships, but the level that we’re racing in NASCAR today, I’ve never seen it before. Back-to-back shows the strength of our organization,” Roger Penske said as per Auto Week.

Team Penske’s last two Cup Winners, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney, were both the underdogs of their respective title-winning seasons. It just goes to show that no matter how much stronger the likes of JGR and HMS may seem, one simply cannot count Roger Penske and his team out.

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