A driver’s nightmare often comes in three dreaded letters- DNF. More than just a bad day, a ‘Did Not Finish’ can derail momentum, crush playoff hopes, and define a season. Just ask Daniel Suarez, whose 2025 campaign unraveled after back-to-back DNFs at COTA and Phoenix. In NASCAR, one wreck can end it all. But Ryan Blaney isn’t most.

Despite suffering through seven DNFs in 2025, the Team Penske ace pulled off the unthinkable by climbing to second in the regular-season standings. Instead of folding, Blaney fought back with statement victories at Nashville Superspeedway (Cracker Barrel 400, June 1) and the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (August 24). In doing so, he flipped the script on bad luck, proving that resilience and sheer speed can defy the cruelest odds.

DNFs didn’t stop Ryan Blaney from ranking in playoffs

When asked by Dustin Long in his post-race YouTube interview how significant it was to finish second in the standings despite carrying seven DNFs, Ryan Blaney didn’t dodge the weight of the question. His response was straightforward but layered with pride.

“I think it just speaks volumes to how good we’ve been when we have finished races… half those DNFs we had a good shot of winning the race and at least running like top five.” Blaney and the Team Penske No. 12 crew refused to dwell on misfortune.

Blaney went further, pointing out how his crew and car delivered consistently strong runs in both races and stages, but that misfortune often cut them short. “We’ve been running good through the races and the stages and stuff like that and just maybe not have gotten the finishes that we deserve. But we really just powered through it, right? And just go on the next week.”

That resilience has been the defining theme of his year. Blaney transformed seven DNFs from a storyline of bad luck into victory. Finishing runner-up in the standings despite such setbacks doesn’t just highlight his consistency when the car held together it sends a warning shot to the playoff field that Team Penske’s No. 12 is far from done.

Ultimately, his tone shifted from reflection to confidence in what lies ahead. “It’s been nice to have the last month and a half kind of be just smooth… I’m really happy where we’re at,…I think it really speaks of how good this team is and hopefully we can show it over the next 10 weeks.”

Ryan Blaney’s dramatic Daytona win, despite battling DNFs earlier in the season, couldn’t have come at a better time with NASCAR’s 10-week playoff stretch now underway. The road to Phoenix will test every contender, starting with the Round of 16 at Darlington, Gateway, and Bristol, where four drivers will be eliminated.

The Round of 12 then moves through New Hampshire, Kansas, and the Charlotte Roval, setting up another cut. From there, the Round of 8 features Las Vegas, Talladega, and Martinsville, before the Championship 4 showdown at Phoenix on November 2 decides the Cup title.

Bowman owes Blaney “Seven Million Beers”

Still riding high off that white-knuckle last-lap pass at Daytona, Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman didn’t hold back the laughs, or the gratitude. After his Stage 1 wreck put his playoff hopes on the edge, it was Blaney’s miraculous surge in the final two laps that sealed Bowman’s path to the postseason.

In a post-race conversation with FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Bowman quipped he now “owes [Blaney] seven million beers” a lighthearted yet heartfelt way to say thanks for delivering the most clutch win of the regular season .

Blaney, of course, was ready with a cheeky comeback. “I’ll take five million. Save him some money. I’ll take five million. But uh yeah, someone told me that that he got in because I won, right? Like if the 41, the seven, 99, whatever won, he would have been out.” he joked back. And, he does deserve the 7 million beers, rightly so, because had cars #41, #7, or #99 (driven by Ryan Preece, Justin Haley, and Daniel Suárez, respectively) won the race, Alex Bowman would likely have been eliminated from the playoffs.

With Team Penske’s No. 12 firing on all cylinders and Blaney carrying both confidence and form into the 10-week gauntlet, his resilience has already sent a warning to the competition.