When the NASCAR pundits named their favorites for the Championship 4 this year, nobody had imagined that Ryan Blaney would be there. However, through his performance in the 500-lap long race, the Team Penske speedster has proven that he’s not a force to be taken lightly.

The steady resurgence of the #12 Ford team over the past few weeks has been remarkable. Blaney’s run on the Virginian Paperclip was so impressive after that, that even Denny Hamlin was forced to concede that his #11 Toyota was not as good as Blaney’s Ford Mustang. However, looking back at the number 12 Team Penske team’s performance in the summer, one couldn’t blame the pundits for having excluded him from their list.

Ryan Blaney is the newest talk of the NASCAR town

Ryan Blaney bagged a dominant run in the Coca-Cola 600 back in May at Charlotte ROVAL which was his first victory of the season and that too, after a 59-race-winless streak. The 29-year-old was moved into tears when the crowd chanted his name after he had seized a crown jewel win. But that glory was soon lost.

Throughout the summer following the victory at the ROVAL, Ryan Blaney has not been upfront even once. In fact, he was not able to make a single top-5 performance in the next 16 races. Thanks to his Charlotte victory and thanks to the current playoff format, he was able to qualify for the round of 16. He entered 12th out of the 16 drivers in the playoffs.

Even Blaney’s teammate, the defending champion, Joey Logano, was ousted from the contention at Bristol. Hence, nobody would have thought that Blaney would win at a restricted plate track like Talladega and then, at Martinsville. Just three weeks ago, he was 8th out of the 8 players on the playoff roster, and just past two weeks, he scored 38 points from stage wins alone. Indeed, he is on fire!

Blaney’s victory at Martinsville was his third win of the season. Blaney held off Stewart-Haas Racing speedster Aric Almirola in the closing laps and claimed one of the most unique trophies at NASCAR’s shortest track: a grandfather clock.

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As reported by USA Today, Blaney said, “I felt like we put together a really strong playoff, especially the Round of 8. Can’t wait to get to Phoenix next week.” However, the work for Ryan Blaney is still not over.

Blaney has the toughest battle ahead of him

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What hurts even more than not qualifying for the playoffs is to qualify for it, advance till Championship 4, and then not win. If Ryan Blaney doesn’t win at Phoenix, he will face that same fate. After all, he and William Byron do not have a lot of time to get ready for Phoenix.

On that note, HMS star Kyle Larson and JGR icon Christopher Bell have had more time to prepare for the Grand Finale and Blaney has just a week. And he very well realizes the task in front of him. After his big win at the 0.5-mile short track, Ryan Blaney has already set his eyes on Phoenix and is not leaving any stone unturned while preparing himself for the battle.

“Thank you Martinsville and all of our amazing Partners and supporters!” Blaney wrote in one of his latest tweets, “Our crew got it done, but the big one is still waiting for us in Phoenix. We are ready. Let’s go.”

Even the fans cheered Ryan Blaney for his final dash for the cash. Meanwhile, someone joked about Ryan Blaney’s beard and commented, “Shave the beard for the final round! Gotta look extra clean hoisting that trophy in the air! LFG!”

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