“Really the one thing Roger has ever told us is like, ‘I don’t care who wins, doesn’t matter to me which car wins as long as one of you wins,'” Ryan Blaney said about his team owner. But this sudden spotlight on teammate dynamics stems from recent Joe Gibbs Racing flare-ups, like Denny Hamlin tangling with Ty Gibbs. Such on-track friction isn’t uncommon in NASCAR, echoing past dust-ups at Richard Childress Racing between Kevin Harvick and Ty Dillon in 2013.

That Harvick-Dillon clash highlighted how egos can boil over. Similarly, Hendrick Motorsports dealt with tension in 2023 when Chase Elliott door-slammed Kyle Larson at Kansas. And the freshest example came at Kansas last week, where Hamlin’s last-lap move pushed 23XI employee Bubba Wallace into the wall. Yet amid these team headaches, Blaney offers insight into Roger Penske’s bold stance on such incidents to keep them steady and different than the others.

Ryan Blaney reveals Penske’s no-nonsense teammate code

Ryan Blaney opened up on Team Penske’s approach to racing teammates, emphasizing a balance of fierce competition and smart restraint. “Yeah, I mean, I feel like we’ve always had an understanding in our building of like, you know, race hard. Roger’s always put it into this perspective of, he doesn’t care who wins, he doesn’t care which car runs first or second, but as long as we run first or second, you know, and that’s just what we’ve always kind of had in our heads and what he expects of us,” Blaney explained.

.@Blaney gave some insight into @Team_Penske‘s philosophy on how teammates race each other. #NASCAR

Presenting Sponsor: @MyPlaceHotels pic.twitter.com/Qp0rFGNbNq

— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) October 4, 2025

This is a hard-learned lesson, such as the 2021 Daytona 500, in which Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, the two men on his team, were fighting it out in the final lap when both crashed, costing the team what would have been a certain win. Blaney, who observed the situation at home after an early exit, noted how it killed morale among the shop managers for a week, which goes solidly against self-sabotage in Penske.

Blaney’s stance aligns with Penske’s unforgiving standard: push limits but protect the team’s overall success. “He never wants one of us to roll over and give the win or hold back and give the win to another guy, another teammate, but make sure you run, you know, where you are,” he added, underscoring mutual respect among Blaney, Logano, and Austin Cindric.

This contrasts sharply with Joe Gibbs Racing’s recent woes, where Hamlin spun Gibbs at New Hampshire, sparking calls for clearer guidelines. Hamlin himself pushed for leadership input, saying, “He has had this conversation multiple times with everyone in the room, but I think it probably needs to be said again. And so what I’ve heard is that if you’re a non-playoff car, any break that you can cut your teammates, please do.” That plea came after a drivers’ meeting where Joe Gibbs voiced frustration over the incident, which hurt both drivers’ point hauls in a tight playoff battle.

Overall, Blaney views teammate rivalries as the toughest in sports because wins aren’t shared evenly, yet Penske’s philosophy keeps egos in check. “Well, I definitely feel like we in our building don’t want to ever give up an opportunity of one of us winning the race. Yeah, I see you want to. I want to bring my 12 team and win, just like the other guys want to bring their respective teams to win,” he reflected.

It is a strategy that has led Penske to three consecutive Cup Championships because it has shown that hard racing without crashing is better than the ripple effects of the Kansas confrontation between Hamlin and Wallace.

In addition to teammate tactics, even the Charlotte Roval as a circuit commends the top drivers with its special requirements. Their analysis points to why it is the best in the playoffs.

Top drivers highlight Roval’s edge

Chase Elliott, with two Roval wins under his belt, points out the track’s lack of forgiveness. “It’s a different place, for sure. Doesn’t have a lot of outs. Most road courses we go to have grassy areas or access roads, once you commit to a corner you can get out and bail yourself out. If you make mistakes there, it makes it pretty tough at times to push,” Elliott noted.

This is related to the choppy nature of the Roval, constructed on the infield of Charlotte Motor Speedway, featuring narrow turns and little runoff, a design modification since its 2018 debut that increases risk. Elliott won in 2019 and 2020 in dogfights, and the 2.28-mile circuit is one where accurate braking is rewarded and overcommitting is penalized, particularly in the playoffs, where a slip can ruin a year.

Kyle Larson, another two-time Roval winner, appreciates the aggressive vibe it fosters. “It’s not unpredictable which teams are in front, but the racing is really aggressive. There are more crashes these days. It’s hard to be consistent and get consistent finishes because the competition is just really tight and competitive. But it’s fun—a lot of people have a good shot to win, and you never know who’s going to have a good or better week,” Larson said.

This is apparent in his 2021 and 2024 successes, where the movement of the tracks and slippery corners causes passing anarchy, frequently resulting in cautions that alter the line-up. Despite that, it’s his team Hendrick Motorsports that has dominated the Roval, with more team victories here than at any other track. 

The Roval has the advantage of marrying road course tactics and the speed of an oval, attracting eight different winners in seven events. The 2018 breakthrough of Blaney was through a late wreck ahead, and the do-or-die playoffs showed in the 2022 saving win by Christopher Bell.

This 17-turn track demands flexibility, and this year’s example was Tyler Reddick, who won his first pole here on Saturday, beating the likes of SVG who starts second with him in the first row. But despite the positions, it’s the restarts that will bring the real drama on Sunday.