When Joey Logano fell out of playoff contention at Bristol Motor Speedway after crashing with Corey LaJoie, Roger Penske had perhaps sunk back into his couch of disappointment as the 86-year-old team owner bemoaned at his star driver getting caught in someone else’s problems. However, an unexpected turn of events and a crucial last-minute move turtle-turned their fate.

Ryan Blaney sealed the deal at Talladega Superspeedway by holding off leader Kevin Harvick by a narrow margin of 0.012 seconds and bagging his third win at the infamous tri-oval. Besides winning stage 1, Blaney’s second victory of the season, and the team‘s third overall win of 2023, have locked Roger Penske’s only play-off car into the round of 8.

NASCAR’s Superspeedways = Team Penske’s Opportunity

After Sunday’s YellaWood 500, Ryan Blaney joined Hendrick Motorsports icon William Byron as a guaranteed competitor in the penultimate round of the playoff rumble. The presence of mind that the 29-year-old Ford sensation displayed as he made that slight swerve to the right and inside of Kevin Harvick’s #4 and capitalized on William Byron’s unintentional aid to win the 188-lap of pure madness, demands a long applause.

According to FOX Sports, Roger Penske was well aware of the threat that the Hendrick Motorsports duo Kyle Larson and William Byron posed to everyone on the grid. He acknowledged that their only goal for the day with the #12  was to stay away from mistakes and execute. And that is exactly what they did. Penske said, “The Hendrick freight train was coming, and we all stayed together, that was the call that Ford had earlier in the day when we talked. It was just perfect execution.”

Short and intermediate tracks have not always been a strong point for the team. However, looking at their performance at the Superspeedways, one could say that Team Penske looks forward to more of them. Reflecting back at Joey Logano’s win at Atlanta and Blaney’s win at Charlotte back in May this year, it’s normal to expect that Blaney could put up a commendable show next week.

Watch This Story: Blaney Triumphs Over Harvick in Thrilling YellaWood 500

Charlotte Motor Speedway could bring Roger Penske his fourth victory of the season

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This is the fourth time that Ryan Blaney has made it into the semifinals of the NASCAR Cup Series playoff battle. And now, Charlotte Roval is a place where Blaney could secure a win as he did a few years back, in the inaugural event. And if he wins next week, two things will happen.

One, Blaney will be able to prove to Roger Penske that he is a reliable asset to the organization. And two, Team Penske will join RFK Racing to have back-to-back wins this year at NASCAR’s top-tier series.

Blaney brought an end to a 59-race-long winless drought at the inaugural race at Charlotte Motor Speedway back in May. That victory marked his first win since his victory at the 2021 Daytona. In his last 6 starts at the one-fifth mile oval, Ryan Blaney has five top 10 finishes, three of which are top 5s, including his latest win and another back in 2018.

Do you think Ryan Blaney can snap out of his inconsistent trait and emerge as a fearsome contention in the playoffs this year? Let us know in the comments below!

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