The Championship 4 has arrived, with the contenders ready to battle it out for the 2023 Cup crown. All eyes are fixated on the desert circuit, eager to witness the showdown of the year. In the lone practice session, it was Martinsville victor Ryan Blaney who blazed the trail among the quartet of championship hopefuls, clocking a blistering lap at 130.425 mph. Ford has a history of success on this track, and hopes are high that Blaney would follow in Logano’s tire tracks.

The Ford faithful can’t help but reminisce about the 2022 season champion, Joey Logano, and his #22 Ford Mustang, which triumphed in Phoenix last year.  However, the excitement quickly turned to disappointment during qualifying and the #12 garage is left picking up the pieces after a subpar performance.

Will the Qualifying underdog continue his recent trend or fail to deliver on race day?

After a blazing practice session that had fans buzzing with excitement, it was a tough pill to swallow when the qualifying results revealed a 15th-place starting position for Ryan Blaney. The disappointment left many wondering if this setback would define his championship quest. In the post-qualifying press conference, the man who had been behind the wheel of the #12 machine now stood in front of the mic, offering a glimpse into the bigger picture that awaited him on Sunday.

With an apparent focus on long-run speed, Blaney acknowledged, “Yeah, maybe a little bit. I thought we were pretty competitive yesterday in practice. And just lacked the pace today in qualifying.” He also addressed the consistent struggle with qualifying, saying, “It’s a place where qualifying has been somewhere we’ve struggled at here the last little bit. We seem to race really well, but just qualifying, we can’t find the grip and speed that other groups can.”

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Blaney shared his optimism regarding the upcoming race, stating, “Hopefully, we have that kind of race pace tomorrow.” He also acknowledged that despite their difficulties in qualifying, they had a track record of driving their way forward in races, saying, “We snuck in at Homestead at 10th, but we’ve been outside the top 10 in Vegas and Martinsville and were able to drive our way forward. But, yeah, we’ve got work cut out for us tomorrow.

“Hopefully, our car is good enough to where we can drive through it. Long race, we can get there.“

Ryan Blaney carrying over lessons for the championship race from 2022

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Reflecting on the 2022 Championship 4 race, where Blaney strategically parked his car right behind his teammate Logano, this season as a final contender he exuded confidence as he prepared for the upcoming Sunday spectacle. His starting position, though disappointing, won’t deter his belief in his championship prospects.

Blaney emphasized the first advantage he had, stating, “It’s nice that we, the championship 4 folks, we pick stalls, the top four to where we have a halfway decent one.” The privilege of selecting a favorable pit stall gave him a crucial edge going into the race.

Furthermore, Blaney’s experiences from the previous season were vital in shaping his confidence. Despite being eliminated in the Round of 8 of the Playoffs last year, he learned valuable lessons during that Playoff run. Blaney was determined coming into the race weekend, saying, “I think what we’ve been doing the last three weeks, we’re plenty capable of winning the championship.”

He also highlighted their outstanding performance during the Round of 8, emphasizing their speed and consistency: “The execution we’ve had has been pretty remarkable You just hope to keep doing that. Our group can.”

Hailed as the sole hope of Team Penske and Ford, can Blaney keep the promise to the end and lift the championship trophy as the sun dips down on the horizon of Arizona?

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