Entering his team’s 60th anniversary this season, all eyes were on Ryan Blaney to reclaim the series title this season. And considering that his 2025 season saw him earn a career-high four victories and another deep run in the Playoffs, Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Ford Mustang team should have been far ahead this season.

Still, with a trophy in his cabinet and a car that has led the fourth-most laps in the entire 2026 season, Blaney is currently sitting 140 points off the lead after just ten races – which has led him to publicly recalibrate his goals to match the names around him rather than the one above him.

“The last two weeks, we’ve lost a lot of points to him. We, you know, we kind of closed it up there after Bristol. I think we were within, like within 70 or something, and then the last couple of weeks haven’t been very good, you know.  So the best thing we can do is like, hey, how do we kind of race around the guys that we’re close to right now with the 11 and the 9 and a couple other guys that are right there,” Blaney said ahead of the Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Currently, Tyler Reddick sits atop the championship with 484 points, having won five of the first ten races in a feat last matched by Dale Earnhardt in 1987. Denny Hamlin occupies second with 374 points, while Blaney holds third at 344. Crucially, Chase Elliott sits fourth with 340, just four points behind the No. 12, meaning the slide isn’t just about chasing Reddick anymore. It’s also about holding off the chasing pack.

The frustration comes from how quickly the momentum disappeared. After a strong stretch that included a long-awaited victory at Phoenix in March and a runner-up finish at Bristol (where Blaney started from pole, led 190 laps, and had by far the fastest car before losing out to Ty Gibbs in an overtime thriller by a mere 0.055 seconds), Blaney seemed to be building toward another serious championship run.

Then April hit, and Kansas turned into a forgettable afternoon. Blaney wound up a lap down in 24th, collecting just 13 points on the day. Reddick won the race and extended his lead to 105 points over the field.

Talladega made things worse, and not through a late dramatic pile-up, but through an early one. On Lap 43 of Stage 1, cars stacking up on the way to pit road triggered a multi-car incident that collected Blaney before he ever had a chance to truly race. He limped home 37th.

The struggles haven’t only come from behind the wheel, either. Blaney’s pit crew issues have been just as present. A loose lug nut penalty at Darlington forced him to pull into teammate Austin Cindric’s pit stall for a quick fix, with NASCAR sending him to the rear for pitting outside his box, which cost him a potential win at a track where passing is notoriously difficult.

At Phoenix, loose wheels on two separate occasions required extra pit stops, dropping him from second to 24th before he fought back to win. FOX broadcaster Mike Joy noted mid-season that the No. 12 crew ranked 33rd of 36 full-time teams in pit stop speed, a damning figure for a car like Blaney’s. In fact, before Kansas, Team Penske had acted, bringing in Graham Stoddard, who had been serving as the jack man for Noah Gragson’s No. 4 Front Row Motorsports pit crew.

Still, Blaney doesn’t sound ready to panic. He knows how quickly NASCAR momentum can swing, especially when one strong finish can undo weeks of frustration.

Blaney’s history with Texas Motor Speedway

Texas hasn’t always delivered perfect results for the 31-year-old, but the 1.5-mile oval has still been one of the stronger stops on his schedule. He has shown a consistent pace at Fort Worth, regularly putting himself in a position to challenge near the front.

His performance in July 2020 made the clearest case: Blaney led 150 laps and dominated the race before fading late, ultimately crossing the line seventh. He also owns a Texas victory of a different kind, at the 2022 All-Star Race, where he led a race-high 84 laps and held off Denny Hamlin in overtime to claim the $1 million prize.

While a non-points exhibition, it underscored his natural comfort on the surface. So, heading into this weekend, Blaney remains one of the steadier names in the field despite a recent stumble.

Still, while the case for his car being a genuine title contender remains intact, the case for his results matching that car is still being built.