Momentum and experience guide Ryan Blaney into Coca-Cola 600

CONCORD, N.C. — Good things come in threes and Ryan Blaney is hoping that holds true in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Blaney enters this weekend with back-to-back third-place finishes in the last two points races at Kansas Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway — two intermediate tracks just like Charlotte.

Blaney’s Team Penske and its affiliate team, Wood Brothers Racing, has been the best overall group on intermediate tracks this season. Altogether, they’ve combined to lead more laps in three of the four intermediate track races so far this season and have won two of those (Josh Berry at Las Vegas, Joey Logano at Texas).¹

“I think we’re way ahead. I’ve been really excited with the start of the year that Team Penske as a whole has had,” Blaney said. “Last year, in the beginning of the year we had a new car, a new Mustang nose, so I think trying to get in a happy spot aerodynamically with that was a challenge for us and all of the Ford teams to try to figure out, ‘OK, what is the right combination,’ because it was different than the year before in ‘22.

“It took us a little bit to get our arms wrapped around it, but once we did I think we’ve really taken off and we just haven’t let up.”

With Logano’s win at Texas and Austin Cindric’s win at Talladega, Penske has won two of the last three races. Coming off of that stretch, Blaney is best in points of any of them — fifth, 118 points above the playoff cutline — but he doesn’t have a win yet.

“Obviously, I would have liked to have won already, but we’ve been in contention and some of the things that have shown that we’ve had bad finishes, we haven’t really done anything wrong,” Blaney said. “We’ve had a couple engine issues that we resolved [at Phoenix and Homestead], getting in a wreck early at Talladega and finishing last, and then getting in a wreck at Vegas with a fast car. “

Blaney comes to Charlotte on the right wave of momentum this season and in the Coca-Cola 600. While the even years with the Gen 7 car (2022, 2024) saw Blaney crash out of the 600, 2023 saw him in victory lane at the end of the night. Such a success helped him figure out how to be successful in the 600 going forward.

“I try to break it up that way into quarters – 150, 300, 450, 600. Where do you want to be at each stage of this race and what does it look like for the end of this thing? You’ve got to persevere all night and we were able to do that two years ago,” he said.

Blaney led in each of the stages. He first took the lead on lap 42 and led for 21 laps. Then, he finished third in the first stage. In the second stage, he took the lead 82 laps in and led for 10 laps before getting fourth.

“We were really good early. We weren’t the best car in the middle. And we got to be the best car at the end, ” Blaney said.

Just 25 laps into the third stage, Blaney took the lead again and went on to win the stage. Although he lost the lead multiple times on pit road, he got it back every time on the track. In total, he led 132 of the final 175 laps and won the Coca-Cola 600.

The win came with more than just the cathartic nuances of celebrating a NASCAR Cup Series win. It came with a chance to visit Arlington National Cemetery and be reminded of what the weekend is all about.

“Before I won it, I didn’t know that was a thing that they took the previous winner to Arlington and had a whole day. We got to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, do the wreath-laying ceremony. Just being a part of all that was really, really special,” Blaney said. “It puts it into perspective of how small you actually are in the grand scheme of things of what actually matters.

“A lot of people that have laid down their life to let us do what we do on a week to week basis, it really just reigns it all in. You kind of understand what’s really important. It was a humbling experience.”

As a part of NASCAR’s 600 Miles of Remembrance program, Blaney’s windshield banner will carry the name of Robert M. Carr, a U.S. Army Sergeant who, like the Blaney family, hails from Ohio.

Carr was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. He was an avid WWE fan and wanted to become a UFC fighter after retiring from the Army.

Carr sadly never fulfilled that dream. He died in the line of duty on March 13, 2007. He was only 22 years old.

Carr’s memory will live on at full speed, with Blaney as the trusted hand for a few hours Sunday.

“Memorial Day Weekend is always really special. Being able to see a lot of troops and meet their families around the racetrack and meet those families with their son or daughter that’s riding with us on our windshield is always a really special moment. It was neat to accomplish and a huge feat two years ago,” Blaney said.

Two years ago, Blaney drove into victory lane with the name of U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. David Kenneth J. Kreuter on his windshield banner and his family in attendance. To do it again this year for Carr and his family, Blaney will need to negotiate a new tire compound. Luckily, he was one of three drivers who tested with it at Charlotte in March.

“We went through a lot of different tires at that test over two days. It’s easy to lose track of what compound and what mixture is that and that. I need a spreadsheet of what everything was,” Blaney said.

Blaney tested with Chase Briscoe and William Byron. In the end, Goodyear decided on a softer left-side tire compound that promises more lap time falloff and more passing as a result. It follows a trend of softer tires on intermediate tracks, fulfilling a request the drivers have had to continue enhancing the racing on intermediates.

“I think it’s important we continue to work down that road of softer tires and things like that. I give it to Goodyear,” Blaney said. “They’ve been working hard and being on the teams and drivers about what we think and listening to feedback. I applaud them for that and hopefully we can continue down that path that we’re on. I think it’s a good path.”

According to Goodyear, the right-side tire code has been run at Las Vegas, Homestead, Darlington, Texas and Kansas. In each race, Blaney has run well and crew chief Jonathan Hassler has kept up with adjustments to make him a frontrunner throughout the race.

“[In the Coca-Cola 600,] you really have to be able to adjust. That’s a huge swing. We all talk about it. It’s a big part of our meetings. What does the track normally start like and then once it starts cooling off, where does it usually go? And you keep that in the back of your mind,” Blaney said. “We have to be ahead of that, so that part is a huge piece of what we look at and what we try to prepare for. And that’s another big thing of staying in the game.”

While Blaney’s pit crew has faltered at times, Hassler has been astute at setting Blaney’s car up to also maneuver traffic well. In fact, Blaney has been one of the top quality passers several times this season — making the most passes inside the top-15 at Phoenix and Darlington, the second-most passes at Martinsville and Kansas and the sixth-most at Bristol.

Performance in the 600 is often used as a measuring stick for where a team is at with their season. If the No. 12 team can perform well in the 600, they’ll validate that they are one of the top contenders to bring home a Bill France Cup this year.

Penske and their affiliates’ domination on intermediate tracks in 2025

1. ↩︎

• Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
  • Combined to lead 105 of 267 laps
    • Austin Cindric: 47
    • Joey Logano: 40
    • Josh Berry: 18 (Won)
• Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
  • Combined to lead 126 of 267 laps
    • Ryan Blaney: 124
    • Josh Berry: 2
• Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway
  • Combined to lead of 271 laps
    • Austin Cindric: 60
    • Josh Berry: 41
    • Joey Logano: 7 (Won)
    • Ryan Blaney: 2