Ryan Blaney: NASCAR Cup Chase 2026 Preview

A pair of late regular season wins have propelled Ryan Blaney to the second seed for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase.

This is his tenth consecutive and total Cup Series postseason appearance. Of the ten, one came with Wood Brothers Racing and the rest with Team Penske.

Blaney enters the 2026 Chase as the second seed after his late jump ahead of Ty Gibbs and Tyler Reddick netted him the second-most advantageous spot of all.

His two wins in the final seven races of the regular season sets the veteran up with a winning feel heading into the final ten races of the season as Ford’s leading driver.

Ford’s Guiding Light

After missing the championship four in 2025, Ryan Blaney welcomed the Chase back to the Cup Series.

Blaney has found great success at Phoenix Raceway since the incorporation of the next-gen car and 2026 was no exception. He opened up the season with an early win during Team Penske’s NASCAR and INDYCAR sweep at Phoenix.

Even after his poor Daytona 500 finish of 27th and aided by his win, the team has held a top five point position since March.

Ryan Blaney preformed better than his high standard during the regular season.

He found a career-long top ten streak which lasted from Charlotte in May until his win at Atlanta in mid-July for a staggering eight straight.

Those numbers further inflated in part to his late regular season surge from fourth to second in the standings which saw a successful defending win at New Hampshire.

The results have been good but his qualifying form has been better.

During that same nine race run which started with his win at EchoPark Speedway to the regular season finale, Blaney added his four poles which became the most he’s gotten in a season.

Through 26-races he has set himself up for a career statistical season in laps led, top-ten finishes among other averages.

But can Ryan Blaney take his best statistical regular season into the Chase for a chance at a second title?

2026 Chase Outlook

As the highest seeded Team Penske and Ford driver it’s not surprising to see better resources pumped into their title run.

Team Penske will do just that. Before the first Chase race at Darlington the team will replace Blaney’s entire pit crew with Austin Cindric’s.

The No. 12 pit crew finished the regular season ranked as the 30th-best crew while his teammates No. 2 crew ranked inside the top ten at ninth.

Blaney will also see familiar winning tracks in the Chase. He has multiple wins at Talladega, Martinsville, and Phoenix which should help him.

They will welcome those tracks but their current fantastic form at the flat short ovals will be their true bread and butter.

Phoenix, Martinsville, and Gateway should be his strongest tracks because of that. They will play a major part of how the championship gets decided between himself and the other frontrunners.

In order to capture his second championship, Blaney and Ford will have to find more winning speed on intermediates.

Ford will put their all into the effort and their attention to Ryan Blaney will only grow as the Chase reaches its conclusion which should see the team fight for a championship.

Ceiling: Champion Floor: Fifth

Blaney’s 2026 Overview

2026 Stats

• 3 wins
  • Phoenix, EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta), New Hampshire
• 4 poles (series-best)
  • Bristol, EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta), Iowa, Richmond
• 8 stage wins (series-best)
• 9.3 avg start (series-best), 11.5 avg finish with 3 DNF’s
  • Avg. Running Position of 10.481 (series-best)
• 828 laps led (second-best)
  • Led season-high 190 laps in runners-up Bristol finish
• Driver Rating of 99.4 (second-best)

Strengths

• Short-Flat ovals
• Constant top ten runner
• Postseason experience

Weaknesses

• Pit road blunders
• Win frequency
• Ford’s intermediate speed