Editor’s note: This is the last in a series of four stories examining why each Championship 4 driver could win the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
Tuesday: Kyle Larson
Wednesday: Christopher Bell
Thursday: William Byron
Friday: Ryan Blaney
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Ryan Blaney will win the 2023 championship because …
Momentum, sometimes, is all it takes.
Blaney has had perhaps the most interesting of seasons of the Championship 4 drivers, turning in his worst average finish since 2018, picking up his fewest top fives since he began driving in the Cup Series for Team Penske, having his talent publicly questioned in the media … and now entering the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race as the top-seeded driver with the biggest head of steam. DraftKings odds give the “favorite” status to Kyle Larson, but Blaney is a close second and certainly in a category of his own in the overall “mojo” department.
The No. 12 driver’s Martinsville win was a moment. Certainly the biggest of his career, the triumph catapulted him into his first Championship 4 – after some had written him off entirely over the summer after a dominant win at Charlotte was followed by an almost comically bad stretch that saw him average a 22.0 across the final 11 races to close out the regular season. As such, he was viewed by plenty – though not NASCAR Hall of Famer and NBC Sports broadcaster Dale Earnhardt Jr., who notably had Blaney making the Championship 4 pre-Darlington and stuck with him – as a first-round exit, second-round at best.
Blaney has continued to defy all expectations, turning a questionable season into a magnificent one with one of the more memorable postseason runs we’ve seen – and really, just in the last five races. The Round of 16 and beginning of the Round of 12 were more of the same, turning in finishes of ninth, 12th, 22nd, and 28th in the first four races (Darlington, Kansas, Bristol, Texas) before everything flipped and a Talladega victory vaulted him to the Round of 8. He hasn’t looked back, adding another win and runner-up finish since.
MORE: Ryan Blaney through the years
As we saw just last year, when a driver, crew chief and team start clicking at just the right time – i.e., the playoffs – there really is no ceiling, and a championship is absolutely within reach. The driver who did it a season ago? Blaney’s Team Penske teammate, Joey Logano.
As we illustrated all week in these pieces (see the above links for the cases for each driver to win), there are plenty of strong reasons to love the chances for any of the other three competitors to take home the big trophy on Sunday.
But ask yourself this – which driver would you not bet against right now?
You already know the answer.
Key stats: 3 wins, 7 top fives, 17 top 10s, 0 poles, 560 laps led, 12.6 average start, 14.4 average finish.
Championship 4 history: This is Ryan Blaney’s first appearance in the Championship 4.
Defining 2023 moment: Taking control of Martinsville late in the Round of 8 finale and commanding the mad dash to the checkered flag with a Championship 4 berth on the line. The win earned him both his first grandfather clock and Champ 4 bid.
Watch out for: There was just so much wrapped up in that Martinsville win on a highly charged, emotional afternoon that when Blaney celebrated in front of his sort-of-home-track fans, it felt like a bit of a crowning achievement for the season. Rebounding from such a high and getting refocused for the championship with not as much preparation as, say, Kyle Larson, who knew he’d be racing for a title weeks ago, isn’t an impossible task, but it’s not a simple one, either.