“I’m Not Very Happy Right Now!” Ryan Blaney Refuses to Give up Title Hopes Despite Finishing Dead Last at Las Vegas

Team Penske Racing’s champion driver Ryan Blaney shared his thoughts on his title hopes after finishing P38 at on Sunday.

“I’m Not Very Happy Right Now!” Ryan Blaney Refuses to Give up Title Hopes Despite Finishing Dead Last at Las Vegas

Ryan Blaney (via Imago)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Team Penske Racing star driver Ryan Blaney, who is the only driver other than Joey Logano to win a championship in the Next-Gen era, had a nightmare race in the first race of 2025 R-8 race at Las Vegas. He finished the race dead last after a wreck earlier in the race, finding himself 31 points away from a cutline, in a must-win situation.

The 2023 Cup Series champion has a history of grinding his way-out tough situation in the playoffs, especially in the current era. He will have the best shot at redemption in the two upcoming tracks of the round, Martinsville and Talladega. Ryan Blaney has a combined five wins at these two tracks, with three of them coming at Dega,

This stat makes him a superspeedway specialist everyone should be worried about and it gives them the hope that he can come from behind to win a race. He believes that the No:12 team can win one race in the upcoming two weeks and come from behind. But he is disappointed with the fact that he just can’t get a break at the moment.

I have to come from behind like we did last year… Hopefully, we can win one in the next two weeks. [I] just can’t have a smooth day, it seems… [The crash] destroyed [the] right front, right rear, destroyed everything.

Ryan Blaney said after the Las Vegas race.

He is keeping the optimism alive and though he isn’t really happy, he is determined to move and focus on the next race. The veteran racer pointed out that the history his team has at Martinsville and Dega, gives him the confidence that they will have the speed to secure more races in order to get out of the hole he has found himself in.

You’ve got to be optimistic. I mean, I’m not very happy right now, but tomorrow morning, I’ll be optimistic to go to the next race. So, yeah, we’ve had good success in the next two events. Hopefully, we can bring the speed and try to overcome the hole we put ourselves in today.

Ryan Blaney told Fox Sports’s Bob Pockrass.

Kyle Larson wishes Ryan Blaney and Team Penske finally fails in R-8

Everyone in the community knows the pace advantage Team Penske Fords have at Phoenix, the finale venue. So, Kyle Larson is hoping that Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano fail this time to get out of the penultimate playoffs round and believes Las Vegas winner Denny Hamlin will be a favorite to win in the wide-open finale.  

Ryan Blaney confronting Kyle Larson after Gateway crash (via Getty)
Ryan Blaney confronting Kyle Larson after Gateway crash (via nascar.com)

[Penske cars] will be crazy fast at Phoenix. So, if they don’t make it, I think it’s wide open. The 11 [of Hamlin] is the only one guaranteed in right now, so he would be the favorite.

Kyle Larson said.

But nit having the Penkse drivers gives him and his HMS teammates the advantage. He believes they are faster than the JGR Toyota’s in the flat track and if there is not Penske cars, the HMS cars that gets into the finale will be the favorite.

Hopefully we can get in there, because I do feel like you know that scenario where we have closed the gap a lot to them and maybe surpass JGR on our flat-track program.

Kyle Larson added.

The comments from the race after the Las Vegas Motor Speedway race seems rational, considering the recent past. It would be interesting to see whether Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney pull-off redemption run yet again, shattering Larson’s hopes.

Also Read: “They Sold Everything They Had!” Emotional Denny Hamlin Dedicates Milestone 69th Win to His Ill Dad