Ryan Blaney faces a must-win situation heading to Martinsville this Sunday. The defending NASCAR Cup Series champion gave away victory to Tyler Reddick in the final moments of last weekend’s race at Homestead-Miami and is now 38 points below the Championship 4 elimination line.
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However, one big advantage that he has stems from the special connection that he has with the Martinsville Speedway. As the shortest oval on the Cup Series schedule, Martinsville is a track that many dread to race at. Passing is difficult, the corners are tough, and the Next Gen car comes with its own host of short-track issues.
Despite these hurdles, Blaney loves going there for the reason that it is his home track. The track had regular visits from him when he was a kid and it is where he grew his love for racing.
He explained his emotions in a recent interview, “I grew up in High Point, so like 45 minutes away from there, so we went there a lot when I was younger. It was a place that we would always go to twice a year as a family, just because it was easy to get to and you’d drive to it.” The small size of the track made it easy for him to relate to since he was racing Legends cars and Bandoleros at the time.
He continued to speak fondly of how something was always going on at some point during races and that he could see all of it from the stand. A 2011 bout between Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in particular lingers strong in his memory more than a decade later.
He added, “It’s just one of those things that just grabs you as a kid and you have these core memories when you were growing up.”
Can Blaney repeat his Martinsville magic from 2023?
It was at Martinsville that Blaney won last year to secure his Championship 4 spot. He has five top-10s in his last five appearances there so momentum should be the least of his worries. What he needs now is a clear head after missing out on victory from so close at Homestead.
He admitted earlier, “I worried about it enough Sunday night and Monday morning. I rewatched it when I got home Sunday night. I rewatched the whole race and rewatched the end of it and lost some sleep over the end of that race.”
A collective analysis by the team at their shop in Mooresville has helped move past the disappointment. The crew and its chief, Jonathan Hassler, are aware of the tough corner that they face. All their focus and energy is on winning at Martinsville for now.
