After wrapping up their international outing, NASCAR shifts gears toward the high-altitude challenge of Pocono Raceway. Although Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch enter as the favorites owing to their wins and consistency here, last year’s Pocono race winner, Ryan Blaney, is someone the NASCAR fans should not consider an underdog.
Advertisement
That’s because last year’s win was the second time he won at Pocono. This was also the track where Blaney won his first-ever Cup Series race back in 2017, while he was still driving the No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing.
That breakthrough win wasn’t just a milestone for the Wood Brothers; it accelerated Blaney’s rise. Within a year, he joined Team Penske, a move Roger Penske had already been eyeing. Blaney’s Pocono win only made the decision easier, cementing his potential as a long-term asset for the powerhouse team.
At 23, Blaney became the seventh different driver to take their first Cup Series win with the iconic Wood Brothers, joining the ranks of Glen Wood, Tiny Lund, Kyle Petty, Elliott Sadler, Dale Jarrett, and Trevor Bayne.
Blaney’s 2024 Pocono win hinged on savvy strategy and split-second execution. He rolled off pit road second after a lightning-fast 6.0-second stop, banking on a lighter fuel load. When Kyle Larson was hit with a speeding penalty in section seven, Blaney inherited the lead on the restart.
June 11, 2017: Ryan Blaney won his first Cup race, scoring the victory at Pocono after a fierce battle with Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. It was the 99th win for the Wood Brothers pic.twitter.com/W7aQf3fWHA
— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) June 11, 2025
His team’s decision to pit early, giving up track position in Stage 2, paid dividends, allowing Blaney to leapfrog the frontrunners at the end. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin stayed out to claim the stage win and a playoff point but was caught flat-footed by the timing of his final stop, ultimately finishing second.
While Pocono’s odd geometry once seemed an unlikely hunting ground for Blaney, a driver pegged for superspeedways, intermediates, and road courses, he defied that narrative. His adaptability and sharp racecraft were key to capturing the 2023 title, and he nearly repeated that feat in 2024, falling just short of teammate Joey Logano at Phoenix despite matching his 2023 late-season form with three top results.
Now in his tenth full-time Cup season, Blaney has racked up 13 wins with Team Penske. This year, through 16 starts, he sits seventh in the standings with 466 points, backed by a win at Nashville and five other top-five finishes. With Pocono next on the docket, he’s once again primed to make waves.
