Ryan Blaney can breathe a little easier after winning the first race in the NASCAR Cup Round of 12 playoffs Sunday at New Hampshire.
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Even though there are still two more races left in the Round of 12, the 2023 NASCAR Cup champion can now focus on the Round of 8 semifinals, as he now has an automatic berth following Sunday’s win.
“It is comforting [to have won at Loudon], right?” Blaney said. “The dream deal is winning the first race of the round. So, to already know that you can focus on the first race of the next round a little bit earlier and maybe can experiment with something in the other two races to maybe help, like next week, maybe you try something at Kansas that might go better at Vegas, two mile-and-a-halfs. So it just gives you the options to do that.”
Kansas is the next race on the playoff schedule this Sunday. If Blaney does well there, he may be able to use some of the data gained to his advantage at Las Vegas, which is the first race in the Round of 8.
“As far as my prep work through the week and our team’s, that will stay the same. I try to keep that consistent,” the 31-year-old added.
At the same time, there are valuable stage and playoff points still to be earned this Sunday at Kansas and two weeks from now at the Charlotte Roval, so Blaney isn’t thinking too far ahead, either.
“We’re still going to give max effort at Kansas and the Roval,” the Penske driver said. “The goal is to win every single week. We will not shy any attention away from Kansas or the Roval, but you might start working on Vegas a little bit earlier than you would, just knowing that you’re going to be in the Round of 8 there and getting ready for that place.”
The Roval In Two Weeks Presents Its Own Set of Challenges
After Kansas, there’s still the Roval to think about — the only road course in the 10-race playoffs.
“The ROVAL gets interesting because, in that race, you’ll have guys going for points,” Blaney said. Especially those drivers who are both slightly above and slightly below the cutoff line, as any points they earn at Charlotte may be the difference between moving on to the Round of 8 or being eliminated.
“I think we’re maybe in a unique spot to flip the stages and go try to win the race. I think that’s a little bit more of a play than points racing really.”
With Blaney having a confirmed spot in the next round, it’s now up to his teammates, Joey Logano and Austin Cindric, to find their own way into the Round of 8, either via a win in one of the next two races or by points.
What Do Logano and Cindric Have to Do to Advance To the Round of 8?
Logano, who is the defending NASCAR Cup champion, has won two of the last three championships and is a three-time overall Cup champ. He heads into Kansas in sixth place in the standings, 24 points above the cutline.
“We obviously got a ton of points today,” Logano said according to the Ford Racing post-race media press release. “I think we got a second and a first in the first two stages and a top four finish, so we did what we needed to do. We’re plus the cut line [but] I’d rather win. That’s just the greed in me [he said with a laugh].”
Cindric, however, is not in a good position. He’s currently 10th in the standings, 19 points below the cutline.
“You’ve got to expect to want to run in the top 10 and get stage points to advance out of this round, so not everything we needed, but we’re still in the game,” Cindric stated. “I think this weekend is proof. You can’t take anything for granted, but I don’t think we’re in a position to be desperate. We’ve just got to go out the next two weekends and do better than we did this weekend.
“If we have a repeat of this weekend, it’s not gonna be enough to make it through. We’re capable of it and I believe in that. I feel good about Kansas.”
