“This Area Deserves It”: Ryan Blaney on NASCAR Cup Series Coming to Gateway

The Gateway Motorsports Park may only be in its third year of being a NASCAR Cup Series track but it’s already one of Ryan Blaney‘s favorites. The defending champion had raced at the venue long before coming back as a Team Penske racer in the Cup. Turns out that he has always been a fan of Gateway and believes that the fans in the area deserve to have a Cup race.

Before racing in the Cup Series, Blaney raced at Gateway in 2014, driving for Brad Keselowski Racing in the Truck Series. He placed an impressive P7 at the time. He has yet to finish outside the top 10 in NASCAR competitions at the track so far and will be looking to bring that form this Sunday and convert it into a victory.

“I like it, I think they do a great job. I was happy two years ago when they announced we were coming here for a Cup race cause I raced here in Trucks in ’14. I thought it was great then and this area deserves it. I think this track does a good enough job to where they deserve a Cup race. Fans here seem very dedicated which is great and they do a good job.” he said ahead of the race.

It is a track that holds fond memories for the defending Cup Series champion and the odds suggest that he will have a strong performance at Gateway for a third straight year.

The Team Penske man will start P3 after an impressive qualifying run. Opportunities like these have been hard to come by for Blaney so far this season and he will be looking to take full advantage of the situation.

He has not been in the best form so far this year and will have the tough task of beating other drivers of the Ford contingent, who are in fantastic form heading into Sunday.