“Hard to be too upset”: Ryan Blaney makes feelings known after “hard-fought” afternoon at Watkins Glen

Ryan Blaney came into Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International riding the momentum of a surprise pole position. The Team Penske driver had rarely started up front on road courses, but his lap in Saturday’s group qualifying put him first on the grid.

Despite a strong start and winning a stage, Blaney ultimately crossed the line in sixth after a competitive but challenging afternoon. Speaking after the race, Ryan Blaney said the No. 12 team had performed well despite losing pace late. As sourced via NBC Sports,

“I just lost speed, handling, and where the track was at, probably a little bit, and just lost pace. But overall, really good effort by our whole group, and I wish we could have finished a few spots better than that. But overall, it was a really good weekend, and I'm proud of the whole effort. Good showing on a road course for us. So I think that program is getting a little bit better."

"So hard to be too upset about the day. Looking at the points board, we scored a lot. But yeah, just a good day overall, a well-executed day, and I kept track of my position and was able to win a stage and still had fifth until the last corner. So yeah, overall a strong weekend by this group. Hard-fought afternoon.”

Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford, leads the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 10, 2025 - Source: Getty

The sixth-place result came a day after Blaney delivered his 12th career NASCAR Cup Series pole and only his second on a road course, the first being at COTA in 2022. He clocked a 71.960-second lap (122.568 mph) to edge Shane van Gisbergen by 0.033 seconds in group qualifying. In eight prior Watkins Glen starts, Ryan Blaney had qualified in the top ten only once, making Saturday’s run a major improvement.

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Ryan Blaney’s Watkins Glen weekend shows a complete turnaround from 2024 struggles

Ryan Blaney’s form at Watkins Glen this year was a sharp contrast to his 2024 outing. Last year, the No. 12 Menards Ford qualified 30th, and Blaney’s race ended almost immediately when Kyle Busch’s spin triggered contact that took him out before completing a lap. That early exit capped off a weekend he described as “abysmal.”

The 2023 Cup Series champion entered 2025 with only one win to his name this season but found speed early in the weekend at the New York road course. In qualifying, he earned his second pole position of the year, placing himself in prime position to challenge for victory.

Speaking in the post-qualifying press conference, Blaney credited both his own improvements and his team’s efforts. Quoted by NASCAR media, he said,

“On our side, the 12 team, we had an abysmal weekend here last year. Saturday practice was awful, qualifying, we were terrible and then we made half a lap in the race because we qualified so bad and went home early, and we worked really hard on where do we need to get better here. Where do I need to do a better job, and how can we improve our racecars as well, so it was like a big dual effort.”

Ryan Blaney shared the front row with Shane van Gisbergen for the start of the race. Van Gisbergen went on to win the race at Watkins Glen, while Blaney ended it with a 6th-place finish.