“I don’t understand how that’s possible”: Ryan Blaney in disbelief over Team Penske’s collapse at Talladega 

Ryan Blaney and his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano were in control of Sunday’s playoff race at Talladega, but they didn’t receive the pushes when they needed them the most. Logano fell back to P16, while Blaney settled for a P23 finish.

Blaney, who won his first Cup Series championship in 2023, was visibly disappointed. He knew he had everything he needed to grab the lead following the restart with 17 laps to go. However, Kyle Larson jumped down on the inside lane and took the lead from Todd Gilliland, who had restarted on the front row alongside Blaney.

As reported by Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic through a post on X (formerly Twitter), this is what Blaney said after the race:

“I can't believe it. I mean, we had the control of this f***ing race and somehow gave it away. I don't understand how that's possible."

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, won the event and, with that, made the Championship 4. Last week, it was Briscoe’s teammate, Denny Hamlin, who made the coveted championship round. So, it’s just JGR contending for the 2025 Cup Series title for now.

On the other hand, Team Penske has been defending the NASCAR Cup Series championship since 2023, with Logano being the reigning Cup Series champion. So, for the North Carolina-based organization, there is a lot at stake going forward.

Furthermore, the points situation isn’t in favor of the Penske teammates. While Ryan Blaney sits 47 points below the cutline, Logano has a 38-point cushion above the provisional elimination line. Next up for the drivers is the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, scheduled for October 25.

Blaney, like the other four drivers below the cutoff line, is a past winner at Martinsville. He won the last two races at the Virginia short track in the fall. Going for a three-peat, the Hartford Township (Ohio) native has just one race to lock himself into the championship battle.

Ryan Blaney “pretty surprised” by lack of help from fellow Ford drivers

Ryan Blaney started Sunday’s YellaWood 500 inside the top 10. But a good qualifying position doesn’t always guarantee an upper hand at tracks like Talladega Superspeedway. Currently in his 10th full season in the Cup Series, Blaney was well aware of that.

So, Blaney was expecting his fellow Ford drivers to help him during the race. There were four Penske cars on the field, including Josh Berry. But none of them seemed eager to help him or his teammate, Joey Logano.

“Yeah, I thought we did a good job,” Ryan Blaney said during his post-race interview with NBC Sports. “Got control of the race after the last pit stop and just faded. Had some guys saving or something, I don’t know, and wouldn’t push. And was pretty surprising that some guys weren’t pushing.”

“Figured that we’d have a little more help than that from some people,” Ryan Blaney continued. “But yeah, I thought we did a great job getting ourselves into the position we needed, me and Joey. Then it just fell apart and finished terrible.“

All eyes are now on Martinsville Speedway. Fans can watch the 500-lap race on Peacock (October 26, 2 pm ET) or listen to its live radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Channel 90.