“I know it’s going to be a wild race”: Ryan Blaney breaks down fuel strategy that could make or break Daytona race

Ahead of the final race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series regular season, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney was asked how fuel strategy could come in handy at Daytona International Speedway. The former Cup Series champion explained that there is a fine line between saving fuel and overdoing it at the iconic racetrack.

Ryan Blaney is currently in his eighth year driving for Team Penske and his 10th year driving full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. He owns 14 trips to Victory Lane, with his most recent victory coming at Nashville Superspeedway in June 2025.

Thanks to his win, the Hartford, Ohio, native is locked into the playoffs. So it doesn’t matter how Blaney fares this Saturday at Daytona. But there are other superspeedway races in the 10-race playoff segment, and, needless to say, fuel strategy will play a big role in making or breaking them for the Mustang maestro.

“You have to be pretty strategic of where you position yourself as you're saving to try to save more than like if you're 10th, can I save more than the nine in front of me to jump up to the front row?” Blaney explained. “But you can't, like, just dig hard the whole time if you're a guy who needs to win, right?

Because if you just go wide open and don't feel safe at all, then you're gonna cycle further back than the guys who saved on the pit stop, and now you putting yourself behind the eight ball.”

“So it's hard to know what to expect. I know it's going to be a wild race, that's for sure. These cutoff races before the playoffs. So you know, this one's always gets crazy and I just hope everyone stays safe and, you know, nothing happens and hopefully keep cars on the ground and stuff like that,” he added.

Ryan Blaney has won twice at Daytona, but that was before NASCAR introduced the NextGen car. Since February 2015, he has recorded top-10s and eight top-fives at the racetrack. To watch him this weekend at Daytona, fans can tune in to Peacock (7:30 pm ET) or listen to live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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Ryan Blaney on Chicagoland returning to the NASCAR Cup Series schedule

The 2026 Cup Series schedule is out, and Ryan Blaney has shared his opinions on it. The part that he is the happiest about is that Chicagoland Speedway is back on NASCAR’s roster.

NASCAR will resume racing at the 1.5-mile racetrack for the first time in seven years. The Cup Series event is scheduled for July 5, whereas the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (currently Xfinity Series) will host a points-paying race on July 4.

“I think bringing Chicagoland back is a great move,” Ryan Blaney said in a statement. “With losing the Chicago Street Race, bringing in Chicagoland, at least Illinois still has a race in their state, so I’m happy with that, and Joliet isn’t terribly far away from the city.”

“I think a lot of people have been trying to push for that track to make a comeback for a long time. I was pretty sad when we left there because it put on a great show,” he added.

Marking the second round of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge, where drivers battle head-to-head to win a million dollars, this race will be televised by TNT Sports.