“Shame we’re not going to Phoenix”: Ryan Blaney makes feelings very clear on losing the Championship 4 spot to William Byron

Ryan Blaney made his feelings clear after missing out on a Championship 4 spot at Martinsville Speedway. The Team Penske driver came up one position short of advancing, finishing second behind William Byron in Sunday’s Xfinity 500.

The loss means Blaney won’t have a chance to defend his Cup Series title in Phoenix next week. Speaking to NBC Sports after the race, Ryan Blaney was honest about what went wrong.

“Yeah, I look back on that long run before the last yellow where William got by me. I just got loose, trying to work through that. My rear drive was fading quick,” he said.

Blaney led for 177 laps, but as the race went on, his car began to fade. Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet had more grip in the closing laps, allowing him to make the decisive move. Blaney didn’t blame Byron for the contact during the pass. He added,

“That’s just two guys going for it. I don’t blame him for taking that. I kind of lost momentum. I would have done the same thing, to be honest,”

“I’m just proud of this whole 12 group. Everybody who puts a lot into our program,”

The race came down to the final restart with 11 laps to go. After Carson Hocevar’s spin brought out a caution, both Blaney and Byron pitted for fresh tires.

Byron’s pit crew won the race off pit road, giving him the advantage on the restart. Ryan Blaney restarted second on the outside, but Byron’s launch from the bottom lane gave him clear control.

“Thought I got a good restart,” Blaney said. “Kind of entered up top, tried to carry speed, and he just motored right around me on the bottom.”

Blaney’s second-place finish wasn’t enough to reach the Championship 4. He commented,

“It’s a shame we’re not going to Phoenix as part of the Championship 4,”

“We’ll be doing the best we can to finish the year out strong.”

Ryan Blaney’s effort at Martinsville were appreciable how much ground he made up. After starting in 31st, he charged through the field to the front, showing both speed and control. His 177 laps led were the most by any driver not to win the race. The result, however, also ended Team Penske’s streak of three straight Cup Series championships.

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Ryan Blaney trusted Talladega and Martinsville to turn his playoff run around

Before Martinsville, Ryan Blaney believed he could still reach the Championship 4 without treating every race as a must-win. Ahead of the Talladega playoff race, the Team Penske driver spoke about keeping calm and using his past success to his advantage.

“It stinks where we are on points, but we’ve still got two races left. I don’t personally think we’re in a must-win quite yet,”

Ryan Blaney said this in a media session, as reported by Racer.com. After suffering a DNF in Las Vegas, he knew his chances were slimmer, but he wasn’t ready to panic. Blaney had reason to be confident. He already had two wins at Talladega and had also won the Martinsville playoff race in each of the past two seasons. That history gave him confidence for another strong run.