Ryan Blaney is the only winless driver in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Does that matter? And how far will Blaney advance?
Anthony Damcott: Ryan Blaney’s consistency this season should give him confidence in attempting a deep playoff run. He also isn’t entering the playoffs with no points — his stage wins and finish in the regular season standings have given him 13 points to use throughout his run. While a win would be nice (not only for his playoff run but as a general confidence booster), Blaney and his team won’t have to worry about missing at least the Round of 12 if he continues his consistency. Once the season gets later into the playoffs, then the pressure to win will rise, but to start the playoffs, Blaney will advance regardless of whether he wins or not.
Luken Glover: Blaney definitely needs to win a race in the postseason, more so to comfortably advance rather than to legitimize his playoff berth. Consistency-wise, Blaney has been one of the best this season. Additionally, he wouldn’t be the first to go winless in the regular season and go on a tear in the postseason. Remember Tony Stewart in 2011? Before the season began, my predictions included Blaney in the Championship 4. I am sticking true to that. The Round of 12 shapes up well for Blaney, with Texas Motor Speedway being the prime target. So does the Round of 8, where Blaney has run well at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway.
Stephen Stumpf: Blaney being the only winless driver in the playoffs doesn’t matter; what does matter, however, is that the No. 12 has struggled to find consistent speed for months. In the first seven races, Blaney led 334 laps; he has led a combined 83 laps in the 19 races since. Furthermore, Blaney will have one of his worst tracks in Darlington Raceway as the playoff opener. After Darlington, however, Blaney will have tracks he has historically excelled at in Kansas Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway. The season resets for everyone, and if Blaney can survive Darlington with a top-20 finish and make it out of the first round, he has a good chance of making it to the Round of 8.
How can NASCAR change the Next Gen car to alleviate any safety concerns?
Stumpf: The unfortunate reality is that changes to the Next Gen car will not be coming fast enough. It took years to develop the car, and it’s going to take time and testing for any changes to the car to be cleared. Using the Gen 6 cars until they figured out the problems with…
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