With Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Team Penske’s first season win Sunday at Iowa Speedway, the defending 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champions finally closed the door on a complete race this season.
From finishing second to Daniel Suarez in Atlanta in the closest three-wide NASCAR Cup Series finish ever, to inexplicably running out of fuel at World Wide Technology Raceway two weeks ago, it has been a bit of a drag for the team.
Following that win, crew chief Jonathan Hassler was confident that the No. 12 team was about to get on a roll and become “the team of the summer.” Is Hassler’s bunch that team? This week, Luken Glover and Vito Pugliese forecast the next few months in 2-Headed Monster.
You’re Not That Guy, Pal…
When Ryan Blaney won the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol Sunday night, crew chief Jonathan Hassler was obviously excited. After throwing away a win two weeks prior by running out of fuel at Gateway, getting back in the win column for the defending champions certainly did a lot for their confidence to the point he deemed them capable of becoming The Team of the Summer.
….but are they though?
There are certainly reasons for their optimism. Ford has won three of the last five races, and the early season struggles that had many blue oval fans wringing their hands have long since been forgotten. Roush Yates engines have always been a standard bearer for horsepower, and the Ford Mustang has reportedly been given a couple of extra scoops of oats in recent weeks. Penske is also making strides, to the point that Harrison Burton in the Wood Brothers Racing-aligned No. 21 has been running about 10 positions higher than he has been the last couple of weeks.
But there are some notable threats for them to contend with – with many hailing from the Chevrolet camp.
How can you ignore Kyle Larson?
Fresh off his Coca-Cola 600 waiver, the No. 5 car was the class of the field Sunday prior to contact with Suarez that ended his chances. Larson has three wins this year and has led the most laps in the series, more than twice as many as Blaney, and he didn’t even show up for a race. His teammate William Byron was runner up Sunday, and the No. 24 team, despite a couple of stumbles in Gateway and Sonoma, has been a top-five car for the most part the last month or so.
There’s also a Chevrolet driver who will be showing up to the Chicago street race to defend his win from last year’s inaugural event. Shane van…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …