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Ryan Blaney will make the transition from Wood Brothers to Penske, but I don't think it will be much of a difference for him. As he was basically getting Penske equipment in the 21 for the past two seaons anyhow. But now obviously he will get even better stuff, since he is directly in a Penske car. I think Ryan Blaney is among the top 3 when it comes to the best young drivers in the sport.
Intermediate tracks has been his biggest strength over the past couple seasons, as most of us probably would have guessed. It is pretty easy to figure out his best three tracks, too. His top three intermediate stand out from the other tracks. From pure stats point of view, his best tracks would be Chicago, Las Vegas and Kansas. These tracks have been very kind to him overall. I would add Texas to that list as well, as he has been strong there, too. I would say that I trust him the most at Kansas though. In 5 career starts at Kansas, he has finished in the top 7 in 4 of 5 races. In his last four starts at this track, he has compiled 3 top 5 finishes. In his last four races, he has finishes of 3rd, 4th, 14th and 5th. He finished 7th back in October 2015 in his first start behind the #21 car at Kansas. He has really good numbers at Kansas and he has more than enough starts under his belt.
Las Vegas and Chicago are also very good tracks for him, too. Las Vegas has been very good for him. He finished just 19th in his first career start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In his last two starts? 7th and 6th. He ran in the top 10 for much of the event in both races as well. I love seeing that from a young driver. It is one thing to finish up front, but it is another to perform in the top 10. Blaney did both of those things well. At Chicago, he has only made two starts at. But he has made them count though. He finished 4th in his first career race there in 2016. He got helped with a late caution that really put him that position to gamble for a top 5 finish. In last season's race, he ended up finishing 11th. At Texas, he has been very good lately. In his last three starts at this track, he has finished 12th or better in all three races. In 2017, he was very strong. He dominated at Texas in the spring race. He led a race-high 148 laps, before fading in the last stage of the race. In the fall's race, he was strong and finished 6th. He had a top 10 good race for the event and finished in the area that he should have. Pretty solid rebound at this track, after having no finishes better than 29th in his first three starts.
Shorter flats will be a pretty good type of track for Blaney in 2018, I think. He has been very good at two of these tracks over the past few seasons. Phoenix and New Hampshire clearly stands out of the three shorter flats. New Hampshire has been very good to him so far in his cup career. In five career starts, he has compiled 3 finishes in the top 12. In his last four starts, he has finishes of 9th, 19th, 12th and 11th. He haven't made a lot of starts at New Hampshire, but he have found a decent amount of success overall though. At Phoenix, he has two type of finishes so far in his career. In 2016, he has finishes of 8th and 10th in his first two career starts. In 2017, he started on the front row in both races. Problem? He finished 17th and 23rd in those races. He led 11 laps from the pole, on his way to 17th place finish in last November's race. He wasn't super competitive or anything in the top 10, after the fist run of the race. He was hovering just inside the top 10 or just outside of the top 10 for much of the event after that.
Then there is Richmond, by far his worst shorter flat track. In 4 career starts, he haven't finished 18th or worse in every start. His best finish is 18th in his most recent race there. In his previous three starts, he has compiled finishes of 36th, 39th and 28th in those three races. With only four career starts, there isn't a lot that we can really say about him. As he could easily turn it around at Richmond in 2018. But with that said, there is nothing says he will either. With that said, you would have to think his upside is near the top 10 with how talented he is. Realistically? Probably somewhere in the low teen or maybe at worst the middle-teens. With his career-best 18th, I would say that he can only go up from here.
Pocono is another solid flat track for Ryan Blaney! He finished 30th in his last start here, but it was a very good year in 2017 for him at Pocono. As he was competitive at this place in June and went to victory lane for the first time in his career. In his first three career starts at Pocono, he has compiled finishes of 11th, 10th and 1st. In last August's race, he had a strong top 10 race going. But he made contact with both Johnson and Jones during the second stage. That ended his bid for going back-to-back at Pocono. At Indy, he is much better than his numbers show. He finished 12th in his first career here. In his second start, he had a tough day. He finished 36th, after being in an accident. He got in a wreck with several others during a late restart. In last season's race, he was competitive for much of the race. He finished in 3rd in both of the first two stages. He didn't luck into those stage finishes, either. He constantly ran top 5 for most of the day. Then he got involved in a wreck late that pretty much took him out of contention. That Indy race was crazy though. It had a record 14 cautions, so the wrecking was unavoidable. That how it goes sometimes, you know?
Martinsville and Bristol are the next two tracks that I would like to look at! Bristol has been a up and down track for Blaney when it comes to getting the finishes. He has ran well here in the past two seasons, but he haven't always gotten the finishes. In 2 of his last three starts, he has finished outside of the 30. In the first Bristol race in 2017, he had power steering issues that caused him to finish outside of the top 30. He does have two finishes in the top 11 in past 4 races here though. He only has made 5 stars at Bristol, so it is hard to say what to make of him here. He loves Bristol though. So I will give him the benefit of the doubt for now. How about Martinsville? He is better than I think most people realized. He finished 19th in his first two starts at this track. Then he followed it up with a pair of really solid performances in 2017. He qualified in the top 10 in both races and he finished 8th in October 2017 race. In the spring (April) race? He finished 25th. But he was much better than that for the event. He was involved in two wrecks just after the halfway point of the race. He had to pit multiple times and ended up going multiple laps down. Don't be fooled, he was very fast in the early going. He drove up to the top 5 and could had something for them, if things played out differently.
Road courses should be considered a weak spot for Ryan Blaney as he does not have much experience on them yet. Not to say that he don't have a few good runs on them, but I am not ready to really trust him on them though. At Watkins Glen, he have finishes of 8th and 19th. In last season's race, he ran very well and finished 8th. He was probably top 10 good for the event. In 2016, he really struggled here and finished 19th place. He wasn't much better than that, either. At Sonoma, I think things will be tougher for him. I view that as the more challenging track overall. He finished 9th in his second career start at Sonoma. That came in 2017. He finished 23rd in 2016 race. I am not ready to trust him on the road courses, but he definitely got better in year number 2
Plate tracks will be a strength for Blaney in 2018. He is a really good driver on the plate tracks for such a young driver. Even if he doesn't always get to finish out the races at the front. At Talladega, he has shown great potential. In 3 of his last 6 races at Talladega, he has finished 11th or better. In 4 of his last 6 races at Talladega, he has finished 18th or better. He know how to finish well at Talladega, but what I love that he know how to run well, too. At Daytona, he has only made 5 career starts. And his results are pretty much down the middle. He has two top 14 finishes and three finishes outside of the top 18. In last season's Daytona 500, he finished 2nd.
***All stats are from DriverAverages.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
Ryan Blaney will make the transition from Wood Brothers to Penske, but I don't think it will be much of a difference for him. As he was basically getting Penske equipment in the 21 for the past two seaons anyhow. But now obviously he will get even better stuff, since he is directly in a Penske car. I think Ryan Blaney is among the top 3 when it comes to the best young drivers in the sport.
Intermediate tracks has been his biggest strength over the past couple seasons, as most of us probably would have guessed. It is pretty easy to figure out his best three tracks, too. His top three intermediate stand out from the other tracks. From pure stats point of view, his best tracks would be Chicago, Las Vegas and Kansas. These tracks have been very kind to him overall. I would add Texas to that list as well, as he has been strong there, too. I would say that I trust him the most at Kansas though. In 5 career starts at Kansas, he has finished in the top 7 in 4 of 5 races. In his last four starts at this track, he has compiled 3 top 5 finishes. In his last four races, he has finishes of 3rd, 4th, 14th and 5th. He finished 7th back in October 2015 in his first start behind the #21 car at Kansas. He has really good numbers at Kansas and he has more than enough starts under his belt.
Las Vegas and Chicago are also very good tracks for him, too. Las Vegas has been very good for him. He finished just 19th in his first career start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In his last two starts? 7th and 6th. He ran in the top 10 for much of the event in both races as well. I love seeing that from a young driver. It is one thing to finish up front, but it is another to perform in the top 10. Blaney did both of those things well. At Chicago, he has only made two starts at. But he has made them count though. He finished 4th in his first career race there in 2016. He got helped with a late caution that really put him that position to gamble for a top 5 finish. In last season's race, he ended up finishing 11th. At Texas, he has been very good lately. In his last three starts at this track, he has finished 12th or better in all three races. In 2017, he was very strong. He dominated at Texas in the spring race. He led a race-high 148 laps, before fading in the last stage of the race. In the fall's race, he was strong and finished 6th. He had a top 10 good race for the event and finished in the area that he should have. Pretty solid rebound at this track, after having no finishes better than 29th in his first three starts.
Shorter flats will be a pretty good type of track for Blaney in 2018, I think. He has been very good at two of these tracks over the past few seasons. Phoenix and New Hampshire clearly stands out of the three shorter flats. New Hampshire has been very good to him so far in his cup career. In five career starts, he has compiled 3 finishes in the top 12. In his last four starts, he has finishes of 9th, 19th, 12th and 11th. He haven't made a lot of starts at New Hampshire, but he have found a decent amount of success overall though. At Phoenix, he has two type of finishes so far in his career. In 2016, he has finishes of 8th and 10th in his first two career starts. In 2017, he started on the front row in both races. Problem? He finished 17th and 23rd in those races. He led 11 laps from the pole, on his way to 17th place finish in last November's race. He wasn't super competitive or anything in the top 10, after the fist run of the race. He was hovering just inside the top 10 or just outside of the top 10 for much of the event after that.
Then there is Richmond, by far his worst shorter flat track. In 4 career starts, he haven't finished 18th or worse in every start. His best finish is 18th in his most recent race there. In his previous three starts, he has compiled finishes of 36th, 39th and 28th in those three races. With only four career starts, there isn't a lot that we can really say about him. As he could easily turn it around at Richmond in 2018. But with that said, there is nothing says he will either. With that said, you would have to think his upside is near the top 10 with how talented he is. Realistically? Probably somewhere in the low teen or maybe at worst the middle-teens. With his career-best 18th, I would say that he can only go up from here.
Pocono is another solid flat track for Ryan Blaney! He finished 30th in his last start here, but it was a very good year in 2017 for him at Pocono. As he was competitive at this place in June and went to victory lane for the first time in his career. In his first three career starts at Pocono, he has compiled finishes of 11th, 10th and 1st. In last August's race, he had a strong top 10 race going. But he made contact with both Johnson and Jones during the second stage. That ended his bid for going back-to-back at Pocono. At Indy, he is much better than his numbers show. He finished 12th in his first career here. In his second start, he had a tough day. He finished 36th, after being in an accident. He got in a wreck with several others during a late restart. In last season's race, he was competitive for much of the race. He finished in 3rd in both of the first two stages. He didn't luck into those stage finishes, either. He constantly ran top 5 for most of the day. Then he got involved in a wreck late that pretty much took him out of contention. That Indy race was crazy though. It had a record 14 cautions, so the wrecking was unavoidable. That how it goes sometimes, you know?
Martinsville and Bristol are the next two tracks that I would like to look at! Bristol has been a up and down track for Blaney when it comes to getting the finishes. He has ran well here in the past two seasons, but he haven't always gotten the finishes. In 2 of his last three starts, he has finished outside of the 30. In the first Bristol race in 2017, he had power steering issues that caused him to finish outside of the top 30. He does have two finishes in the top 11 in past 4 races here though. He only has made 5 stars at Bristol, so it is hard to say what to make of him here. He loves Bristol though. So I will give him the benefit of the doubt for now. How about Martinsville? He is better than I think most people realized. He finished 19th in his first two starts at this track. Then he followed it up with a pair of really solid performances in 2017. He qualified in the top 10 in both races and he finished 8th in October 2017 race. In the spring (April) race? He finished 25th. But he was much better than that for the event. He was involved in two wrecks just after the halfway point of the race. He had to pit multiple times and ended up going multiple laps down. Don't be fooled, he was very fast in the early going. He drove up to the top 5 and could had something for them, if things played out differently.
Road courses should be considered a weak spot for Ryan Blaney as he does not have much experience on them yet. Not to say that he don't have a few good runs on them, but I am not ready to really trust him on them though. At Watkins Glen, he have finishes of 8th and 19th. In last season's race, he ran very well and finished 8th. He was probably top 10 good for the event. In 2016, he really struggled here and finished 19th place. He wasn't much better than that, either. At Sonoma, I think things will be tougher for him. I view that as the more challenging track overall. He finished 9th in his second career start at Sonoma. That came in 2017. He finished 23rd in 2016 race. I am not ready to trust him on the road courses, but he definitely got better in year number 2
Plate tracks will be a strength for Blaney in 2018. He is a really good driver on the plate tracks for such a young driver. Even if he doesn't always get to finish out the races at the front. At Talladega, he has shown great potential. In 3 of his last 6 races at Talladega, he has finished 11th or better. In 4 of his last 6 races at Talladega, he has finished 18th or better. He know how to finish well at Talladega, but what I love that he know how to run well, too. At Daytona, he has only made 5 career starts. And his results are pretty much down the middle. He has two top 14 finishes and three finishes outside of the top 18. In last season's Daytona 500, he finished 2nd.
***All stats are from DriverAverages.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
