The last three times Ryan Blaney has been to Daytona International Speedway his race ended with an interview outside the infield care center.
Somehow, the reigning Cup Series champion still loves the place. Blaney admitted before the Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET) that the opportunity to win at Daytona is special — a big deal whether it’s in February or in the summer. He does have a summer points win on his resume (2021), as well as a Daytona 500 qualifying race triumph (2018), but his highlight reel at Daytona has been hard to watch more recently.
- 2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400: Blaney leads the race, running on the bottom, when Ty Gibbs gets bumped by Christopher Bell and turned into Blaney’s right rear. Blaney takes a nose-first hit into the outside wall.
- 2024 Daytona 500 Duel race two: Blaney runs side-by-side with William Byron for fourth place when Byron is bumped by Kyle Busch and sent into Blaney’s right rear. Blaney gets sent to the outside wall with the right-side nose, and the car spins and hits the wall with the left rear. The car catches on fire and gets hit on the left side by a sliding B.J. McLeod before coming to a stop.
- 2024 Daytona 500: Blaney is running near the sixth position down the backstretch when Brad Keselowski gets turned from the row in front of him. Blaney is one of 23 drivers listed as being involved in the crash.
“Daytona hasn’t suited me too well the last few times I’ve been here; I’ve ended up on the flatbed,” he said. “Hopefully we can just have a smooth night.
“I put in my mind that these speedways, in general, you have to enjoy coming to these places. I know some people who just absolutely dread coming to speedways and that’s kind of a losing battle before you get here. I’ve always enjoyed these racetracks. I understand that a lot is out of your control. The last three times I’ve raced here — two out of the last three — I’ve gotten hooked in the right rear and had big hits, but that’s part of it, and you understand, ‘Well, it wasn’t really my fault,’ and move on.
“That’s why I always keep that in my head about looking forward to these places because I do enjoy them. I do enjoy the different style of racing that you need to do at a speedway compared to other racetracks, and you accept it and look forward to it. I try not to let past experiences sting too much because I feel like that’s the mindset you have to have.”
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Blaney qualified 14th for the penultimate race of the regular season. A night opposite of what he’s experienced recently at Daytona would go a long way in positioning for the postseason. He has an outside shot at winning the regular season championship — currently 82 points behind the lead — but every point matters.
NASCAR will award additional playoff points to drivers who finish the regular season in the top 10 in the standings. Blaney stays aware of who he is racing in the points, how he could move either way in the standings, and how much those points would be worth. He has 13 playoff points in the bucket going into Daytona.
“We’re in a couple of points battles with the regular season… You’re mindful of that,” Blaney said. “But [we’re] also trying to win.”