"I've lived that story many times" - Ryan Blaney reflects on 'defensive' tactics of Kyle Larson & Co. amid losing title battle to Joey Logano

Ryan Blaney recounted his experience in the final laps of Sunday's season finale race at the Phoenix Raceway in the post-race press conference. The 2023 Cup Series champion came up one spot shy of defending his title as he ran runner-up to Team Penske teammate Joey Logano, who won his third career championship.

On the final green flag run of Sunday's 312-lap event, the driver of the #12 Team Penske Ford had to pass Hendrick Motorsports drivers Kyle Larson and William Byron to get within a spot of race leader Logano. After much effort, the 30-year-old made it to the second position with 22 laps to go. However, the North Carolina native ran out of laps in trying to overtake his teammate for the win and the championship, leading to a second-place result in the final race.

In the post-race press conference, Blaney told reporters that everyone put on defensive showcases in Sunday's race. Blaney noted that Larson, Byron, and Logano all tried to execute blocking to keep him behind them, and for the most part, they did a great job of it. Blaney said that defensive racing is a must if one wants to keep positions on the racetrack.

"It's just what you got to do if you're struggling," Blaney said. "It just buys you time, right? It's just part of the sport, because it's so powerful. The defensive line is so powerful of dirty air. You have to do it if you have a faster car behind you coming down in these moments. So I don't blame them for doing it."

Blaney went on to say while he didn't take issue with the way he was raced as this was not the first time that he had such an experience. He added:

"I've lived that story many, many times."

As the laps wound down, Blaney said he knew he couldn't save his car for later as he had to use everything he could to get to Logano's #22 machine. Unfortunately, a combination of tire wear and Logano's defensive driving prevented Blaney from making a decisive move for the win.

"I really just had to use my shit up really hard to get close," Blaney said. "Then, I just didn't really have anything left there. It was a little bit of both. My tires were spent and he did a good job of placing his car where you need to be."

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Ryan Blaney registered three wins this season

Despite coming up short of back-to-back championships, Ryan Blaney still managed to record three victories this season and finish runner-up in the final standings. Blaney earned wins at Iowa, Pocono, and Martinsville, respectively.

This year marked Blaney's seventh full-time season with Team Penske. He's won all but one of his 13 career Cup Series races with the organization. The remaining one was his first career win in 2017, when he won in the Wood Brothers Racing #21 car.