"I want to scare every other team": Ryan Blaney heading into the playoffs with an aggressive mindset

When Ryan Blaney emerged as a Cup championship contender last season, many were taken off-guard as the Team Penske driver made it to the playoffs with just one win and three top 5 finishes. However, this season, the defending Cup champion wants to send out a clear message to his rivals.

Ahead of this year's playoffs, Ryan Blaney warned the other Cup drivers that he isn't an underdog this time around. So far this season, Blaney has had two wins and five top 5 finishes to his name.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Ryan Blaney opened up on the mindset he was going to approach the playoffs with and said (via "NASCAR"):

“That’s what I’ve told my guys: I want to scare every other team. Like, I want you guys to be so good that everyone is nervous about us when we unload. That’s the kind of the mindset that we’ve tried to have because I think that’s a great mindset for everyone on the team to have. Like, you want everybody worrying about you because you can be that dangerous, and I think we definitely are," Blaney said.

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Ryan Blaney hoping to replicate last year's intensity in the NASCAR playoffs this season

Following just one top-10 finish in the first round of playoffs last season, Ryan Blaney turned up his game and won a race in the Round of 12. But the Penske driver took things one step further when he won again in the Round of 8 along with finishing in the top 5 once as well as once in the top 10.

This was something Blaney touched on for his playoff run this season and backed himself and his team, highlighting the experience they had gained from the previous season's campaign. He said (via the aforementioned source):

"I definitely think you’re more confident in trying to get back to Phoenix. It’s not as simple as just ‘do what you did last year,’ though. But I feel like once you have that experience and you persevere through the three rounds to get there, I think it just really motivates your team and just gives them a level of confidence of like, 'Hey, we know we can do this. We’ve been there before, and now let’s try to figure out a way to do it again and accept all the challenges that are going to be thrown at you and use your experience to your advantage,'" he said.

Discussing the differences in the last season as compared to this one, Blaney hoped that the #12 team could bring the same intensity as last season to the playoffs and mentioned that they're in a great spot mentally and in terms of performance. The defending Cup champion claimed at this point last season, he and his team still hadn't figured out their performance path.