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Ryan Blaney addressed on Saturday why no NASCAR driver has been able to match Jimmie Johnson's achievement from 2007. The former Hendrick Motorsports driver became the first driver that year since Jeff Gordon in 1998 to win back-to-back Cup titles.
Johnson went on to win three more titles in a row, taking his championship tally to 5 in a row, after which he won another couple of Cups series a few years later and thus joined Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. as a 7x Cup champion. Since Johnson in 2007, no NASCAR driver has gone back-to-back.
Ahead of the playoffs race at Talladega this Sunday, NASCAR's current Cup champion, Ryan Blaney, said he was feeling good about his chances of going back-to-back.
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Blaney shared that he felt confident in his team. He added that his confidence doesn't come from an arrogant standpoint, but rather from having faith in his team that they can win it all over again.
Blaney added,
"I think we’re in a good position. We just have to keep doing what we can and keep staying hungry. It’s funny, I think we’re all even hungrier for a second one than we were the first. I said it in an interview somewhere, but it’s like you taste the forbidden fruit and you want another bite of it. You want that feeling again" [15:12].
He also said that he wants to share that moment from Phoenix last year in November with his teammates once again.
"It’s tough to do" - Ryan Blaney on winning back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series
Despite Ryan Blaney expressing his confidence and hope of winning his second Cup title in the following season after his first, he also touched on how it is a tough feat.
Blaney said,
"I don’t know why you haven’t seen a repeat champion back-to-back since Jimmie when he won five in a row. I don’t know why. That was just one of those rare instances, Jimmie winning five. It’s tough to do.
"Teams are always getting smarter. It takes everything kind of perfect to go your way. The team has to execute the best they can and you have to have a little bit of fortune on your side to not be in any unfortunate circumstances through the playoffs, so I don’t know why" [13:45].
Blaney added that when he looks back through, he reckons there were plenty of teams that were good enough to win two championships in a row. But the fact that it hasn't happened, is a testament to the level of difficulty in NASAR.
In fact, Blaney claimed, winning two championships in a row is tougher in NASCAR compared to other sports. He reasoned it to be this way because in other sports, competitors are one versus one but in racing, there are many contending teams and drivers.
Blaney likened it to winning the Master's in golf back-to-back, competing against so many other people that it becomes hard to win two in a row.
