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Ryan Blaney has emerged as NASCAR's most efficient passer nine races into the 2025 season, per official metrics. NASCAR Insight's Passer Rating ranks Team Penske's 2023 Cup champion atop the field in overtaking efficiency, a testament to his ability to gain positions, despite variable starting spots.
This superlative was part of NASCAR's quarter-season review, which highlighted standout performers across key metrics including restarts, pit crew consistency and overall race pace. Five different winners have emerged nine races into the season, with five racers already qualified to the playoffs. But when it comes to working through the field, it's Roger Penske ace who's turned heads.
Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards\Richmond Water Heaters Ford, is in his eighth Cup campaign with Team Penske. According to NASCAR’s internal metrics, Blaney leads the Cup Series in Passer Rating. The stat not only factors passing volume, quality or timing, but also includes completion efficiency, position context and lapped traffic management.
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Blaney’s position on top of this leaderboard is surprising since he has not had the benefit of consistent front-row starts. Despite starting mid-pack on average (15.8), the Penske driver has consistently delivered in high-traffic conditions. This is evident from the fact that, with two stage wins and leading 198 laps so far, his average finishing position remains 16.67 in the 2025 Cup Series.
Perhaps, Blaney’s standout stat is a Green Flag Pass Differential which calculates the number of spots any driver gains or maintains during green flag runs. He is +71 when running inside the top 10, more than double that of the next-best driver. Motorpsorts data analyst Daniel Céspedes flagged the figure on social media ahead of the Bristol race:
He also noted that Blaney’s efficiency in tight quarters is especially impressive given the the Next Gen car's challenging overtaking.
Ryan Blaney is 5th in most laps led in NASCAR Cup Series so far
The current difficulty of overtaking in NASCAR’s modern car setup makes Ryan Blaney's passing feat more compelling. Since the introduction of the Next Gen car, passing cleanly, especially at high-speed intermediates has become a consistent pain point for drivers.
Track position remains vital, and many races this season have seen cars struggle in dirty air, unable to mount clean overtakes. For example, Kyle Larson led 411 laps in Bristol, William Byron led 243 in Darlington and Denny Hamlin led 274 laps in Martinvsille. Yet Blaney, in the No. 12 Ford, has repeatedly defied that trend.
Penske’s 2025 package boasts the second-best average speed in the field. Blaney’s confidence, moreover, in slicing through turbulent air has made him the driver most likely to recover from poor grid spots. He, along with his Penske teammates Joey Logano and Austin Cindric, hold the top five positions in the most laps led table with no wins to show for it.
Still, with such overtaking prowess and raw speed in hand, it seems inevitable that one of these passes will soon be for a checkered flag.
His best finish so far remains outside the top three, with Penske occasionally lacking execution in pit cycles and late-race strategy. However, his elite Passer Rating suggests the No. 12 team has a strong foundation to build on.
