NASCAR expert backs Ryan Blaney to replicate Jimmie Johnson’s feat

Ryan Blaney has shown great potential in his title defense season to repeat as winner. His consistently strong performances and multiple wins have positioned him as a strong contender in the playoffs. Due to Blaney’s solid form, a NASCAR expert is backing him to replicate NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson’s feat of winning back-to-back Cup Series championships.

Johnson is regarded as one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history, particularly noted for winning seven NASCAR Cup Series championships, including five consecutive titles from 2006 to 2010.

Predicting the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series champion on “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour” podcast, Harvick’s co-host and NASCAR expert, Mamba Smith, picked the defending Cup champion Ryan Blaney and his #12 team, Penske Ford, to win the championship for a second consecutive season.

“I said it earlier; I think it’s time to see a back-to-back champion; we haven’t seen one since Jimmie Johnson. Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, the 12 group, Jonathan Hassler, they are going to go back-to-back this year and make it three in a row for Team Penske as a whole," he said. [52:34]

If Ryan Blaney managed to win this season, then it would mark Team Penske’s third consecutive NASCAR championship, with Joey Logano winning it in 2022 in Next Gen Car’s debut season.

Meanwhile, Kevin Harvick also gave their championship prediction, believing that Denny Hamlin would win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship in his two-decade-long career.

Coming to Ryan Blaney’s performance this season, he has already secured two wins, one pole, seven top-5s, and 11 top-10s through 22 races. He currently sits fifth in the Cup Series points table with 676 points.

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Ryan Blaney explains contributions of his team behind his wins on track

In a recent interview with The Athletic's Jeff Gluck, The Team Penske driver shed light on the extensive effort and contribution required to prepare a race-winning car for competition. He mentioned that numerous individuals were involved in the process, from the engineering phase to the physical assembly of the car, before his #12 gets on the track.

Describing his team's hard work behind building a Next Gen car, Blaney said:

“How much work goes into the week leading up to a race. How many hands touch a race car before it actually gets on track. And even before a car is built, the engineering process behind it, how many people it has to go through and all the minds involved in it. It’s super tough to get good people around you and get good people in your organization.”