Ryan Blaney compares his NASCAR Championship triumph to Penske teammate Joey Logano’s win last season

Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series championship at the Phoenix Raceway earlier this month, successfully defending the title for Team Penske. Reflecting on his 2023 campaign, Blaney admitted it was similar to how his teammate Joey Logano won the title last season.

The #12 Ford driver won the Coca-Cola 600 in the regular season and snuck into the playoff round as the 12th seed. With a single win and an inconsistent run in the summer where he failed to score a top-five in the 16 straight races, Blaney was not in the conversation of the title favorite heading into the playoffs.

However, the 29-year-old overcame the summer slump as he notched up two victories in the playoffs to put himself in the title hunt. He subsequently went on to win the championship in a similar fashion to how Logano got the job done last season.

The 2023 Cup champion admitted the same in a conversation with Fox Sports, where he said:

"Yeah. Joey's championship year last year was a lot like ours of having an OK regular season — better than average, but then really showing up in the playoffs. I had faith in our group to get better. You never lose faith in your group of getting better.

"But Joey and that group showed last year they were able to do that, find speed at the right time. And we were able to do it again this year."

Ryan Blaney and the #12 Penske team replicated Joey Logano's successful 2022 title bid, as they found pace in the playoffs. Blaney took a Round-of-12 victory at Talladega and another clutch victory at Martinsville to book his ticket in the championship four.

Given his record at Phoenix, Blaney had suddenly become the dark horse to win the title. Continuing his hot streak at the 1-mile oval, he took a second-place finish in the season finale to win the 2023 title.

Ryan Blaney's terrific run in the playoffs also received praise from team boss Roger Penske.

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Ryan Blaney relieved to secure a NASCAR championship

It had been more than a decade since Ryan Blaney tasted title success, as he never won a championship in NASCAR's national series. Following his success in late models, his best finish was a second-place run in the 2014 Truck Series standings.

Blaney admitted that winning a Cup Series title is a whole different deal compared to his previous triumphs. He told the aforementioned publication:

"Some late model championships. But we never ran ARCA, K&N [East] full time. I ran second in the truck championship. I never ran a full year in Xfinity.

"It's been a long time since I've won a championship. We won some owners championships in the Xfinity car but that was, three, four drivers in that thing. It was special there. But this is just a whole different deal."