Ryan Blaney reflects on the "big testament" as Team Penske sweeps front row at Atlanta: "Things are going to change through the race" 

Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney recently shared his thoughts after qualifying on the pole for the Ambetter Health 400 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Apart from Blaney, his two other Ford teammates, Austin Cindric and Joey Logano, rounded up in the top four for the upcoming superspeedway racing in Georgia.

2023 Cup Series champion Blaney started his eighth full-time season with Roger Penske-owned organization by showing his prowess in the exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium. The 31-year-old charged from P23 to a runner-up spot in a memorable finish at the Clash. Furthermore, the No. 12 driver Blaney started P16 for the prestigious Daytona 500 race and battled his way through the field to lead 22 laps and secure a stage win. He finally ended the race securing a strong top 10 finish.

As NASCAR's premier division gears up for the second race of the 2025 season, Team Penske cars undoubtedly had the best of the lot, given their recent on-track performances. With Blaney set to lead the field to green alongside No. 2 Cindric. Followed by Josh Berry on P3 and Logano on P4.

Speaking in the post-qualifying press conference, the 13-time Cup race winner Blaney said (via Racing America):

"It's a big testament to our whole group. Team Penske and the Wood Brothers being the top-four, so, it's a great job by them. Hey, my job is pretty easy today. Just make sure I don't hit the chip or overshift, and the rest of it is just raw speed that the teams build into them"

Furthermore, Blaney admitted the importance of maintaining the lead as the race proceeds and said:

"Things are going to change through the race. But hopefully, that's kind of nice that at least the start of the race, hopefully, the first Stage you can control, but it's not going to be that way the whole race, right?"

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"Ryan Blaney has the potential to explode this season": NASCAR Influencer shares his honest thoughts for Team Penske star

In a video posted on February 13, famed NASCAR YouTuber Eric Estepp expressed his belief that No. 12 Ford driver Ryan Blaney has the potential to outperform his previous Cup Series stats this season.

Blaney, who won the 2023 Cup Series champion and finished second in the final driver standings last season behind Joey Logano, has shown potential to "explode" this season with five or six wins, as per the NASCAR influencer. In the YouTube video, Estepp said:

"I think Ryan Blaney has the potential to explode this season. He's won three races in the past two seasons. Is this the year he wins five or six? I think he's capable of it. Really, the last two years on paper it looked really good." [4:56 onwards]

Estepp added:

"Blaney's Herculean 2023 playoff run has looked fantastic. 2024, he was really good again. I mentioned, he won Iowa for example, was in contention to win other races like Getaway before he ran out of fuel and his teammate swooped in to take the victory. He was running down Joey Logano in the closing laps at Phoenix. For a while I thought Ryan Blaney was about to go back-to-back championship wins since Jimmie Johnson."

With four Team Penske drivers on the front two rows and Fords taking up nine out of the 10 spots on the grid, NASCAR will return to action at 3 p.m. ET on FOX this Sunday (February 23).