Team Penske boss praises champion Ryan Blaney - “He performed at the highest level and he got the reward”

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney's stellar effort over the playoff season received high praise from team owner Roger Penske.

The #12 Team Penske Ford driver managed a single victory in the regular season and sneaked into the playoffs as an underdog. However, Blaney seemed to gain momentum late in the season allowing him to fight for his maiden title.

Ryan Blaney picked up a victory at Talladega in the Round of 12 and another clutch victory at Martinsville to book his berth in the championship four. The late-season charge, coupled with his stellar record at Phoenix, helped him seal the 2023 Cup Series title.

'The Captain' reflected on Ryan Blaney's journey over the last six years in the organization. Penske recalled how Blaney's stint at Brad Keselowski's truck team put him on the radar and how he has evolved into a championship-caliber driver.

"We were looking at like Rick [Hendrick] has Joe [Gibbs] has, as all these people building these young kids. We needed to step into the same game, and Brad [Keselowski] was high on Blaney. He had been a winner in racing and he fit the mold and of course, his dad was a good friend of mine..." he told SiriusXM radio.

"He was committed, you could see that kind of a low-key guy, fun guy but he was able to step up each podium higher and higher and higher and got to the top this past weekend."

Speaking about the 2023 playoff season, Penske added:

"You don't know the whole journey you can't go back, you can think about it but I can just tell you the last six or eight weeks, he performed at the highest level and he got the reward he is a champion."

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Ryan Blaney takes a dig at NASCAR Analyst Kyle Petty

Early in the 2023 season, Team Penske was off to a lackluster start, with Logano taking the first win for the team at Atlanta. With his teammate Ryan Blaney still continuing his winless streak, NBC Analyst Kyle Petty compared the 29-year-old to Kasey Kahne, critiquing plenty of unfulfilled potential in both their careers.

“For me — I’m going, to be honest, man — Ryan Blaney is the new Kasey Kahne. Potential unfulfilled.” Petty said in the NASCAR on NBC podcast. “Everybody wants to talk about what he can do but he never does anything for whatever reason. For whatever reason, he just never gets past that hump.”

Over the next six months, Ryan Blaney won three races and sealed the 2023 Cup Series title. He fired shots at Petty soon after winning the championship as he told SiriusXM radio:

“I know Kyle Petty says that I never do anything, but hopefully, I proved him wrong tonight."

As the comments came unprovoked, the #12 Ford driver joked that he had been bottling up these emotions for a long time.

“I’ve been bottling it up for a while,” Blaney said with a laugh.