“That’s like trying to guess the lottery” - Ryan Blaney not a fan of picking favorites at Talladega or Daytona

Ahead of the 10th Cup Series weekend, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott communicated during the pre-race presser wherein the former revealed that he's not inclined to opt for favorite drivers at the superspeedways.

The GEICO 500 is around the corner, with just a few hours until the checkered flag drops. A pack of 38 cars will battle for the highly coveted win at the 2.566-mile Talladega Superspeedway. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is fresh off snapping his 42-race winless streak in Texas and will naturally scout opportunities to rake in another victory in Alabama, from his P9 start.

On the other hand, the 2023 Cup Series defending champion will be eyeing his maiden win this season after getting robbed of the same at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. After a tough 3-wide battle, Ryan Blaney finished behind the winner Daniel Suarez by a bristle-thin margin of 0.003 seconds.

Ahead of the 188-lap dash, the #12 Ford driver expressed not being an ardent fan of picking up players on tracks like the Daytona International Speedway and the Talladega Superspeedway. Blaney said (via Frontstretch on Youtube):

"You can never predict it. I've always had that in my head. You can sit around and pick predict favorites. For these races, [like] here in Daytona, that's like trying to guess the lottery. I mean you just never know what's going to happen."

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Ryan Blaney downplays the notion of claiming victory at Talladega amid Ford's subpar engine

A total of nine Cup Series races have been done and dusted until now, with Chevrolet savoring it's supremacy over the rival manufacturers. The Michigan-based outfit has bagged six wins this season, followed by Toyota in second with three wins to their name.

However, Ford needs to up their on track performance as the American manufacturer hasn't been able to showcase dominance and their winless 2024 calendar is the reminder of the same. Keeping the skimpy output of the engine in mind, Ryan Blaney laid bare his expectations for his Talladega run.

During a pre race conversation with Speedway Media, the 30-year-old said:

"I don’t really think it’s a must-win. It would be nice, obviously, and it would give a good shot of life for sure since a Ford hasn’t won this year, but I just think you’ve got to stick to your normal plan. ‘Hey, we’re pretty good at these things. Let’s just try to do our job again and see if we can get one in victory lane.’ But it’s not a must-win, I don’t think.”