Ryan Blaney believes Team Penske’s main area of focus ahead of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase will be its performance on 1.5-mile tracks. The team has found strong form in recent weeks, winning four of the last six races, but the No. 12 Ford driver knows the organization will need more speed at intermediates to remain in championship contention once the Chase begins.
Team Penske has made a major turnaround over the past month. Three of its four wins during this stretch have come at short tracks, with Joey Logano winning at North Wilkesboro Speedway and Richmond Raceway, while Blaney won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this past Sunday.
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Blaney’s other victory in this run came at Atlanta Motor Speedway. However, the team’s performance on intermediate tracks has remained less consistent, with Toyota holding an advantage at several of those venues. Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Blaney acknowledged that the 1.5-mile program remains an area where Team Penske is looking for additional speed:
“I wouldn’t say I’m sitting here actively worried about any racetracks. I think it’s not a secret of the mile-and-a-half program. The Toyotas have been the best. And we’ve been searching for a little speed on those mile-and-a-halfs. And there’s… three or four of them in the Chase that you’re going to have to run well at to stay in contention. So that’s a part we’ve been working really hard on.”
Ryan Blaney explained that Team Penske has seen some encouraging signs at these tracks. He pointed to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Logano finished third, while Blaney believed he also had a strong car as well.
“I know it’s not a mile and a half, but Indianapolis, I thought Joey was really good. I thought I was pretty decent before our issue. So hopefully, we’ve taken a step there. Look at Chicagoland a couple of months ago. I thought we put together a decent race there running in the top 10. So, I would say just looking at those types of tracks, the intermediates of where we have not been as fast as we want to be, is kind of the main point of focus for our group,” added Ryan Blaney.
However, there have already been signs that Penske is making progress with the current 750-horsepower intermediate-track package. Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Austin Cindric all finished inside the top 15 at Chicagoland Speedway. Earlier in the season at Michigan International Speedway, all three Penske drivers finished inside the top 11.
Blaney believes the information gathered throughout the season could eventually translate into stronger performances at such tracks during the Chase:
“Hopefully all the work we’ve done of gathering information through the year, trying to get better pays off when we get to those tracks.”
Those results do not eliminate the concern, but they suggest Team Penske has been able to find improvements at times.
Ryan Blaney identifies Penske’s biggest Chase challenge
Team Penske’s recent results have given the organization reasons for optimism heading into the Chase. Ryan Blaney’s victory at New Hampshire came after he led 115 laps for his second consecutive win at the track. The result also helped him secure second place in the regular-season standings behind Denny Hamlin.
Joey Logano, meanwhile, has won twice during Penske’s recent surge and confirmed his place in the Chase at Loudon. Austin Cindric has also been consistent. He finished 12th at New Hampshire and enters the Daytona regular-season finale 44 points above the Chase cutline.
The Chase schedule also contains several short tracks that could suit Penske. World Wide Technology Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Darlington Raceway provide opportunities at venues where the organization has traditionally been competitive.
The bigger concern for Ryan Blaney’s team comes at the intermediate tracks. Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway, and Homestead-Miami Speedway are all 1.5-mile venues that will feature during the Chase. If Penske cannot close the gap to Toyota at those tracks, the deficit could become important over a 10-race championship battle.
Edited by Anurup Chakraborty