Team Penske Next Gen Mastery: In NASCAR’s landscape, the two-year-old Next Gen car remains a constant, despite several modifications by the sanctioning body in 2023. Notably, Team Penske maintained its stronghold on the Cup Series championship, with Ryan Blaney succeeding Joey Logano as the titleholder at the season finale held at Phoenix Raceway, surprising many within the sport.
Blaney’s ascendancy was unforeseen, particularly given his position as a non-favorite for the championship from the onset of the playoffs. Entering the playoffs with only one victory and limited top-five finishes over twelve races from June to August, Blaney’s journey to the championship seemed improbable. However, against expectations, he progressed to the second round, while Logano was eliminated in the initial stage. A turning point occurred for Blaney thanks to Penske’s strategic approach.
Team owner Roger Penske, at 86 years old, highlighted the pivotal shift in their methodology: “When we came to the race track the last several weeks everybody came the same way. Then they had a certain element that they had to test on their car because there’s very little testing, very little practice, and then that went into the notebook.”
Penske credited Blaney’s crew chief, Jonathan Hassler, for effectively leveraging insights gathered from the team’s drivers and collaborating with Harrison Burton of the Wood Brothers. This approach involved meticulous examination of various factors, such as tire pressures, aero dynamics, springs, and shocks.
The advent of the Next Gen car in 2022 reshaped championship dynamics, moving away from teams constructing special entries laden with intricate modifications. The transition to designated vendors for car parts altered the landscape, as highlighted by crew chiefs within the sport.
Cliff Daniels, crew chief for Kyle Larson, emphasized the shift: “Before you would be always massaging on your chassis and massaging on your body and all the suspension components. (Now) it’s a spec chassis, it’s a spec body, it’s spec suspension components. So those factors don’t come into play.”
Adam Stevens, a crew chief with considerable championship experience, acknowledged the stark contrast in the team’s approach with the Next Gen car, focusing on optimization rather than physical alterations: “We’re just optimizing to the best we can to pass their inspections, trying to push it to the limit in every single area.”
Team Penske’s focused efforts on Blaney became evident after Logano’s playoff exit. Hassler ensured uniformity among the Penske cars and meticulously prioritized improvements, leading to Blaney’s wins at Talladega and Martinsville and culminating in Team Penske’s fourth NASCAR Cup Series championship with a second-place finish at Phoenix.
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