Ryan Blaney grabbed the spotlight Saturday at Watkins Glen International, unexpectedly taking the pole position for Sunday’s Cup race and overtaking the favored Shane van Gisbergen by a razor-thin margin. This Ryan Blaney Watkins Glen pole achievement sets the stage for a dramatic showdown, raising questions about whether he can convert this surprise into a breakthrough Cup Series win.
Blaney Tops Favorites in Tense Qualifying
The 2023 Cup Series champion from Team Penske delivered a standout performance, clocking a swift 1:11.960 lap after mastering the crucial Esses section. His lap narrowly beat van Gisbergen, the New Zealander known for his road course dominance, who posted a 1:11.993. For Blaney, the excitement of surpassing a favorite was evident as he recalled the pressure and focus of the moment.
I knew what Shane [van Gisbergen] ran in the first group. I knew you had to be probably in the low 72 [seconds], high 71s to get the pole. I knew I had a really good lap going.
—Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Driver
His effort ended Shane van Gisbergen’s streak of three straight road course poles and established Blaney as a top contender for this critical race. The gap, only 0.033 seconds, emphasized just how tight competition at this level truly is on road courses like Watkins Glen.
Battling Perceptions and Past Performance
Despite outpacing elite qualifiers, Blaney shared that he often feels like he’s racing in a different class compared to van Gisbergen. He candidly discussed that their race trajectories rarely intersect, illustrating just how far ahead SVG has been on road courses this year. Bubba Wallace, another well-known competitor, approached Blaney with a mixture of congratulations and levity, highlighting the pressure of living up to high expectations now that the pole is his.
One day at a time. I beat him one day. Ninety laps are going to be a little harder tomorrow to beat him but you gotta start somewhere, right?
—Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Driver
For Blaney, qualifying up front is only the beginning. Entering this weekend, he had not secured a top-10 finish in any of the year’s four road course events, nor has he finished in the top five on a road course since the Indianapolis Road Course race in 2021 over 21 starts. Notably, although he’s taken the pole before, a Cup Series win from that position has always eluded him.
Team Penske’s Road Course Rebuild
Throughout the season, Ryan Blaney and the entire Team Penske group have put considerable effort into improving their road course program. He pointed to challenging results at venues like Sonoma as moments of progress, even if the final standings did not reflect their potential. Blaney acknowledged that the entire team, including other drivers, shares a collective desire to strengthen their road course competitiveness and is seeing incremental gains.
We have been working really hard in our road course program. It is an area we aren’t as strong as we would like to be, and that is all of Team Penske,
—Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Driver
We have done a great job of that. I thought we had a great run at Sonoma, didn’t get the finish I thought we deserved. But that was a big step. I felt pretty decent at Chicago. So, we are creeping up on this road course thing as a group.
—Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Driver
Challenges From Last Year and Race Preparation
Last season, Blaney faced major setbacks at Watkins Glen, crashing out on the opening lap and leaving the No. 12 crew with no recent race data to utilize. This forced the team to lean on practice notes and historical data while preparing for this year’s event, complicating their approach but offering a renewed sense of determination.
Trying to prepare for this weekend, we didn’t really have any race notes to talk about,
—Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Driver
He explained that focusing on recent practice sessions was the only way to identify and address performance issues. The team’s resilience in the face of last year’s disappointing showing fueled their commitment to improvement.
That was our best comparison to race pace and qualifying pace kind of trickled into that. It was a rough weekend last year. Like the two days were brutal and everyone’s confidence was pretty down. A huge props to everyone on our group on digging in and figuring out how we get better.
—Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Driver
What Blaney’s Pole Means for the Cup Battle
As Sunday’s race approaches, questions loom about whether Ryan Blaney can break his winless streak from pole and crack the upper echelon on a road course. With Team Penske’s collective push for improvement and past difficulties at Watkins Glen still in recent memory, this Ryan Blaney Watkins Glen pole is not just a hopeful sign for Blaney’s championship ambitions but also an indication of renewed strength for the entire group. With the Cup Series field tighter than ever, all eyes will be on Blaney to see if this upset can signal a long-awaited victory on one of the series’ most challenging layouts.
