Ryan Blaney weighed in after the recent clash involving Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs at New Hampshire, using the moment to stress how Team Penske drivers prioritize respect on the track. Bringing up last year’s finale at Phoenix, Blaney explained that despite intense competition with teammate Joey Logano for the championship, their battle was free from aggressive tactics, fitting with the principle of clean racing that defines his team. The Ryan Blaney clean team racing philosophy was clear as he described their commitment to sportsmanship even in high-stakes scenarios.
Notable Contrast with Recent Teammate Disputes
During the Loudon race, Blaney engaged in a close contest with Josh Berry, who drives for Wood Brothers in technical partnership with Penske. Both drivers pushed to the finish without resorting to contact or causing controversy, an outcome that stood in sharp contrast to the aftermath of the incident between Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Hamlin and Gibbs. Blaney, speaking on The Dale Jr. Download, stopped short of criticizing others directly but made the Penske approach clear by comparison.
“I think our team all the Team Penske and the Wood brothers we work better than anybody else together like any other team I feel like our communication line from the drivers engineers crew chiefs is 10 times better than everybody else and I just speak on that just because I don’t I got buddies in other teams and we kind of compare and it’s like well like we do a little bit more.”
— Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Driver
Penske’s Clear Expectations for Competition
“But a great example is Joey and I raced for the championship last year at Phoenix. Same comp meetings, same discussions. How are we both going to be better? Like nothing changed. That’s your competition, but we’re trying to figure out how do we run one two in this deal. Roger doesn’t care who runs first or second. He just wants to run first and second. And that’s just how it’s always been.”
— Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Driver
Blaney elaborated that if three Team Penske drivers find themselves near the front, Roger Penske’s only instruction is for them to strive for a one-two-three finish. There are no orders about who should win, but the mandate is non-negotiable: teammates must avoid incidents with one another. While the internal competition remains fierce, the critical rule is to compete cleanly and not risk the team’s collective outcome with unnecessary aggression.
What This Means for NASCAR’s Competitive Environment
The stance taken by Blaney and Team Penske underscores how deliberate, team-wide standards can influence behavior even during the tensest moments of a championship run. For Ryan Blaney and his colleagues, clear communication and mutual trust are central to maintaining both competitive edge and respect among teammates. As conflicts like the Hamlin-Gibbs incident bring scrutiny to other teams, the Penske model of clean racing may stand as an example for others amid NASCAR’s high-stakes battles.
