Ryan Blaney won Sunday’s championship race at Phoenix, even though he was not a championship contender. He admitted that he struggled with restarts throughout the day, making his victory on the final overtime restart all the more surprising. After the race, Blaney spoke with renowned journalist and NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck, who shared their conversation on X (formerly Twitter).
“It’s ironic we won it on a restart, because we were terrible on restarts all day,” Blaney told Gluck, according to the journalist’s post.
In 2023, Ryan Blaney became the first champion in NASCAR Cup Series history to not win the grand finale. That year, Ross Chastain took home the coveted race win. Two years later, Blaney flipped the script by returning the favor to Kyle Larson, the 2025 Cup Series champion.
“It’s nice to finally get in Victory Lane here after being so close for a number of years. Those things kind of stick in your brain a little bit,” Blaney said to reporters after the race. “We’ve had a shot to win at these certain places a handful of times, but we haven’t really been able to get the job done.”
Rounding out the top five were Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch. Denny Hamlin, who entered the race as the longest-tenured driver without a championship, finished sixth.
### Next Up: The Daytona 500
The drivers will now turn their focus to the 68th running of the Daytona 500, scheduled for February 15, 2026.
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### Ryan Blaney Weighs In on Denny Hamlin’s Phoenix Outing
Denny Hamlin was the most dominant driver at Phoenix all day. He won the pole, led a race-high 208 of 312 laps, and also claimed victory in Stage 2. However, Hamlin fell victim to the unforgiving nature of the current playoff format—a sentiment Ryan Blaney shared empathy for.
Hamlin will turn 45 soon, and with most drivers retiring in their late 40s, his window to win a championship is closing. Blaney recognized that Hamlin’s speed, strategy, and execution were unmatched throughout much of the race.
“Yeah, you do have to feel for that group and Denny,” Blaney admitted. “Doing a good job all day, it not playing out for him.”
“But that is racing. It sucks sometimes. They can hang their head about it, but they should be very proud about the effort they put in today. They had the fastest race car here. Just one of those things where it doesn’t work out,” he added.
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### Kyle Larson: A Historic Champion
Hendrick Motorsports icon Kyle Larson is now a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. He made history as the first driver in the 11-year existence of the elimination-style playoffs to win the title without leading a single lap.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/nascar/news-ryan-blaney-talks-ironic-aspect-phoenix-victory
