Blaney ready to challenge dominant Joe Gibbs Racing in NASCAR Cup playoffs at New Hampshire

New Hampshire Motor Speedway is back in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs for the first time in eight years, which means Ryan Blaney is back in his happy place.

“I love the area itself, and there’s something about the northeast that I really enjoy,” Blaney said. “You get into September, and the leaves are changing, so I always enjoy the looks of it driving to the racetrack. And the crowd atmosphere there is always fantastic.”

The Team Penske star is hoping the omnipresent foliage around the track nestled in the countryside of Loudon, N.H., might dovetail with a turning of the tide in the 10-race run to the Cup championship.

Joe Gibbs Racing dominated the first round of the playoffs with wins by Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell. In the three-race sweep, JGR’s Toyotas led a combined 757 of 1,107 laps at Darlington Raceway, World Wide Technology Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway.

“Certainly, we’re feeling good,” Bell said Saturday. “Joe Gibbs Racing has asserted themselves as the powerhouse team in the sport right now, so we’re loving life. We know we’re in a good spot, and we’re just trying to keep the ball rolling.”

New Hampshire is another prime opportunity as the three-race second round begins Sunday at the 1.058-mile oval.

Since the 2022 debut of the Next Gen car, JGR drivers have won every race and stage at the track known as “the Magic Mile.” Toyotas also have led 83% of laps the past three seasons at New Hampshire, which had played host to races from mid-June to early August since its most recent playoff race in September 2017. Bell has won two of the past three at the track, including a June 23, 2024, overtime victory.

“I was definitely excited when the schedule came out, and I saw that Loudon was getting a playoff race,” Bell said. “It made me very optimistic. You need to start the rounds with a positive race, and certainly this is a place that we should lead laps and contend for the win.”

JGR has placed at least one car in the top two of the past 13 races at New Hampshire, the longest streak for a team at any Cup track.

Blaney is winless at New Hampshire but qualified second last year and is confident of his team’s chances.

With consecutive fourth-place finishes, his No. 12 Ford has an average playoff finish of 8.67 that ranks second among the 12 title-eligible drivers. Having dealt with little turnover since winning the Cup title in 2023, Blaney said his team has become a “well-oiled machine” seeking its third consecutive berth in the Championship 4.

“I feel like our group just keeps getting better and better every year,” Blaney said. “Everyone is extremely confident in themselves and their ability. We’ve had the belief that we can do it the last three years, and it’s really fun to be part of a group like that. Everyone is clicking together.”

Blaney has 16 top-10 finishes, tying Bell and Kyle Larson for the series lead. He will start second behind pole-sitter Joey Logano, who led a top-three sweep for Ford in qualifying.

The three-time Cup Series champion enthusiastically celebrated his 33rd career pole position and second this season after turning a 29.159-second lap (130.622 mph) in the No. 22 Ford on the 1.058-mile oval.

It’s the first pole for the Middletown, Conn., native at New Hampshire, which was the site of his first career Cup win in June 2009.

“Man, it’s my home track,” said Logano, who also won at New Hampshire in 2014. “It feels so good to run well here. Hopefully, we’re able to capitalize.”

Josh Berry, whose No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford has a competitive alliance with Penske, qualified third. Tyler Reddick qualified fourth, and William Byron was fifth as playoff drivers took four of the top five starting spots.