Iowa win shows Ryan Blaney is in championship form as NASCAR hits halfway point

After a topsy-turvy start to the season left Blaney winless through the first 14 races, it seemed the St. Louis sun was finally going to shine on him at World Wide Raceway. For the first time all season, the No. 12 car showed winning pace. Unfortunately, the No. 12 car was a few drops short on gas, leaving Blaney with a 24th place finish. 

Blaney finished a solid seventh at Sonoma, but Sunday's dominant performance - in which Blaney led 201 of the race's 350 laps - is the second time in three weeks the No. 12 car has been the best in the field. 

Blaney is now locked into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, and with nine regular season races remaining, Blaney and crew chief Jonathan Hassler have nine opportunities to experiment with setups and strategies before NASCAR's postseason begins in September. 

Blaney was likely going to make the playoffs without a victory by virtue of points, but in the wild world of modern-day NASCAR, nothing is a guarantee. Blaney's victory not only ensures him a postseason berth, but also shows the No. 12 team is firing on all cylinders as the season heats up. 

Blaney has exhibited top-10 speed in three straight races and could have two wins in the last three races if he pitted one lap later in St. Louis. The results may not be championship caliber for Blaney at this point in the season, but the speed under the hood of the No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse is. 

With Iowa being run with NASCAR's short-track package - the same package run at Martinsville and Phoenix, the final two races of the season - Blaney's win at the 7/8 mile track proves he has speed at the two tracks that will ultimately decide the championship chase. 

If Blaney can stack up a few more playoff points before the playoff opener at Atlanta, he could be primed to make another deep run and take home his second consecutive Cup Series championship.