Ryan Blaney comes up one spot shy of Phoenix three-peat

A win on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway for Ryan Blaney would've been far more memorable than his victory in last year's season finale at the one-mile Arizona track, which was overshadowed by the battle for the championship. 

Blaney, who sat on the pole and led 51 laps in Sunday's Freeway Insurance 500, would've lifted himself to third in the series standings had he taken the checkered flag. Instead, he finished second, 0.801 seconds behind winner Tyler Reddick, and is fifth, 40 points behind Kyle Larson with three races left in the season. 

While not at all out of title contention, a win would've been massive for his hopes at a second Bill France Cup. 

Ryan Blaney was quick early at Phoenix before falling off

"I thought the first run of the race we were pretty good," Blaney told USA Network. "Had the yellow there, lost some track position. I didn't seem as good after that. I thought the 22 got good, the 20 got good. We just worked on our car really hard to get better, and we did, which was great. 

"Proud of the effort [of] everyone sticking with it all day. Just kind of fighting it out and giving us a shot to win it at the end. Just didn't have quote enough to chase down the 45. Gained a lot of points today, it's hard to get upset about that."

The final three races of the season line up well for Blaney, who is a three-time winner at Talladega, a two-time fall Martinsville winner and nearly won at Homestead in 2024. 

"Control what you can control," Blaney said when asked about Talladega. "It'll be a fun one. It's [the championship] definitely attainable now. We just have to keep going to work."

Blaney's pit crew, which struggled on Sunday and is the crew that Austin Cindric used during the regular season, will have to be on point through the next three races to give their driver a chance at the title. Blaney and Cindric switched crews after Blaney's team consistently lost spots on pit road through the first 26 races.