Four races remain in the Cup Series regular season. This is the time when teams want to heat up for a playoff run, something that the No. 12 Team Penske group has certainly achieved.
"Gosh, we've done our homework since Charlotte and figured out how to compete with the Hendrick boys and the Gibbs guys, 23XI. We're right there," Ryan Blaney said after winning at Pocono.
This comment is telling for Blaney, who dealt with some struggles early in the season.
Blaney posted three top-five finishes in the first four races of the season but then he finished 33rd or worse at Texas Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway. There were concerns about the No. 12 team -- and Team Penske in general -- heading into the summer stretch, but all three drivers have since won races.
Blaney, in particular, was in position to win at World Wide Technology Raceway before he ran out of fuel on the last lap. Teammate Austin Cindric won the race. Blaney rebounded by winning at Iowa Speedway two weeks later.
He has since added another win at Pocono while posting six total top-10 finishes since Charlotte. This includes a third-place finish at Indianapolis to take the team into the Olympic break.
"I feel like the last two months we've been spectacular," Blaney said. "Speed in our cars has been great. A couple finishes might not reflect that. It's really none of our doing. Gateway we had a great shot to win, didn't really work out. New Hampshire, had a great run, got spun out.
"I am really feeling good about the speed in our cars right now across the board at Team Penske. I feel like we've found a lot of stuff."
This season has been significantly different than Blaney's championship campaign. His first win last season was the Coca-Cola 600, a race in which he led 163 of the 400 laps. Blaney and the No. 12 team then struggled during the summer with four finishes of 30th or worse.
The start of the playoffs marked a change for Blaney and his team. He made it through the Round of 16 with performances that were good enough and then he moved through the Round of 12 with a win at Talladega.
Blaney then punched his ticket to the Championship 4 with a win at Martinsville. A second-place finish at Phoenix secured the first Cup title of his career.
"I feel like the summer last year we struggled a little bit just trying to find some things that would work for us come playoff time," Blaney said. "I had to sit around all summer and hear that people say that we suck. We didn't want that this year."
Blaney and his team were more consistent heading into this season's Olympic break, which set them up to make another push to close out the regular season. They have four more opportunities to win races and lock up some playoff points. Two of these opportunities take place at Michigan and Daytona, tracks where Blaney already has Cup wins.