Ryan Blaney was on the wrong side of a last-lap pass in last season's playoff race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Five months later, he returns to the 1.5-mile track this season with a fresh opportunity to finally get that South Florida win.
Blaney was in a position to achieve this goal last season while also punching his ticket to the Championship 4. He was in the lead on the final lap of the Round of 8 race, with Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin behind him.
As Blaney entered the final turn, he moved down to the middle of the track. Reddick remained inches from the wall and used the momentum to pass the 2023 Cup Series champion on the outside. Reddick won the race and locked up a spot in the Championship 4 while Blaney settled for second.
TYLER REDDICK PASSES RYAN BLANEY IN THE FINAL CORNER!
HE WINS AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI AND IS GOING TO THE NASCAR CHAMPIONSHIP! pic.twitter.com/GtgwGyY6jb
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 27, 2024
"Last year, that was driver error of not doing my job on the last lap and you just try to look back on those things as far as that scenario of what would I do different," Blaney said about last season's race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
"But as far as our approach of the car and things like that, I think we've done a really good job the last two years."
The Team Penske driver has been strong at the 1.5-mile Florida track since 2020 when he crossed the line third behind Hamlin and Chase Elliott. He finished second at the track in 2023 after leading 53 laps, and he finished second last year after leading 47 laps.
Blaney also raced inside the top 10 throughout the 2022 playoff race before spinning on the pit road outlet during the final stage. He finished 17th.
"It's just a matter of trying to keep putting yourself in position to win that race," Blaney continued. "I'd like to win there. That's a tough place to win at and we've had a good shot the last two years. We just need to put it together."
This weekend presents Blaney with yet another opportunity to win at the high-speed intermediate track. The stakes are lower considering that this is a spring race instead of a playoff race, but that would not diminish the importance.
After all, the 2023 Cup Series champion continues to seek his first win of the season, one that would punch his ticket back to the playoffs. He is seventh in the standings after the first five races, but locking up a win would put him in a position to better chase points as the regular season progresses.
Blaney also aims to rebound from a dreadful weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that featured a crash in practice, an issue on pit road, and a race-ending crash after the field went four-wide.