- Ryan Blaney has signed a contract extension with Team Penske.
- Blaney says he owes the team a lot.
- Comes amid No. 12 pit crew and Ford’s overall struggles through the season.
Ryan Blaney signed a long-term extension to remain with Team Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series, the organization announced Wednesday. Team Penske also confirmed a multiyear renewal with Menards, extending one of the sport’s longest-running partnerships.
What makes the extension stand out is the backdrop surrounding it. Ford has spent much of this season searching for answers, while the No. 12 pit crew has faced scrutiny after a string of costly errors. Yet, despite the smoke around the campfire, Blaney has planted his flag with Team Penske for the long haul.
Ryan Blaney says he owes Team Penske a lot
Ryan Blaney, the 2023 Cup champion, has driven Roger Penske’s No. 12 Ford on a full-time basis since 2018, though his ties with the organization stretch back to 2012, when he made part-time starts in Penske’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series program. And he stated that the organization has given him a career and a home in the garage.
He said, “I will be there for the foreseeable future. Really excited to get that done. It’s hard to believe I walked in the doors over there in 2012 and a young 18 19 year old kid and for someone like Roger Penske to give me an opportunity was a dream come true and to be able to drive for him for as long as I have is just unbelievable. So, I really appreciate everything that they’ve done for me everything that Ford has done for me.”
“So, I’m excited to be part of the family for the foreseeable future and looking forward to trying to go continue win races, contend for championships for RP and that whole organization. So I owe them a lot. And really, at the end of the day, I couldn’t foresee myself being anywhere else. They’ve been an unbelievable group and a family to me and have given me all the opportunities in the world. And I try to give back whenever I can… So I owe them a lot. And we’re going to keep going,” Blaney told SiriusXM NASCAR.
Since joining the Cup program in 2018, Blaney has not finished lower than 10th in the standings. Over the last three seasons, he claimed his first Cup title in 2023, finished runner-up in 2024, and closed last season in P6 despite winning the finale at Phoenix.
From third to 20th…
This season, Blaney has one win at Phoenix, along with two top-five finishes and seven top-10s. Yet the extension comes at a time when the No. 12 crew has been under the microscope.
Just two weeks ago, after the Bristol race, NASCAR Insights ranked the No. 12 crew 35th out of 36 full-time entries in season-long pit metrics. Blaney still finished second but lost 11 spots on pit road, while the crew ranked 30th for the race.
In addition to that race, pit road nearly turned Phoenix and Darlington runs upside down for the No. 12 team. At Darlington, while running near the front, Ryan Blaney was hit with a loose lug nut on the left rear during a stop, forcing an extra trip to pit road early in Stage 2.
He stopped in teammate Austin Cindric’s stall for repairs, but NASCAR sent him to the rear for pitting outside his box. In the blink of an eye, he dropped from third to 20th and surrendered track position.
Blaney fought back through the field and still salvaged a top-five finish. The trouble had already surfaced earlier at Phoenix. A loose tire midway through Stage 2 forced Blaney into another stop while running second. The wheel remained attached, sparing the team from a harsher penalty, but the added stop buried him from second to 24th.
He clawed his way back to P9 before another caution flew after Chase Briscoe hit the wall. Under yellow, another loose wheel issue emerged, forcing Blaney into Joey Logano’s stall for tightening work. That triggered another penalty for pitting outside the box, sending him to the rear again.
At Martinsville, however, the crew finally kept the ship steady, avoiding mistakes and delivering another top-10 result.
Ford’s issues this season stretch far beyond pit road.
The manufacturer has spent much of 2026 fighting an uphill battle tied to the Mustang Dark Horse body and shortcomings in aeromapping for race traffic.
Todd Gordon has stated that Ford faces an aerodynamic disadvantage with its current body and is already working toward changes for next season. Kevin Harvick echoed those concerns, pointing to the car’s struggles in dirty air, where the platform becomes tight and difficult to rotate in traffic.
Ryan Blaney has managed to stand apart because of his ability to handle a looser setup than most drivers, allowing the front end to rotate better in traffic.
Ford entries have shown speed in clean air, collecting two poles early in the season, but the problems begin once they fall into traffic. Drivers have repeatedly noted that the cars tighten up behind competitors, making it difficult to hold track position over long runs.
There is also a growing belief that Ford trails Chevrolet and Toyota in simulation data. With practice sessions limited, teams now rely heavily on simulator work, and Ford drivers have spoken about operating within a narrow setup window, leaving little margin for error on race weekends.
In 2023, when manufacturers introduced nose tweaks, Chevrolet and Toyota rounded their nose angles, while Ford went in the opposite direction with a sharper approach. Since then, the manufacturer has spent much of its time trying to dig itself out of the hole.
New system rewards consistency over timing
The manufacturer has also dealt with a drain of teams in lower divisions, including the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, where Ford currently fields no full-time championship-eligible drivers. That lack of representation cuts into data collection and weakens the development ladder.
The shift back to a points-based Chase format in 2026 has only magnified those cracks. The removal of the “win-and-you’re-in” rule has hurt organizations such as Team Penske, which previously thrived by striking at the right moments rather than stacking consistency week after week.
Joey Logano’s season reflects that problem the most. Under the old format, he mastered the art of flipping the switch at the right time, turning short bursts into titles. But with the new system rewarding consistency over timing, the holes in Penske’s week-to-week form have become harder to hide.
Ford also operates with a single engine supplier in Roush-Yates. When the package misses the mark, the pain spreads across the board. RFK Racing, meanwhile, continues rebuilding from years of instability that plagued the organization before Brad Keselowski’s arrival.
