Team Penske Not Taking Anything for Granted with Two Cars in Championship 4
The writing is on the wall, Team Penske, which won Sunday's Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway with driver Ryan Blaney, seems to be cruising to a third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship as the organization will field the cars for two of the four Championship 4 contenders next weekend at Phoenix Raceway. The two drivers, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano, have won each of the last two championships, and those titles were achieved in races that were contested at the 1-mile oval in Avondale, Arizona.
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However, as the team embarks on a trip to the West Coast, they aren't resting on their laurels.
"I think every year stands on its own. But I think we were in this situation four years ago. Brad and Joey were in the Final 4, and Chase Elliott won the championship," Walter Czarnecki, the team's Executive Vice President said in a Monday Championship 4 Team Representatives Availability. "Tyler Reddick is going to be tough, William Byron is going to be tough. Perhaps it has been overstated, but this group of 8, this Round of 8 was arguably one of the most competitive ever. So, we're not taking anything for granted. It's great to have two in the Final 4, that improves our odds of winning, our percentage, and our chances of winning. But we were in that situation four years ago, and it didn't happen. So, we're going to go there with the intent of racing the race track, and try to walk away with a championship."
Team Penske, which has fielded a full-time organization in the NASCAR Cup Series since the 1991 season, has always been one of the juggernauts in the sport. However, Roger Penske and the team scratched and clawed their way for 21 years before finally achieving a NASCAR Cup Series championship for the first time in 2012.
Now, the organization is on the cusp of three consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championships, and four over the last seven seasons, which would only further the legacy of Team Penske in NASCAR and motorsports overall. While the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff format has served as the great equalizer for many, Team Penske has truly found its stride in the win-and-advance format adapted in 2014.
"I did look at some stats, and I think in this new format, we've been in the Final 4 I think eight out of the 11 years. Which, to me, is pretty amazing," Czarnecki said. "But I had no idea we had that kind of performance facing us. But we'll just take it one race at a time, I know that's perhaps a cliche, and forgive me for saying it. But one race at a time, and that's the way we're looking at Phoenix, and if we accomplish it, that'll be great."
In addition to having drivers like Logano, and Blaney who seemingly rise to the occasion when the chips are on the table, Team Penske has benefitted from an incredible level of continuity within the ranks of its staff for years.
"Our unfair advantage is the people," Czarnecki detailed. "We've got a group of people that have been together for a long time. We don't change the starting lineup very often. It doesn't happen."
The executive says he can point to a moment in time 10 years ago as the complete turning point which morphed Team Penske from a team contending for race wins to being a perinneal championship threat.
"I think a real turning point in our program began probably 10 years ago when the engineering group, and the manufacturing group, and the competition group all got together and started talking to each other," Czarnecki noted. "If you've seen the way our shop is set up, they all work together all the time. We've also been able to have people like Travis Geisler, who has experience as a crew chief, as an engineer and now being our competition director. We've had people like Michael Nelson, again has come up through the organization and understand all facets of the sport, and they're always talking to each other. But the quality of the individuals is really important, and I think it goes back to the people that we've hired and created an environment for those people to stay."
While it has two drivers battling for the championship, the team will not stand in the way of any battling between Logano and Blaney when it comes to this weekend's race at Phoenix.
"No team orders," Czarnecki said.
He continued, "I know that Joey and Ryan are going to be 110%. They both want it. I saw Joey. He came over to Victory Lane last night to congratulate Ryan. They're great friends off the track, and it's going to be fun to watch. But we're going to give them the best possible equipment, each of them, and it's going to be up to them to do the rest."
Will Team Penske pull off another championship run this weekend at Phoenix Raceway? That remains to be seen, but the organization is carrying momentum in the form of a Logano win in the opening race of the Playoffs Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and a Blaney win this past weekend at Martinsville Speedway. They just have to keep it rolling, and execute against two formidible competitors in Tyler Reddick and the No. 45 23XI Racing team and William Byron and his No. 24
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.