Ryan Blaney to make 300th career Cup Series start at Texas Motor Speedway

This weekend is major for Ryan Blaney in more than one way. The NASCAR Playoffs start the Round of 12 and Blaney is making start 300. At 29 years old, Blaney joins a list of great drivers who were able to achieve their 300th Cup Series start before they turned 30.

Ryan Blaney will be the fifth youngest driver to achieve his 300th start in the NASCAR Cup Series. He is the 100th different driver in NASCAR history to ever reach that milestone and he’s showing no signs of letting up.

Only Joey Logano (26), Kyle Busch (27), Richard Petty (28), and David Ragan (29 years, 4 months, 10 days) were able to hit this benchmark at a younger age. Blaney (29 years, 8 months, 23 days) will enter Sunday’s race with more on his mind than this achievement, though.

A milestone weekend. pic.twitter.com/mjXqNSbNLC

— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) September 21, 2023

Texas Motor Speedway is a chance to make a big statement in these playoffs. He was solid, but not amazing in the Round of 16. Finishes of P9, P12, and P22 like he had in the first three races are not going to cut it moving forward.

Blaney is more than happy to head back to Texas, a track he won at in 2022 and one where he has finished in the top 10 for the last seven races at the track. In 16 starts, Blaney has 10 top-10 finishes and six of those were top 5s.

If Ryan Blaney and his team are going to make a splash in these NASCAR Playoffs, these three races are when they do it. He’s won on all three of these tracks and has run very well at each of them even when he doesn’t win.

Ryan Blaney has a chance to advance to Round of 8

A year ago, Blaney was P4 and P2 at Texas and Talladega. It propelled him into the Round of 8, where he suffered mightily. This is the time to make moves and to try and advance ahead of other drivers who might be a threat to make the Championship Four.

P4 and P2 at Texas and Dega in 2022 really helped him out. He would go on to finish P28 and P17 at Las Vegas and Homestead which sank his chances of making the Championship 4. Not to mention, Christopher Bell’s walk-off win and Ross Chastain’s Hail Melon at Martinsville.

This is the time of the season when Blaney has good performances. Looking back through his results over the years, the Round of 12 is his spot. He has top-5s and top-10s throughout these races. There almost always seems to be a race or two when he finishes in the 20s or 30s.

Ryan Blaney will make his 300th Cup Series start when the green flag drops at Texas. It might be his way to propel himself to the Round of 8.