“[Ryan Blaney’s pit crew] hasn’t been great, you know, from a speed start speed on pit road this year. Their ranking has been awful,” Kevin Harvick said on his Happy Hour podcast after the Martinsville race, outlining their struggles compared to teams like Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing. And that didn’t exactly sit quietly in the Penske garage. But instead of dodging the criticism, Ryan Blaney stepped up with a calm, measured response that told a very different story.
Ryan Blaney stands firm with his crew
“We didn’t want to make any changes, like we wanted those guys to just keep working on it and keep doing what you’re doing. And let’s just try to refine it because I think they have potential to be one of the best crews on pit road. It’s just a matter of, you know, refining everything they’re doing and just kind of straighten some things out, so I’m proud of the effort they made.”
That was Ryan Blaney pushing back. And no, it was not with frustration, but with belief.
On paper, the criticism isn’t unfounded. Despite sitting second in the drivers’ standings, Ryan Blaney’s pit crew ranks a shocking 35th out of 36 teams this season. Early races were riddled with issues, including costly loose wheel incidents that directly impacted results. In a sport where seconds matter, those mistakes likely cost Blaney even stronger finishes.
Sitting 2nd in the standings, Ryan @Blaney speaks on the No. 12 pit crew performance thus far this season.
“They’re working on the brink of perfection […] we didn’t wanna make any changes. We wanted those guys to just keep working on it.”
More → https://t.co/MKhd9eLpQA pic.twitter.com/aDFnHemRjj
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) April 6, 2026
But instead of hitting the panic button, Team Penske chose patience over reaction. Rather than shuffling personnel or making drastic changes, the focus stayed on improving chemistry, including the timing, communication, and trust of the members involved.
And at Martinsville Speedway, that approach finally started to pay off. The No. 12 crew delivered one of its cleanest performances of the year, showing real signs of progress under pressure. This isn’t a group lacking talent either. With crew chief Jonathan Hassler leading the charge, alongside jackman Landon Honeycutt and tire changers Keiston France and Zach Price, the pieces are all there.
Now, it’s about putting it together consistently. Because if Martinsville was a glimpse of what this team can be, the next test at Bristol Motor Speedway could say a lot about whether this turnaround is real or still a work in progress.
A shocking moment that still sticks with Blaney
While Ryan Blaney was busy defending his crew on track, he also shared a story off it that caught a lot of people off guard. And honestly, it explains a lot about what he won’t be doing during his off weeks. Like most drivers, Blaney tries to keep things normal when he’s away from racing: spending time with family, handling chores, and just resetting.
“I was frozen on this thing for probably five seconds, and then it threw me off of it,” he said. “I was on my feet to my back like instantly, and as quick as I went to my back, I was up walking in circles like I had an energy, jolted, I didn’t know what happened, like it was so weird.”
The incident happened after a race when Blaney was plugging in a trailer and accidentally touched a damaged cord. What followed was something he clearly hasn’t forgotten.
“My dad saw me disappear when I hit the floor. And then I was up walking around. He’s like, ‘What happened?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know. I think I just got shocked,’” Blaney added. “I don’t want to touch that ever again. That was terrifying. Ever since then, I have a little bit of a, not a phobia for electricity, but I don’t like working with electricity very much.”
It’s a rare glimpse into the human side of a driver who’s used to controlling chaos at 180 mph. However, not everything is that easy to shake off. And while Ryan Blaney joked about handling most chores himself, it’s safe to say anything involving wires is probably getting passed off to someone else.
