As the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs approached last season, Ryan Blaney and his team were, as he looks back on it now, afterthoughts. The Team Penske driver had a lone victory in the win column to make him postseason eligible, but his group was far from the strongest of those looking at a championship run.
But the No. 12 team stepped up when it mattered most, going on a tear to end the 2023 season with two wins and three more top-six finishes in the last six races as Blaney was crowned champion for the first time.