With Ryan Blaney Deal Done Now Pressure Builds On Penske Teammates

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 30: 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Ryan Blaney, and team owner, Roger Penske of Team Penske pose for photos with the Bill France NASCAR Cup Series Championship trophy prior to the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Music City Center on November 30, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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“We’ve enjoyed a tremendous relationship with Team Penske, and we’re excited to continue that partnership for the future,” said John Menard, President and CEO of Menards. “Ryan and Austin Cindric have both done a tremendous amount for our brand, vendors and our customers, and they represent us with professionalism and passion. Team Penske shares our dedication to excellence, and we look forward to achieving more success together on and off the track.”

For his part, Blaney has become exactly what Penske hoped he would be—and perhaps a bit more. Like his father, Dave Blaney, he’s carved out a reputation as both a fan favorite and a legitimate title threat. Though, if we’re being honest, the mustache has probably done as much for his popularity as the trophy cabinet recently. It is, depending on who you ask, either “glorious” or something that looks like it should come with a sheriff’s badge.

“Roger’s commitment to me and my career has been something a race car driver could only dream of,” Blaney said. “Not only getting the opportunity in the first place but sticking with me through the highs and lows for more than a decade. To still be a part of Team Penske—the wins, the championships, the people—and continuing to grow my career with the unwavering support of Roger and the entire organization has been the opportunity of a lifetime. We’re going to keep pushing to deliver more wins and championships, and to do that with the support of John Menard and the Menard family is truly an honor.”

So yes, the speculation can now be put to bed. Blaney isn’t going anywhere.

Which means, naturally, the spotlight swivels to the rest of Penske’s garage.

Joey Logano, the elder statesman of the trio, has been with the team since 2013. In that time, he’s amassed 35 wins, captured the 2015 Daytona 500, and delivered three Cup Series championships, the most recent in 2024. His own contract extension, signed in 2022, keeps him in place through 2028.

Ryan Blaney's mustache is either “glorious” or something that looks like it should come with a sheriff’s badge. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

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But lately, things have been… less imperial. Logano is winless so far this season, and while there have been flashes—two top fives, a pole at Phoenix—there’s also been frustration. His last victory came at Texas early last year, and his most recent trip there ended not with a trophy, but with a wrecked race car and a long walk back to the hauler.

Which brings us to Cindric.

Cindric’s path has been similarly intertwined with Penske, joining the organization in what was then the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2018 and delivering a championship in 2020. His Cup resume, however, is still a work in progress: three wins, though one of them, the 2022 Daytona 500, carries the sort of weight that makes up for a lot of quiet Sundays.

He revealed in 2023 that he had signed a contract extension earlier that year, though the length remains something of a mystery. And while his father, Tim Cindric, holds a senior role within the Penske organization, NASCAR has never been a place where family ties alone guarantee job security. Results still matter. They always have.

That said, Penske’s empire has long been built on stability rather than knee-jerk reactions. It’s one of the reasons it’s lasted this long and won this much. So the idea of a sudden change, particularly with Cindric, would raise more than a few eyebrows.

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: (L-R) Team owner Roger Penske, Austin Cindric, driver of the #2 Discount Tire Ford, and crew chief Jeremy Bullins celebrates in the Ruoff Mortgage victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series 64th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 20, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

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For now, though, everything remains neatly in place.

Blaney, and his increasingly legendary mustache, sits comfortably at the center of it all, looking every bit the franchise cornerstone, seemingly walking on water. Logano is searching for a return to form. Cindric is searching for consistency.

You do get the sense that if Cindric suddenly showed up next weekend with a mustache of his own, it might not hurt his chances though.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com