October 26, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

Ryan Blaney relishes reunion with Jonathan Hassler

Ryan Blaney had to learn the hard way that you don’t know what you’ve lost until it’s gone.

To lose crew chief Jonathan Hassler in the middle of the Playoffs has been nothing short of brutal. While Miles Stanley performed admirably in his substitute role, disrupting the core of the No. 12 Penske team proved difficult for the 28-year-old racer.

With only one race—the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway—to decide the four drivers who will contend for the 2022 NASCAR Cup championship, Blaney could not have asked for a better time to have Hassler back on the pit box.

“I’m really excited to have Jonathan back,” Blaney said on Wednesday. “Miles did a great job filling in for those four races—and then the over-the-wall guys who stepped in, they did fantastic. I couldn’t have thanked them more for the job that they did. But really excited about having Jonathan back, you get comfortable with somebody, working with them all year, right? Especially in our first year together, you continue to build on your language. He understands what I’m looking for. I understand what he likes to do. And you just build that trust.

“He and I just get along really well, pretty similar personalities. He’s a really hard worker. He’s an out-of-the-box thinker. He’s always thinking of new and better ways to find speed in cars and he isn’t afraid to try things that might make other people uncomfortable with. And I like that in somebody. It’s been a fun first year, building it up and I hope that it lasts for a long time.

Until the last three races in the Playoffs, the 28-year-old racer remained in the top three in the standings for most of the season despite not winning a race. But the wheels came off the bus—or at least a left rear wheel rolled off of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 17, resulting in a four-race suspension for Hassler, jackman Graham Stoddard, and rear tire changer Zachary Price.

After delaying the inevitable by appealing the penalty before the following race at Texas Motor Speedway, the crewmen served their sentences starting with the race at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 2. Blaney delivered a solid second-place result in the Yellawood 500, but finishes of 26th and 28th at the Charlotte Roval and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, respectively, sent the driver spiraling from second to seventh in the standings.

Last weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway, Blaney was in contention throughout the race. He even gained stage points in the first two segments but spun coming off of pit road. He dropped from third to 16th and never recovered. Blaney sits sixth in the standings, 18 points below the cutline.

“Those situations at Vegas and Homestead are all on me,” Blaney said. “There’s no ifs, ands, or buts or ways around it. It’s all on me making mistakes—and (Hassler) gets it. The biggest thing we talk about is, we win or lose as a team. If I make a mistake, they understand and if we make a mistake on pit road or a pit call, I understand as well. You put a lot of weight on your shoulders when you're the one making a mistake. You never want to be that person—making mistakes and letting everybody down.

“And this team doesn't deserve what's what I've done. The past couple of weeks they've brought really good cars and I've just let them down. So you know he and I talked about it really quickly, and then it's just full shift. You get over that. Learn from it. Move on full shift to Martinsville.”

Blaney couldn’t think of a better place to forge a comeback than Martinsville Speedway—a venue the third-generation racer considers his home track. In 13 Cup starts, the High Point, N.C. native has six top fives—including three podium finishes. In the new car, Blaney finished fourth in the spring. He was second on the speed chart during the Goodyear tire test in August.

“We've run really good there in the past, and probably given away two or three clocks,” Blaney said of the iconic trophy awarded to the race winner. “It would be nice to actually get one. So, big weekend for us, obviously. Hopefully, the driver does his job, unlike what he has been the last two weeks, and  try to put ourselves in position to try to win the race and get to dance.”

Having a calming voice such as Hassler’s should prove invaluable this weekend with a spot in the Championship 4 on the line. Blaney has never advanced past the Round of 8. After the last month, a redemption run at Martinsville could go a long way in assuaging the pain from the last three races.

“He does a great job of picking me up when (I’m) down like that and always getting (me) over to the upcoming event, what's the next challenge and forgetting about stuff and just refocus your brain on what’s next,” Blaney said of Hassler.

“If we get in, I’ll forgive myself but it’s hard. Everyone is tough on themselves when they make mistakes. You just have to learn from them. But yeah, I'll forgive myself if we get it. If not, I'll still be upset at myself.”