“The Gibbs guys weren’t as good as I thought”: Ryan Blaney on JGR’s abnormal Loudon “struggles”

Ryan Blaney shared his thoughts on Joe Gibbs Racing's struggles at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Speaking about this in a recent podcast, the Team Penske driver shed light on Denny Hamlin and the rest of the JGR drivers' unnatural struggle at the Loudon circuit.

NASCAR wrapped up the first race of the Cup Series playoffs' round of 12 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Blaney ended up as the winner, as he finished the race ahead of Josh Berry. While Team Penske had a good outing with Blaney and Joey Logano (who finished in fourth place), it wasn't the same for Joe Gibbs Racing drivers.

JGR drivers such as Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Ty Gibbs did not get the results they expected. Bell, who started the race from 19th, came home in sixth. Briscoe started in 18th and finished in 10th place.

Hamlin started from 9th, only to finish his race in 12th. However, Gibbs, who started from the 13th, got wrecked by his teammate, Hamlin, and ended his race in 35th place. With JGR not having their strongest day and failing to put a single car in the top 5, here's what Ryan Blaney said in the recent Dale Jr Download podcast, with Dale Earnhardt Jr:

"The Gibbs guys weren't as good as I thought they're gonna be, whether it was new tires or what, they seemed to struggle a little bit more than they normally do at that place."

The second race in the playoffs round of 12, Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN Bet, will take place at the Kansas Speedway on Sunday, September 28, from 3 PM ET. So far, Ryan Blaney is the only driver to have punched his ticket to the next round of the playoffs.

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Ryan Blaney let his feelings be known after New Hampshire Motor Speedway race win

Ryan Blaney celebrates his NASCAR Cup Series Race win at New Hampshire - Source: Imagn

Ryan Blaney shared his thoughts after he won the 2025 Mobil 1 301 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Speaking about his victory, here's what he told NBC Sports after the race:

"Yeah, that was probably the hardest 20 laps that I drove. I was trying to kind of bide my stuff and kind of pull Josh a little bit. Then he really started coming, and I started to get super free. It was all I could do to hold him off, trying new lanes. That was good racing and clean racing. I appreciate Josh for not throwing me the bumper when he could have." "What a cool day. What a cool weekend. Super-fast car all weekend. Can't believe the 12 boys, they're unbelievable. Really have been strong through the playoffs. It's great to get a win, first race of this round," he added.

Thanks to the victory, he qualified for the next round of NASCAR playoffs. While Blaney is safe, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick, and Bubba Wallace are currently at risk of elimination as they are under the playoff cutline.

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Edited by Anisha Chatterjee