By J.D. Hellman

Ryan Blaney is poised to become NASCAR's next superstar with this week's announcement that he'll drive a third car in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2018 for Team Penske.

It's not like Blaney couldn't continue his forward progress with Wood Brothers Racing, for whom he's driven full-time in the last 56 races.

But while Wood Bros. Racing continues to grow and improve, Blaney is a better fit with Team Penske.

Actually, Blaney never left Team Penske, which he signed with as a developmental driver in 2012. He was essentially loaned to the Wood Bros. with heavy input from Ford, who wanted the young driver to get some quality Cup experience.

Blaney earned his first Cup career win last month at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, PA -- which also hosts this weekend's race -- giving WBR its 99th career Cup win. He still hopes to give the legendary organization its 100th win before he returns to the Penske fold.

And don't be surprised if Blaney does in Sunday's Pennsylvania 400 what Dale Earnhardt Jr. did in 2014 at Pocono: capturing both races there.

Blaney has flown under the radar since he moved to the Cup level. While so many media and fans have been focused on Chase Elliott, Blaney has toiled almost in silence.

At the same time, he's gained a great amount of experience and seat time -- and beat Elliott to that first Cup career win, something Elliott is still chasing.

With Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano as teammates, coupled with his familiarity with Team Penske over the last five years, Blaney is far ahead of another driver who might come to the organization cold and with no prior familiarity.

On Wednesday, Blaney took part in a teleconference that discussed his return to the Team Penske fold in the No. 12 Ford Fusion.

Here's a few excerpts from Blaney's and Team Penske President Tim Cindric's comments:

Q. Ryan, how does it feel to be joining Team Penske? Is it a little bittersweet because you have to leave the Wood Brothers?
RYAN BLANEY: "Yeah, it's been nice to be with the Penske group since 2012, ever since I got into the NASCAR scene, to be building on something that was the main goal, you know, in the future. It's obviously what we aspired to do ever since we got here. It's pretty neat to accomplish. Yeah, I would say it's been a little bittersweet. It's been great to drive for the Wood Brothers for 2 1/2, going on three years now. It's been a lot of fun to get to know them and everything that they've done in sport, just to hear the history of it. It's nice we're going to keep an alliance with them, stay really close to that team. It's nice to be able to drive the 12 car and bring Penske a third in-house car. That's really special, to drive for Roger Penske. It's definitely something I'm looking forward to."

Q. Tim, it's obviously the understanding it was always the desire to bring Ryan back underneath the Penske umbrella. What was the timeline for when this became realistic for 2018?
TIM CINDRIC: "Good question. It's been seven years really since we've been able to put together a third-car program. From the minute we shut down the 77 car back in 2010, it was always our goal to ensure if we added a third car, it was one we felt like was going to actually compete at the front. That was our first prerequisite, getting to the point where we felt like we had a program that could, yeah, win races. Ryan has been able to spend the time in the Cup Series, has good experience with the Wood Brothers, obviously won a race already in the Cup Series. So we felt like the timing was right now. The moons aligned to where things came together on all fronts. That was really the catalyst, was to be sure that we had kind of a front-running driver that we were ready for, I guess, what we'd call our team. Obviously, there's always the business side of it. We feel like all those things are in place too."



Q. Tim, I know the long-term plan was probably to bring Blaney back. How much did his performance, the way the fans connected with him, and the young gun kind of culture, did that make a difference on your time plan?
TIM CINDRIC: "Yeah, for us, it's the first time that we've been able to see we've tried a couple young drivers here to a certain extent. But to have Ryan start out with us, run some XFINITY races, ARCA races, Truck races with Brad, then the Wood Brothers as a partial season, a couple full seasons, I think if we were able to write a script for where you want somebody to be at this point in their career, I think it's worked out really well for both of us. He certainly should be proud of what he's been able to accomplish, how he's been able to adapt to the changing times. There's more than just driving a race car, as you know. You got to do all the other things that go along with it, especially in our environment. You have to adapt to the current culture that's there. He's been able to do all those things in a very short period of time. Certainly happy to be here and see him have the opportunity to get into the 12 car."

Q. Ryan, were you always sort of figuring the time would be right when it was right, they'd call you back? Or did you already know the plan early on? What are the challenges you'll have, even though it's kind of one big group, to move back?
RYAN BLANEY: "Obviously the main goal when I started was I wanted to drive in the Cup Series for Penske. That was my goal when I started in 2012 when I was just driving Brad's truck. Obviously, that's the main goal ever since you're a kid. Once you get to that level, I didn't really know what the timeline was going to be or what the plan was going to be. I just kind of went with what we would figure out year after year, whether it was driving Brad's trucks, in 2014 when I did Brad's trucks full-time, or '15 when I did nothing full-time, I just did some partial schedule stuff, to the full-time with the Wood Brothers the past few seasons. I just kind of went with everything. I knew that the plan was, you know, going to open up eventually. But I was just nice and thankful for the opportunities to get to drive for some great teams and meet some great people along the way. It's nice that it ended up kind of where it started, for sure. That definitely makes me feel good. But I don't think, to answer the second part of your question, there will be any difficulties really. The Wood Brothers, Penske group, we've worked really well together the past couple of years. Brad and Joey and everybody on the Penske side pretty much already made me feel at home. Really, the whole Wood Brothers group makes them feel at home. I think that's what makes our bond really strong. I don't think really there will be any difficulty transferring to the Penske car full-time."

Q. Ryan, considering what Brad and Joey have done in the Penske cars maybe versus what you were following when you went to the Wood Brothers, do you think there's more expectations on you performance-wise starting next year?
RYAN BLANEY: "I don't necessarily think so. I felt like our expectations were held fairly at a high level because we had a great alliance with the Penske group. I think it was just held up there pretty close to what the 2 and 22 are capable of doing. Maybe a little bit lower than them because I was a rookie and I was kind of just getting started in it. But I definitely don't feel any added pressure moving in-house or feel like we have to live up to Joey and Brad. I feel like we do the best we can as a team, just like we're doing this year, and I think we'll be just fine. I don't feel that way. I think we just go out and do what we always have done. I think we'll be just fine."

Q. Ryan, I imagine for a young racer, it feels pretty good to have your two jobs with the Wood Brothers and now with Penske Racing. Talk about that.
RYAN BLANEY: "It's been special to be with two of the most iconic teams and owners in NASCAR. That's been pretty great to be a part of and get to know the history of each team, from the Wood Brothers to the Penske side. Not even on the NASCAR side with Mr. Penske, from the IndyCar side, even anything outside of motorsports, or the sports car side. It's been neat to know the bandwidth he's had. Just to really get to know somebody like that is special to me. I've been really lucky to drive for two great teams and get to know some great families and great people along the way. Kind of growing up in the sport, I looked up to teams like this: the Wood Brothers and the Penske organization. To drive for them is definitely something that I would always want to do as a kid. It's really nice to be able to be in a spot to do that."

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