AVONDALE, Ariz. – Ryan Blaney climbed out of his No. 12 Team Penske Ford on Phoenix Raceway pit road Sunday and took a few minutes to himself, then hugged his fiancé Gianna and shook hands with his team – clearly exhausted mentally and physically after racing to a mere .330-seconds – the blink of an eye – away from a second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship.
It hurt.