Ryan Blaney joins expanding Team Penske for 2018

Ryan Blaney will leave Team Penske’s affiliate, Wood Brothers Racing, to join an expanded Penske organization that will add a third full-time Monster Energy Cup Series car for the 2018 season. Concurrently, the Wood Brothers announce Paul Menard will replace Blaney as driver of its No. 21 car while maintaining its existing association with Penske.

Blaney will drive the No. 12 Ford and signed a multi-year contract extension with the team owned by Roger Penske. Sponsorship will be announced at a later date.

Menard, who moves over from Richard Childress Racing, will bring sponsorship from his family-owned Menards home improvement store chain.

“This is a huge opportunity for me and my career,” Blaney said. “I’ve always enjoyed racing whatever car I was in and trying to win each and every race. I’ve had some great moments with both Team Penske and the Wood Brothers over the last few years. I know for a fact I wouldn’t be where I am today without Roger, Eddie and Len (Wood) and the opportunities their organizations have given me.”

As part of the alliance enacted in 2015 between the two organizations, Penske loaned Blaney to the Wood Brothers, which also receives cars, parts, and technical data from Penske. Blaney has driven full-time for the Wood Brothers since 2016, after a part-time schedule the year prior. The relationship saw the Wood Brothers effectively operate as a third Penske team.

The 23-year-old Blaney is considered one of NASCAR’s rising stars. He has one win, seven top-five finishes, and 18 top-10s in 74 career Cup Series starts. He currently ranks 12th in the regular season points standings and won his first Cup race at Pocono Raceway in June, virtually assuring himself a spot in the 16-driver playoffs.

Blaney’s current crew chief, Jeremy Bullins, will switch with him to Penske. Greg Erwin, who has experience as a Cup crew chief and currently holds that position with Penske’s Xfinity Series team, will move to the Wood Brothers to replace Bullins and work with Menard.

The Blaney addition gives Penske a robust lineup in the short term and long term with Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski each recently signing multi-year contract extensions. Logano, 27, has advanced to the four-driver, single-race championship playoff round twice in the past three years; Keselowski, 33, won the 2012 Cup championship. Penske previously fielded three cars full-time in 2010.

“For some time now, we have wanted to bring Ryan in to run a third car for us, but things just needed to make sense from a timing and business perspective,” Roger Penske said. “We have been working on making this a reality and 2018 is the right opportunity to make this move and return our organization to a three-car team. The benefits of having three full-time teams under our roof, along with the continued technical partnership with the Wood Bothers, will help us remain competitive in the ever-changing NASCAR landscape.”

Menard has one win in 383 premier division starts, the 2011 Brickyard 400, and qualified for the playoffs in 2015. His family company is also a sponsor of Penske’s IndyCar team, a relationship that factored into Menard joining the Wood Brothers and moving under the Penske NASCAR umbrella. He will also drive select Xfinity races for Penske.

Menards will serve as sponsor of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford in 22 races. The remainder of the team’s 2018 sponsorship will be announced at a later date.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time in NASCAR and as a Cup Series driver, but to get the chance to drive the iconic No. 21 for the Wood Brothers is the coolest thing I’ve ever got a chance to do,” Menard said. “Ryan has done a fantastic job and is a constant threat to run up front. Hopefully, we can do the same thing and keep the momentum going into 2018 and beyond.”