Ryan Blaney wrapped up his Chase outing with a finale win, but it was his crew chief who took his first sigh of relief as the convoluted format finally came to an end. While the NASCAR circuit has always been demanding with 36 races each year, the return of the brutal 10-race Chase format tested even the most seasoned skill force in the paddock. Blaney’s crew chief, Jonathan Hassler, had to endure the worst of it: Blaney’s frustration both on and off the track. While drivers suffered the wrath of the Chase format, Hassler drew on just how maddening it is for the teams behind the scenes too.

Reflecting on the No. 12 driver’s Chase season during the post-race press conference in Homestead-Miami, an exhausted Jonathan Hassler asked the media to turn to his wife instead upon being asked how gruesome the format has been.

“Yeah, you can ask my wife,” said Hassler. “It’s been the hardest season, probably to date. You know you’re racing every single race to try to elevate yourself all ten weeks of the Chase; the points add up. Darlington was just as important as Homestead, so it’s been tough. But you know this team has fought to the bitter end, and we are going to continue to get better and hopefully be up on the bigger stage next year.”

Ryan Blaney entered the Chase as the No. 2 seed behind Denny Hamlin with a 2,075-point tally and three wins to his name. The Team Penske driver’s Ford had the pace and performance, but reliability issues, execution errors, and on-track misfortunes dictated his campaign.

While the No. 12 driver delivered strong results across six races, his high-contrast below-30th-place finishes in the other four races ultimately cost him a potential title win. This adds up perfectly to Hassler’s comment on why every race mattered.

When NASCAR reintroduced the Chase in 2026, it did so to establish a straightforward points system, getting rid of the win-and-in aspect of the playoffs. The Chase demanded consistent results not just during the 10-race title hunt, but also during the regular season.

Unlike the playoffs, which guaranteed drivers a seat in the championship fight, the Chase selects the top-16 drivers from the regular season and re-seeds the standings. This ensures that no driver is eliminated unless they are mathematically out of contention. The 2026 Chase season had seven drivers in contention till round seven in Phoenix.

But the Chase has also revealed how the pressure of delivering consistent results affects the team and crew just as much as the driver. With a gruesome battle for points unfolding across different tracks, teams have to work day in and day out to bring the right package to the right races.

This gets more complicated if the driver brings the car home with damage or major repairs, which further increases the garage’s responsibility to fix the car within days of the next outing.

For Hassler, his task was plain and simple on paper: keep Ryan Blaney in contention and give him the best tools to deliver consistent results over 10 races. However, sticking to the plan wasn’t easy. In reality, he had to ensure that Ryan Blaney not only had a competitive car and the right strategy to fight on, but also that the crew could execute a clean race while bringing the right package to the tracks for all 10 races.

The Team Penske driver started strong with a 4th-place finish in Darlington. But a Brake rotor failure in Gateway, followed by a pit-road violation and later contact with Carson Hocevar in Bristol, saw Blaney finish 35th and 33rd. His frustration turned into a post-race physical altercation with Carson Hocevar in Bristol.

The next four races brought his strongest results in the format as he finished 5th in Kansas, 5th in Las Vegas, 3rd in Charlotte, and 2nd in Phoenix. But the momentum did not last long, as Talladega’s ‘Big One’ ended his race on lap 132.

Heading into the final triple header, the 2023 Cup Series champion was still in contention when he arrived in Martinsville. But Josh Berry’s brake-checking maneuver on Ryan Blaney ended the latter’s title-contention hopes as he finished 35th.

While 2026 was not the first time Blaney got painfully close to a title win and lost out, his reaction revealed how frustrated he was to lose the opportunity again. The Team Penske driver missed out on his second consecutive title win in 2024 to teammate Joey Logano and only returned as a contender in 2026.

However, his seasons were plagued with multiple DNFs over three years that cost him his chance to dominate and fight for his second title. What started as seven DNFs in 2024 went to eight the following year and carried forward with six DNFs in 2026.

While Ryan Blaney walked away from the title Chase hunt with his only win coming at Homestead-Miami, his crew chief has admitted there is room for improvement and that the garage is planning on coming back stronger next year.