NASCAR
Top NASCAR Moments for Newest Cup Series Champion Ryan Blaney
Year number eight in the NASCAR Cup Series ends with third-generation star Ryan Blaney standing tall as king of the hill. Blaney has begun his year-long reign as champion, keeping the Bill France Cup in house at Team Penske. Fresh off this career-defining accomplishment, let’s take a look back at some of Blaney’s high points from his ascent up the NASCAR ladder.
2012 Virginia 529 College Savings 250 (Richmond)
Now more than a decade ago, a relatively unknown 18-year-old made his NASCAR National Series debut at Richmond Raceway. Driving the No. 36 Chevrolet for underfunded Tommy Baldwin Racing, nobody truly had any expectations for Blaney. The North Carolina native put the NASCAR world on notice that night however, putting the midpack team up inside the top-10, ultimately finishing seventh.
Across five more starts in the TBR car that year, Blaney would equal this result at the Bristol fall race. Coincidentally enough Blaney carried one of his current sponsors on board the 36–Advance Auto Parts.
2012 American Ethanol 200 Presented by Hy-Vee (Iowa)
Five months behind his Richmond breakout run, Blaney made his third career Truck Series start at Iowa. Driving the No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Dodge, Blaney earned this organization’s first victory. That September night saw Blaney start second, lead 50 laps, and beat Ty Dillon to the checkers.
Iowa was the first of four career Truck wins for Blaney, with one victory coming in four-straight seasons. Blaney’s two years running for the Truck Series championship saw points finishes of sixth and second. Runner-up to Matt Crafton in 2014 was Blaney’s best NASCAR title result, until this year.
Blaney will be one of a few drivers looking to add another Iowa Speedway trophy to his case when the Cup Series debuts here in 2024.
2013 Kentucky 200
Almost a year to the day after his Iowa win Ryan Blaney found victory lane again, this time in the Xfinity Series. Driving the famed Team Penske No. 22, Blaney put on a clinic at Kentucky Speedway. The Ohio-born driver dazzled fans at his home track, beating two-time defending Kentucky winner Austin Dillon by two seconds. The trophy was a Louisville Slugger, symbolizing Blaney hitting a grand slam that saw many people put Cup Series aspirations on his shoulders.
2017 Axalta Presents the Pocono 400
Despite finishing a respectable 20th in Cup Series points as a rookie, Ryan Blaney’s maiden campaign was largely overshadowed by Chase Elliott. Blaney would get the edge on Elliott in finding Cup Series victory lane though, with success coming in his sophomore season. At Pocono Raceway in June, a late restart with 13 laps left saw Blaney line up on Kyle Busch’s bumper. The No. 18 Toyota initially got a good jump, but the No. 21 Ford was not going away.
10 laps to go saw fresher tires prevail on the Wood Brothers Racing Ford; Blaney muscled his way past Busch and went into immediate defense mode. Blaney had to hold off not one but two of the brightest stars in the sport, with Kevin Harvick also all over his tailgate. I’d be remiss if I left out the fact that Blaney also lost all radio communication from his crew. A David vs. Goliath battle for the ages was a major throwback effort, with the driver having no outside help.
This June afternoon would play out in the young driver’s favor, keeping both Busch and Harvick from a first Pocono victory. Blaney’s first taste of Cup Series victory lane was also win number 99 for the Wood Brothers. Only adding onto this momentous occasion was Blaney’s best friend Bubba Wallace also making his Cup Series debut. Driving in substitution for the injured Aric Almirola, Wallace finished 26th in the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43. Both friends shared a heartwarming moment together on the cooldown lap and in victory lane.
Honorable Mentions
His first year in Team Penske’s No. 12 Ford, Ryan Blaney was largely an afterthought entering the 2018 Playoffs. The regular season saw him go winless, even with breakout runs in the Daytona 500, Martinsville, and both Bristol races. The ultimate unknown that was the inaugural Charlotte Roval would change this narrative though. After leaders Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. took each other out in the final corner, the 12 just squeaked by for a come-from-nowhere win. This propelled Blaney into the Round of 12, where he eventually finished 2018 at 10th in points.
2019 had much of the same story going for Blaney, being winless in the opening 26 weeks and entering the postseason as the 12th seed. Blaney once again silenced doubters in a clutch Playoff performance, this time in October’s trip to Talladega. After getting clear on an overtime restart, Blaney initially lost the lead on the last lap to Ryan Newman. The No. 6 wiggled though in turn three, allowing Blaney another big run. At the finish, Blaney was only about a foot ahead of Newman’s nose. This was the first of Blaney’s three victories so far at Talladega, including the most recent superspeedway race. 2019 helped cement Blaney as a drafting track ace, with the 12 seemingly always contending at Daytona and Talladega alike.
A year and a half ago could be seen as a precursor to Blaney’s huge 2023 results. The All-Star Race from Texas Motor Speedway saw driver 12 dominate its second half. Blaney seemingly had this victory secured, until he didn’t. A caution flew mere feet before the 12 took the checkered flag. This triggered an overtime restart, but Blaney made a catastrophic miscalculation. Thinking the race was over, Blaney took down his window net. On a wing and a prayer Blaney was able to jam it back into place, allowing it to remain up for two laps. Blaney eventually celebrated big with the $1 million check, shockingly his only victory of 2022. Shy of any points-paying win, 2022 was still seen as Blaney’s best championship shot yet.
2023 Cup Series Championship Race (Phoenix)
Without question Blaney’s crowning achievement in NASCAR has been winning the Bill France Cup. Earlier this month at Phoenix Raceway, Blaney was best of the Championship 4 and second overall in his title-winning performance. On the strength of three wins in 2023 and an incredible six-week stretch to close the year, Blaney walks away as the Cup Series champion.
“Oh, by far,” Blaney said at Phoenix when asked if this moment was his career highlight. “I mean, this tops everything, right? This is what you dream of as a kid. This is what you strive for; this is what you run 35 races a year for. To get to this moment, have a championship, you have to run a perfect race to get it.”
“Yeah, definitely a huge moment not only me, everybody involved in it. It’s way bigger than I am. I can’t thank those folks enough for doing what they do.”
Blaney was also asked if finishing second to take the championship bothered him at all. This was his third-straight runner-up finish at Phoenix. “I don’t give a s–t about running second three times,” Blaney said smiling. “Not now. I don’t care.”
Now with an entirely new platform as top dog, Blaney’s expectations for 2024 have elevated. It will be intriguing to see if he can add to his career high points list during his title defense season. The best moments may be yet to come for Ryan Blaney in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to Jared C. Tilton and Christian Petersen/Getty Images
