Ryan Blaney facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ryan Blaney
Blaney at Martinsville Speedway in 2023
Born	Ryan Michael Blaney (1993-12-31) December 31, 1993 (age 30) Hartford Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, U.S.
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight	165 lb (75 kg)
Achievements	2023 NASCAR Cup Series Champion 2023 Coca-Cola 600 Winner 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race Winner 2018 Can-Am Duel Winner 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Winner 2020 GEICO 500 Winner 2010 CRA Southern Six-Pack Champion 2011 PASS South Super Late Model Series Champion
Awards	2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Most Popular Driver
NASCAR Cup Series career
306 races run over 10 years
Car no., team	No. 12 (Team Penske)
2023 position	1st
Best finish	1st (2023)
First race	2014 5-hour Energy 400 (Kansas)
Last race	2020 FanShield 500 (Phoenix)
First win	2017 Axalta presents the Pocono 400 (Pocono)
Last win	2023 Xfinity 500 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 10 131 9
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
70 races run over 8 years
2019 position	83rd
Best finish	22nd (2015)
First race	2012 Virginia 529 College Savings 250 (Richmond)
Last race	2019 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 (Darlington)
First win	2013 Kentucky 300 (Kentucky)
Last win	2018 My Bariatrics Solutions 300 (Texas)
Wins Top tens Poles 7 57 3
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career
58 races run over 4 years
2015 position	81st
Best finish	2nd (2014)
First race	2012 UNOH 200 (Bristol)
Last race	2015 WinStar World Casino & Resort 350 (Texas)
First win	2012 American Ethanol 200 (Iowa)
Last win	2015 UNOH 200 (Bristol)
Wins Top tens Poles 4 40 5
Statistics current as of November 5, 2023.

Ryan Michael Blaney (born December 31, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske. He is the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion. He is the son of former NASCAR driver Dave Blaney and the grandson of modified dirt track racer Lou Blaney.

Racing career

Early racing career

Blaney's 2011 ARCA car at IRP

A third-generation racer and son of then-Cup Series driver Dave Blaney, Blaney started his racing career in quarter midget racing, winning his first race at age 9; he also competed, and won, in Bandolero cars at a young age. Moving up to Legends cars at age 12, Blaney won the Lowe's Motor Speedway Young Lion's Winter Heat Point Championship, as well as in three divisions of the Carolina Fall Nationals in quarter midgets.

At age 14, Blaney debuted in late model racing at Orange County Speedway, while in 2009, at age 15, he began competing in the Pro All Stars Series (PASS)-sanctioned South Super Late Model Series, finishing second in points and winning the series' Rookie of the Year award; he finished third in the PASS national points as well. In addition, he won the Eastern Grand Nationals quarter midget event in Huntsville, Alabama.

Blaney's 2011 PASS car at North Wilkesboro

Continuing to compete in the PASS South Super Late Model Series in 2010, Blaney scored his first career win in the series at Dillon Motor Speedway, adding wins at Greenville-Pickens Speedway and Newport Speedway on his way to a second consecutive second-place finish in the PASS South championship standings. Blaney also competed in the Champion Racing Association (CRA)-sanctioned Southern Six Pack series, winning the series championship for 2010. Returning to the PASS South Super Late Model Series in 2011, Blaney won two races in the series, at Dillon Motor Speedway and Ace Speedway, winning the series championship.

For 2012, Blaney would return to the PASS Super Late Model Series in the Carswell Motorsports No. 98 car.

NASCAR

K&N Pro Series and ARCA (2011–2013)

In 2011, Blaney made his debuts in the ARCA Racing Series and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and East in 2011, scoring top ten finishes in every start in the three series; he won his first career NASCAR race in the K&N Pro Series West season finale at Phoenix International Raceway winning by over two seconds in his only series start.

For 2012, Blaney, who had won praise from Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick for his driving skills, returned to the K&N Pro Series East, running six races for family-owned DB Racing, driving the No. 10 car.

Xfinity and Trucks (2012–2015)

In addition, Blaney signed with Tommy Baldwin Racing to compete in six NASCAR Nationwide Series races, driving the No. 36 SealWrap-sponsored Chevrolet, starting at Richmond International Raceway in April. Blaney qualified in the Top 10 in his debut at Richmond International Raceway, and finished seventh in the race.

In July 2012, Blaney announced that he had signed a contract to drive for Team Penske a minimum of three races in the 2012 Nationwide Series season, starting at Iowa Speedway in August. He also ran selected races in the Camping World Truck Series for Brad Keselowski Racing, finishing sixth in his debut in the series at Bristol Motor Speedway. Blaney won his first career Truck Series race on September 15, 2012, at Iowa Speedway; at the time, he was the youngest winner in Truck Series history at 18 years, eight months, and 15 days. The previous record was 20 years and 18 days set by Kyle Busch in 2005.

Blaney's 2013 truck at Rockingham

Blaney returned to the Camping World Truck Series in 2013, driving the full schedule for Brad Keselowski Racing and competing for the series' Rookie of the Year award. Blaney won his first career pole in the series at Kentucky Speedway in June, then won his second career Truck Series race at Pocono Raceway in August. Blaney also competed in the Nationwide Series at Iowa Speedway in June, substituting for Joey Logano after a rainout created a schedule conflict; Blaney finished ninth in the event. Blaney competed in a second Nationwide Series race in 2013, at Kentucky Speedway on September 21, and led 96 of the race's 200 laps to win his first career race in the series, beating Austin Dillon and Matt Crafton. Blaney was the only race winner in the 2013 Nationwide season to not have any Sprint Cup experience.

In January 2014, Blaney announced that in addition to a full Camping World Truck Series schedule with BKR, he would be running 15 Nationwide Series and two Sprint Cup Series races for Team Penske during the year.

Blaney drove the No. 29 truck full-time for Brad Keselowski Racing. He had many Top 10 but failed to win in the spring. However his year's turning point was at Dover in late May 2014, when he came up short to Kyle Busch who beat him by 0.5 (one car length) seconds for the win. After the race, Blaney was one of the drivers who said that because Kyle was winning a lot in the truck series, that the Cup series drivers should no longer race in any division besides the Cup series.

Blaney's 2015 Xfinity car at Road America

Blaney won his second career Nationwide race in August 2014 at Bristol Motor Speedway, beating Kyle Busch in a green-white-checkered finish. The next week, Blaney won his first Truck race of 2014 spectacularly at Ron Fellows' own Canadian Tire Motorsports Park raceway, edging German Quiroga by 0.49 seconds in a photo-finish.

In 2015, Blaney began his Xfinity Series schedule at Las Vegas in the Boyd Gaming 300. After leading two laps, he was briefly in contention for the win. After spinning out fellow driver Erik Jones late in the race, Blaney restarted the final restart in eighth place. Despite this, he drove from eighth to second in the final 21 laps. Though he caught up to race leader Austin Dillon with three laps to go, Blaney was unable to force his way by Dillon. Blaney finished second to Dillon by a three-car-length winning difference. He nearly won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Xfinity race, finishing second to Kyle Busch after being passed on the final lap. He won at Iowa and nearly won at Road America in his debut at the track. He again won at the Kentucky standalone race in September beating Ty Dillon on a late-race restart. Blaney got his second top 10 of his career in Sprint Cup at Kansas for the Hollywood Casino 400 finishing seventh.

Cup Series (2014–present)

Team Penske (2014)

2014: Limited exposure

In January 2014, it was announced that Team Penske would open a third car, the No. 12, for Blaney to make two starts in during the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. He made his debut at Kansas Speedway, finishing 27th. His second start would come at Talladega in the fall, where he would notch a 22nd-place finish.

Wood Brothers Racing (2015–2017)

2015: Part-time conquest

In August 2014, it was announced that Blaney would run twenty Sprint Cup Series races for Wood Brothers Racing in the No. 21 Ford during the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Blaney performed well, picking up his first Top 10 at Talladega in the GEICO 500, running as high as second and finishing fourth. He didn't qualify for three races due to rainouts. He would pick up a seventh-place finish in the fall at Kansas, and would end the year with 15 starts in total.

2016: Rookie year and first full-time season

Blaney during practice for the 2016 Pure Michigan 400

Blaney began competing full-time in the Cup Series in 2016 with the Wood Brothers despite the team being excluded from NASCAR's new Charter system implemented before the 2016 Cup series season. He got his third Top 10 of his career at Las Vegas, finishing 6th. Before the race at Auto Club Speedway, Blaney and close friend Bubba Wallace drove together from Phoenix to Fontana and stole the headlines one evening when they took over NASCAR's Snapchat account and filmed themselves mimicking drivers such as Carl Edwards, Danica Patrick, and Paul Menard. Blaney picked up more top tens at Phoenix, Talladega, Dover, and Pocono for a successful first half of the season with his best finish being a fifth at Kansas. At Chicagoland, Blaney ran well all day and for the final restart, he gambled and stayed out, and got the race lead. However, on the restart Martin Truex Jr. would get past him easily due to having fresher tires and would go on to get the win, and Blaney would finish 4th. He would put up a fight for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award, but would lose to Chase Elliott.

2017: Breakout season

Blaney celebrating after winning the 2017 Axalta presents the Pocono 400

In 2017, fellow single-car team Go Fas Racing announced that they would loan their charter to the No. 21 Wood Brothers team, guaranteeing Blaney a spot in every race of the 2017 season. During the Daytona 500, Blaney, despite being caught up in an early wreck, charged from 5th on the final lap to place second to Kurt Busch. Blaney had a better race in April at Texas Motor Speedway, qualifying second to Kevin Harvick. He then passed Harvick early in the race to lead the next 148 laps and win the first two stages. However, a late-race pit stop error cost Blaney the race. He recovered from his mishap and finished 12th. At Kansas, Blaney won his first career Cup Series pole. The race was primarily a duel between him and Martin Truex Jr. After battling Truex for 3 restarts, Truex pulled away to win the race while Blaney finished fourth.

In June, he won his first career Cup race at the Axalta presents the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway. After passing Kyle Busch with 10 laps to go, he held off Harvick to claim the victory, qualifying him for the playoffs. On July 26, Blaney announced he would be moving to Team Penske's new No. 12 car for the 2018 season. At the end of the regular season, Blaney entered the playoffs ninth in points, courtesy of his win at Pocono and three stage wins.

During his playoff run, Blaney made it into the Round of 8, highlighted by a third-place finish in the Round of 12 race at Kansas, despite having to start last after his car failed post-qualifying inspection. Blaney then scored consecutive top-ten finishes at Martinsville and Texas, but despite winning the pole for the Round of 8 finale at Phoenix, he faded outside of the top ten by the end of stage one. He rebounded to secure eighth by the end of stage two, but could not improve his standing on the track, ultimately finishing the race in 17th and being eliminated from the playoffs. Blaney wound up finishing 29th in the season finale at Homestead-Miami, securing a ninth-place finish in the final Cup Series standings with his one win, four top fives, 14 top tens, four stage wins, and two poles. His ninth-place points finish was also the highest for a driver for the Wood Brothers since Morgan Shepherd finished sixth in the final Cup standings in 1994.

Team Penske (2018–present)

2018: Tough luck at Daytona and Roval win

Blaney after winning the 2018 Bank of America Roval 400

For his tenure at Team Penske, it was announced that he would enter a primary sponsorship deal with John Menard Jr. and Menards, which sponsors the team's IndyCar operations. He also would bring over personal sponsorship from BodyArmor sports drink. Blaney would win his Can-Am Duel and was a favorite to win the Daytona 500. He would lead the most laps on the day, spending 114 laps, over half the race, leading the pack. He would go on to finish seventh after contact with Kurt Busch late in the race forced him to pit for repairs.

Blaney would win the pole at Las Vegas, and win a stage at Martinsville, and appear to have the car to beat early on at Bristol, but would be involved in a large crash near the end of stage one. Blaney would once again fall short at Kansas and would blow an engine in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. Blaney would win another pole at Pocono and would finish in the top-ten; He would do the same the following week at Michigan. Returning to Daytona in July would not be kind to Blaney, as he could not replicate his success from the 500, being caught up in The Big One and finishing in last place.

A run of good finishes to round out the summer stretch, none lower than 15th, would put Blaney in the playoffs despite going winless in the regular season; as he managed to put together a strong coalition of five top-fives, 12 top-tens, and five stage wins. Blaney would run solid at Las Vegas and Richmond, putting him barely over the cutoff line going into the Bank of America Roval 400 at the Charlotte Roval. He would find himself in third on the last lap, when leaders Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson wrecked each other going into the final chicane. Blaney passed both to score his first win of the season and his first win with Team Penske. The win advanced him to the Round of 12, where he would be eliminated after the fall Kansas race and finished the season tenth in points.

2019: Consistent winning form

Blaney racing at Texas Motor Speedway in 2019

Blaney remained consistent within the top 10 in points in 2019. At Watkins Glen, he spun Jimmie Johnson out of contention, leading to an argument between the two after the race. The animosity between them lasted until Michigan a week later. At the Charlotte Roval, Blaney finished eighth to advance to the Round of 12. Blaney won the Talladega fall race in a photo finish of 0.007 seconds over Ryan Newman and advanced into the Round of 8, despite an early spin onto pit road. Despite finishing third at Phoenix, he was eliminated in the Round of 8.

2020: Early playoff exit

Blaney's No. 12 car at Michigan International Speedway in 2020

On the final lap of the 2020 Daytona 500, Blaney would give a push to leader Ryan Newman, sending him into the outside wall and into a violent crash. Blaney would go on to lose the race to Denny Hamlin in the second-closest finish in Daytona 500 history. Blaney would later say that the incident had taken a tough toll on him mentally, and that speaking with Newman on the phone after his release from the hospital was a key factor to helping him become at peace with it. Blaney would crash out at Phoenix, and have mediocre runs at both Darlington races before two back-to-back third places in the double header races at Charlotte would pave the way for a consistent streak. He would dominate early at Bristol, leading 60 laps, before a wreck with Ty Dillon would result in a last place finish. For the next four weeks, Blaney would record three straight top-fives, capping it off with a win at the GEICO 500, where he would defeat Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 0.007, his second photo-finish win at Talladega.

He had transmission issues at Kentucky, forcing him to drive through the turns one-handed because his car kept jumping out of fourth gear. Nonetheless, he held the lead for a small part of the final lap but hit a drain on the apron, finishing sixth. Blaney would lead the most laps at Texas and finish fourth at Michigan, putting up a strong coalition of runs going into the playoffs.

Blaney made the playoffs with his win at Talladega, but was eliminated in the Round of 16 due to mediocre finishes at Richmond and the Bristol Night Race. Blaney would put up a strong fight at the end of the season despite his elimination.with three top-fives and two-top tens in the last five races of the season, with a highest of second at Martinsville. Blaney would finish the season ninth in points.

2021: First multi-win season

Blaney in the No. 12 at Darlington Raceway in 2021

During the 2021 season, Blaney won at Atlanta and Michigan, scoring his fifth and sixth career wins in the series respectively. The Atlanta win was emotional for Blaney as it came 20 years after his dad almost won the same race, only to lose because of a broken wheel. For the first time in his career, Blaney had back-to-back wins after he won the last race of the regular season at Daytona International Speedway the following week. Both wins gave him his sixth and his seventh career wins. After only winning four races in the five seasons before 2021, Blaney captured three wins in the cup Series regular season. He went into the 2021 Cup playoffs as the second-seeded driver with three wins on the season behind Kyle Larson, who had five wins. Blaney made it to the Round of 8 before being eliminated after Martinsville. He finished the season seventh in the points standings.

2022: Winless

Blaney in the No. 12 at Martinsville Speedway in 2022

Blaney started the 2022 season with a fourth-place finish at the 2022 Daytona 500. Despite scoring no wins in the first 13 races, he stayed consistent with four top-fives and six top-10 finishes. He also won the 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race. Despite being involved in a multi-car crash on lap 31 of the regular season finale at the Daytona night race, Blaney rallied to finish 15th to clinch the 16th and final Playoff spot of the season, beating Martin Truex Jr. by three points. Blaney was eliminated following the Round of 8 after finishing third at Martinsville. Despite being winless, he finished the season eighth in the points standings.

2023: Championship season

Blaney's No. 12 car at Sonoma Raceway in 2023

Blaney started the 2023 season with an eighth-place finish at the 2023 Daytona 500 despite getting caught in a wreck early. Blaney found himself within striking distance of the win at Phoenix a few weeks later, but would finish second after a late restart. At Bristol in April, Blaney would be his Cup teammate, Joey Logano's spotter for the Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt. Logano would win his Heat Race and the Main Event. He would lead the most laps at the GEICO 500 at Talladega, but would finish second to Kyle Busch on an overtime restart after a bad block from Bubba Wallace. He would finally break his 59-race drought by winning the 2023 Coca-Cola 600, doing such in a dominating fashion by leading the most laps and winning a stage. A sixth-place finish the next week at Gateway would put Blaney on top of the points standings.

A poor performance the next week at Sonoma was followed by a scary moment at Nashville; Blaney had a violent impact into the inside wall of Turn 1, that would leave him with concussion-like symptoms. He would later go on to say that he felt it was the hardest impact he has felt in his entire racing career. Blaney urged NASCAR to install a SAFER barrier on the wall that he impacted, a sentiment that was echoed by NASCAR's Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer. Two weeks later at Atlanta, Blaney would win stage one and finish second in stage two. He was one of several drivers attempting to stay in the lead until a caution for rain would come out, but would end up finishing ninth. The remainder of the summer stretch was mediocre for Blaney with two more ninth-place finishes at Michigan and Watkins Glen being his only top-tens. In the regular-season finale at Daytona, Blaney would make a charge to the front late in the second stage, but would crash out from the lead after Ty Gibbs was turned by Christopher Bell, causing The Big One.

During the playoffs, Blaney advanced through the first round after solid runs at Darlington and Kansas, earning stage points in both. Blaney was caught up in an accident with 12 laps to go at Texas, putting his hopes of advancing to the Round of 8 in jeopardy. Blaney would win his way into the next round at Talladega, in a photo finish with Kevin Harvick, the margin of victory being 0.012 seconds. He finished sixth at Las Vegas, but was disqualified after post-race inspection discovered a left-front damper that did not meet specifications; as a result, Blaney dropped to last-place and the bottom of the Round of 8 cutoff line. NASCAR later rescinded the penalty and restored Blaney's points after an issue was found with the damper template. At Martinsville, Blaney was in a must-win situation to make the Championship 4. He would trade the lead back and forth with Denny Hamlin for most of the race, but would win stage two and hold off a late charging Aric Almirola to get his third win of the season, and lock himself into the Championship 4.

The season finale at Phoenix would be a fierce competition between Blaney, Bell, William Byron, and Kyle Larson. Blaney would run in the top ten for the majority of the race, but an early brake failure for Bell allowed Blaney to get a big run on the Hendrick teammates. On Lap 277, Blaney would slam into the rear end of leader Ross Chastain to go three wide for the race lead, but a late spin by Kyle Busch would bunch up the field for a final restart with 30 laps to go. Larson and Blaney would duel for position for nearly eleven laps before Blaney would pass Larson for second place with 20 laps to go. He would hang on to finish second, clinching the 2023 Cup Championship.

Personal life

Blaney is the only son and middle child of Lisa and Dave Blaney. He has two sisters: Emma and Erin; Emma is married to driver Cale Conley, while Erin is in a relationship with William Byron. Blaney is of Irish descent. He is a close friend of fellow drivers and competitors Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, and Chase Elliott, and an avid Star Wars fan.

Blaney has multiple tattoos, including a Star Wars inspired piece on his right leg, a sprint car on his left side, and the #10 in red on the left side of his chest in tribute to the number he ran most often growing up.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Cup Series

Daytona 500

Xfinity Series

Camping World Truck Series

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points
^† In 2012 Blaney switched from Nationwide to Truck Series points at Atlanta Motor Speedway in August.

K&N Pro Series East

K&N Pro Series West

Whelen Modified Tour

ARCA Racing Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Superstar Racing Experience

(key) * – Most laps led. ¹ – Heat 1 winner. ² – Heat 2 winner.

See also

In Spanish: Ryan Blaney para niños