Ryan Blaney facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ryan Blaney |
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Blaney at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2025
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| Born | Ryan Michael Blaney December 31, 1993 Hartford Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, U.S. |
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| 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 10th driver in history to win a NASCAR race in all 3 national series at the same track (Iowa) 2011 PASS South Super Late Model Series Champion 2010 CRA Southern Six-Pack Champion 2009 Eastern Grand Nationals Champion |
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| Awards | 2009 PASS South Super Late Model Series Rookie of the Year 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Most Popular Driver |
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| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 363 races run over 12 years | |||||||
| Car no., team | No. 12 (Team Penske) | ||||||
| 2024 position | 2nd | ||||||
| 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 | 2025 Cracker Barrel 400 (Nashville) | ||||||
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| 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) | ||||||
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| 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) | ||||||
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| Statistics current as of July 21, 2025. | |||||||
Ryan Michael Blaney (born December 31, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He races full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series for Team Penske, driving the No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
Ryan comes from a family of racers. His dad, Dave Blaney, was a NASCAR Cup Series driver, and his grandpa, Lou Blaney, raced on dirt tracks. Ryan started racing very young. He won his first quarter midget race at age 9. By age 15, he was competing in the Pro All Star Series and earned the Rookie of the Year award.
Blaney began his NASCAR journey in 2011 and 2012. He raced in a few events in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series. In 2013, he had his first full season in the Truck Series. He finished 6th in points and won the Rookie of the Year award. The next year, he almost won the Truck Series title, finishing 2nd.
He made his Cup Series debut in 2014. In 2015, he joined Wood Brothers Racing part-time. He then raced full-time for them in 2016 and 2017. In 2017, Blaney got his first Cup Series win at Pocono Raceway. He finished 9th in the final standings that year.
In 2018, Blaney moved to Team Penske to drive the No. 12 car. Since then, he has always finished in the Top 10 in the Cup Series standings. He won the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship. In 2024, he nearly won again, finishing 2nd to his teammate Joey Logano. Blaney also won the 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race. He has 14 Cup Series wins, including the important 2023 Coca-Cola 600.
Contents
Racing Career Highlights
Early Racing Days
Ryan is a third-generation racer. He started in quarter midget racing and won his first race at age 9. He also won races in Bandolero cars. At age 12, he moved to Legends cars. He won championships at Lowe's Motor Speedway and in quarter midgets.
At 12, Blaney started racing late models. In 2009, at age 15, he joined the Pro All Star Series (PASS). He finished second in points and was named Rookie of the Year. He also won national quarter midget events.
In 2010, he got his first PASS series win at Dillon Motor Speedway. He won two more races that year. He also won the Champion Racing Association (CRA) Southern Six Pack championship. In 2011, Blaney won two more PASS races and the series championship.
Starting in NASCAR
K&N Pro Series and ARCA Races (2011–2013)
In 2011, Blaney began racing in the ARCA Racing Series and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and East. He finished in the top ten in all his races. He won his first NASCAR race in the K&N Pro Series West at Phoenix International Raceway.
In 2012, Blaney continued in the K&N Pro Series East. He raced six times for his family's team, DB Racing.
Xfinity and Truck Series (2012–2015)
Blaney also signed with Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2012. He competed in six Nationwide Series races. He finished seventh in his first race at Richmond International Raceway.
Later in 2012, Blaney joined Team Penske for some Nationwide Series races. He also raced in the Camping World Truck Series for Brad Keselowski Racing. He finished sixth in his first Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Blaney won his first Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway in September 2012. He was the youngest winner in Truck Series history at the time.
In 2013, Blaney raced full-time in the Truck Series. He won his first pole position at Kentucky Speedway. He also won his second Truck Series race at Pocono Raceway. Blaney won his first Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway in September 2013. He led 96 laps in that race.
In 2014, Blaney raced full-time in the Truck Series. He also ran 15 Nationwide Series races and two Sprint Cup Series races for Team Penske. He won his second Nationwide race at Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2014. He beat Kyle Busch in a close finish. The next week, Blaney won his first Truck race of 2014 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
In 2015, Blaney started his Xfinity Series season strong. He finished second in Las Vegas and nearly won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He won at Iowa and again at the Kentucky standalone race. He also earned his second Top 10 finish in the Sprint Cup at Kansas.
Cup Series Racing (2014–Present)
Starting with Team Penske (2014)
In 2014, Team Penske opened a third car, the No. 12, for Blaney. He made two starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. He finished 27th at Kansas Speedway and 22nd at Talladega.
Time with Wood Brothers Racing (2015–2017)
In August 2014, Blaney was announced to race in 20 Sprint Cup Series races for Wood Brothers Racing in 2015. He performed well, getting his first Top 10 finish at Talladega. He finished fourth in that race. He ended the year with 15 starts.
Blaney began racing full-time in the Cup Series in 2016 with Wood Brothers Racing. He earned his third career Top 10 at Las Vegas, finishing 6th. He had a successful first half of the season with several Top 10s. His best finish was fifth at Kansas. At Chicagoland, he finished 4th. He competed for the Rookie of the Year award but lost to Chase Elliott.
In 2017, Wood Brothers Racing got a charter, ensuring Blaney a spot in every race. At the Daytona 500, he finished second to Kurt Busch. At Texas Motor Speedway, he led 148 laps and won the first two stages. However, a pit stop error cost him the win, and he finished 12th. At Kansas, Blaney won his first Cup Series pole. He battled Martin Truex Jr. for the win and finished fourth.
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In June, he won his first career Cup race at Pocono Raceway. He passed Kyle Busch and held off Kevin Harvick for the victory. This win qualified him for the playoffs. On July 26, Blaney announced he would move to Team Penske for 2018. He made it to the Round of 8 in the playoffs. He finished 9th in the final Cup Series standings. This was the highest finish for a Wood Brothers driver since 1994.
Return to Team Penske (2018–Present)
2018: First Win with Penske
Blaney joined Team Penske in 2018, driving the No. 12 car. He won his Can-Am Duel race and was a favorite for the Daytona 500. He led 114 laps but finished seventh after a late crash.
He won the pole at Las Vegas and a stage at Martinsville. Blaney had some tough luck with crashes and engine issues during the season. Despite not winning in the regular season, he made the playoffs. He had five top-fives and 12 top-tens. Blaney won his first race of the season at the Charlotte Roval. He passed Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson after they crashed on the last lap. This win moved him to the Round of 12. He finished 10th in points for the season.
2019: Staying Strong
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Blaney stayed in the top 10 in points during the 2019 season. He finished eighth at the Charlotte Roval to advance to the Round of 12. Blaney won the Talladega fall race by a tiny margin of 0.007 seconds over Ryan Newman. This win moved him into the Round of 8. He finished third at Phoenix but was eliminated from the playoffs.
2020: A Close Daytona Finish
At the end of the 2020 Daytona 500, Blaney pushed leader Ryan Newman, who then crashed. Blaney finished second in a very close race. He later said talking to Newman helped him feel better about the incident. After some mixed results, Blaney had two third-place finishes at Charlotte. He then won the GEICO 500 at Talladega by 0.007 seconds. This was his second photo-finish win there.
Blaney made the playoffs with his Talladega win. However, he was eliminated in the Round of 16. He finished the season ninth in points.
2021: Multiple Wins
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In the 2021 season, Blaney won at Atlanta and Michigan. These were his fifth and sixth career wins. The Atlanta win was special because his dad almost won the same race 20 years earlier. He then won the last regular season race at Daytona International Speedway. This gave him three wins in the regular season. He entered the playoffs as the second-seeded driver. Blaney reached the Round of 8 but was eliminated after Martinsville. He finished seventh in the points standings.
2022: Consistent, but No Wins
Blaney started the 2022 season with a fourth-place finish at the 2022 Daytona 500. He was consistent, with four top-fives and six top-10 finishes in the first 13 races. He won the 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race. Despite a crash in the regular season finale at Daytona, Blaney finished 15th. This was enough to get him into the playoffs. He was eliminated after the Round of 8. Even without a win, he finished eighth in the points standings.
2023: Championship Season!
Blaney started the 2023 season with an eighth-place finish at the 2023 Daytona 500. He finished second at Phoenix. At Bristol in April, he helped his teammate Joey Logano win the Truck Race. He finished second at Talladega in a close race.
Blaney finally ended his 59-race winless streak by winning the 2023 Coca-Cola 600. He led the most laps and won a stage. A sixth-place finish at Gateway put him at the top of the points standings.
He had a scary crash at Nashville, hitting the wall hard. He later said it was the hardest impact of his career. Blaney urged NASCAR to add a SAFER barrier to that wall. He had some more top-tens during the summer. In the regular-season finale at Daytona, he was involved in a big crash.
During the playoffs, Blaney moved through the first round. He won his way into the next round at Talladega in another photo finish. He finished sixth at Las Vegas, but was briefly disqualified. NASCAR later fixed the issue and gave him his points back. A second-place finish at Homestead helped him. He then won at Martinsville, securing his spot in the Championship 4.
The season finale at Phoenix was a tough race. Blaney battled Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Kyle Larson. He ran in the top ten for most of the race. After a late restart, Blaney passed Larson for second place. He held on to finish second, winning the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship!
2024: Defending the Title
Blaney started the 2024 season with a 30th-place finish at the Daytona 500. At Atlanta, he finished second by only 0.003 seconds in a three-wide finish. He nearly won at Gateway but ran out of fuel on the last lap.
On June 16, he got his first win of the season at the first-ever Iowa race. A month later, he won at Pocono. This was seven years after his first Cup Series win at the same track. In the playoffs, Blaney made it to the Round of 8. He won at Martinsville to reach the Championship 4 for the second year in a row. He finished second in the season finale at Phoenix, as his teammate Joey Logano won the 2024 championship.
2025: New Season, New Win
Blaney started the 2025 season with a seventh-place finish at the 2025 Daytona 500. He earned his first win of the season at Nashville.
Personal Life
Ryan Blaney is the only son of Lisa and Dave Blaney. He has two sisters, Emma and Erin. He is good friends with fellow drivers Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, and Chase Elliott. Blaney is a big fan of Star Wars.
He has several tattoos. These include a Star Wars design, a sprint car, and the number 10 on his chest. The number 10 is a tribute to the car number he often used when he was younger.
Blaney is married to model Gianna Tulio. In June 2025, they announced they are expecting a baby.
Motorsports Career Results
NASCAR Cup Series Results
| NASCAR Cup Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | NCSC | Pts | Ref | |||
| 2014 | Team Penske | 12 | Ford | DAY | PHO | LVS | BRI | CAL | MAR | TEX | DAR | RCH | TAL | KAN 27 |
CLT | DOV | POC | MCH | SON | KEN | DAY | NHA | IND | POC | GLN | TAL 22 |
MAR | TEX | PHO | HOM | 60th | 01 | |||||||||||||
| Wood Brothers Racing | 21 | Ford | MCH QL† |
BRI | ATL | RCH | CHI | NHA | DOV | KAN | CLT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | DAY 39 |
ATL | LVS 19 |
PHO | CAL | MAR | TEX 42 |
BRI | RCH | TAL 4 |
KAN | CLT 42 |
DOV | POC | MCH 24 |
SON | DAY DNQ |
KEN DNQ |
NHA 23 |
IND 12 |
POC | GLN | MCH 24 |
BRI 22 |
DAR 30 |
RCH | CHI DNQ |
NHA | DOV | CLT 14 |
KAN 7 |
TAL 43 |
MAR | TEX 43 |
PHO | HOM 17 |
52nd | 01 | |||||||
| 2016 | DAY 19 |
ATL 25 |
LVS 6 |
PHO 10 |
CAL 35 |
MAR 19 |
TEX 29 |
BRI 11 |
RCH 28 |
TAL 9 |
KAN 5 |
DOV 8 |
CLT 20 |
POC 10 |
MCH 17 |
SON 23 |
DAY 14 |
KEN 35 |
NHA 11 |
IND 36 |
POC 11 |
GLN 19 |
BRI 35 |
MCH 4 |
DAR 13 |
RCH 39 |
CHI 4 |
NHA 12 |
DOV 38 |
CLT 31 |
KAN 14 |
TAL 11 |
MAR 19 |
TEX 12 |
PHO 8 |
HOM 26 |
20th | 812 | |||||||
| 2017 | DAY 2 |
ATL 18 |
LVS 7 |
PHO 23 |
CAL 9 |
MAR 25 |
TEX 12* |
BRI 33 |
RCH 36 |
TAL 39 |
KAN 4 |
CLT 24 |
DOV 32 |
POC 1 |
MCH 25 |
SON 9 |
DAY 26 |
KEN 10 |
NHA 19 |
IND 23 |
POC 30 |
GLN 8 |
MCH 15 |
BRI 10 |
DAR 31 |
RCH 18 |
CHI 11 |
NHA 9 |
DOV 23 |
CLT 8 |
TAL 18 |
KAN 3 |
MAR 8 |
TEX 6 |
PHO 17 |
HOM 29 |
9th | 2305 | |||||||
| 2018 | Team Penske | 12 | Ford | DAY 7* |
ATL 12 |
LVS 5 |
PHO 16 |
CAL 8 |
MAR 3 |
TEX 5 |
BRI 35 |
RCH 22 |
TAL 18 |
DOV 8 |
KAN 37 |
CLT 36 |
POC 6 |
MCH 8 |
SON 34 |
CHI 18 |
DAY 40 |
KEN 2 |
NHA 7 |
POC 12 |
GLN 12 |
MCH 5 |
BRI 7* |
DAR 15 |
IND 11 |
LVS 5 |
RCH 19 |
ROV 1 |
DOV 11 |
TAL 29 |
KAN 7 |
MAR 20 |
TEX 2 |
PHO 34 |
HOM 17 |
10th | 2298 | ||||
| 2019 | DAY 31 |
ATL 22 |
LVS 22 |
PHO 3 |
CAL 5 |
MAR 4 |
TEX 37 |
BRI 4* |
RCH 25 |
TAL 15 |
DOV 15 |
KAN 32 |
CLT 13 |
POC 12 |
MCH 9 |
SON 3 |
CHI 6 |
DAY 36 |
KEN 13 |
NHA 4 |
POC 10 |
GLN 5 |
MCH 24 |
BRI 10 |
DAR 13 |
IND 7 |
LVS 5 |
RCH 17 |
ROV 8 |
DOV 35 |
TAL 1* |
KAN 21 |
MAR 5 |
TEX 8 |
PHO 3 |
HOM 11 |
7th | 2339 | |||||||
| 2020 | DAY 2 |
LVS 11 |
CAL 19 |
PHO 37 |
DAR 16 |
DAR 21 |
CLT 3 |
CLT 3 |
BRI 40 |
ATL 4 |
MAR 2 |
HOM 3 |
TAL 1* |
POC 12 |
POC 22 |
IND 32 |
KEN 6 |
TEX 7* |
KAN 20 |
NHA 20 |
MCH 4 |
MCH 38 |
DRC 31 |
DOV 14 |
DOV 12 |
DAY 6 |
DAR 24 |
RCH 19 |
BRI 13 |
LVS 7 |
TAL 25 |
ROV 5 |
KAN 7 |
TEX 4 |
MAR 2 |
PHO 6 |
9th | 2336 | |||||||
| 2021 | DAY 30 |
DRC 15 |
HOM 29 |
LVS 5 |
PHO 10 |
ATL 1 |
BRD 8 |
MAR 11 |
RCH 11 |
TAL 9 |
KAN 21 |
DAR 8 |
DOV 12 |
COA 17 |
CLT 13 |
SON 10 |
NSH 37 |
POC 5 |
POC 6 |
ROA 20 |
ATL 5 |
NHA 5 |
GLN 14 |
IRC 2 |
MCH 1 |
DAY 1 |
DAR 22 |
RCH 10 |
BRI 4 |
LVS 5 |
TAL 15 |
ROV 9 |
TEX 6 |
KAN 37 |
MAR 11 |
PHO 4 |
7th | 2350 | |||||||
| 2022 | DAY 4 |
CAL 18 |
LVS 36 |
PHO 4* |
ATL 17 |
COA 6 |
RCH 7* |
MAR 4 |
BRD 5 |
TAL 11 |
DOV 26 |
DAR 17 |
KAN 12 |
CLT 29 |
GTW 4 |
SON 6 |
NSH 3 |
ROA 11 |
ATL 5 |
NHA 18 |
POC 33 |
IRC 26 |
MCH 5 |
RCH 10 |
GLN 24 |
DAY 15 |
DAR 13 |
KAN 9 |
BRI 30 |
TEX 4 |
TAL 2 |
ROV 26 |
LVS 28 |
HOM 17 |
MAR<3 | PHO 2 |
8th | 2354 | |||||||
| 2023 | DAY 8 |
CAL 26 |
LVS 13 |
PHO 2 |
ATL 7 |
COA 21 |
RCH 26 |
BRD 23 |
MAR 7 |
TAL 2* |
DOV 3 |
KAN 16 |
DAR 9 |
CLT 1* |
GTW 6 |
SON 31 |
NSH 36 |
CSC 33 |
ATL 9 |
NHA 22 |
POC 30 |
RCH 14 |
MCH 9 |
IRC 13 |
GLN 9 |
DAY 36 |
DAR 9 |
KAN 12 |
BRI 22 |
TEX 28 |
TAL 1 |
ROV 12 |
LVS 6 |
HOM 2 |
MAR 1 |
PHO 2 |
1st | 5035 | |||||||
| 2024 | DAY 30 |
ATL 2 |
LVS 3 |
PHO 5 |
BRI 16 |
COA 12 |
RCH 19 |
MAR 5 |
TEX 33 |
TAL 20 |
DOV 7 |
KAN 12 |
DAR 36 |
CLT 39 |
GTW 24 |
SON 7 |
IOW 1* |
NHA 25 |
NSH 6 |
CSC 10 |
POC 1* |
IND 3 |
RCH 11 |
MCH 18 |
DAY 29 |
DAR 37 |
ATL 3 |
GLN 38 |
BRI 6 |
KAN 4 |
TAL 39 |
ROV 10 |
LVS 32 |
HOM 2 |
MAR 1 |
PHO 2 |
2nd | 5035 | |||||||
| 2025 | DAY 7 |
ATL 4 |
COA 19 |
PHO 28 |
LVS 35 |
HOM 36* |
MAR 11 |
DAR 5 |
BRI 5 |
TAL 37 |
TEX 3 |
KAN 3 |
CLT 38 |
NSH 1* |
MCH 32 |
MXC 14 |
POC 3 |
ATL 40 |
CSC 12 |
SON 36 |
DOV 8 |
IND 7 |
IOW |
GLN | RCH | DAY | DAR | GTW | BRI | NHA | KAN | ROV | LVS | TAL | MAR | PHO | -* | -* | |||||||
| † – Qualified for Trevor Bayne | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Daytona 500 Results
| Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 12 | 39 |
| 2016 | 7 | 19 | ||
| 2017 | 36 | 2 | ||
| 2018 | Team Penske | Ford | 3 | 7* |
| 2019 | 14 | 31 | ||
| 2020 | 27 | 2 | ||
| 2021 | 14 | 30 | ||
| 2022 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 2023 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 2024 | 32 | 30 | ||
| 2025 | 16 | 7 |
* 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.
Images for kids
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Blaney's 2013 truck at Rockingham
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Blaney's 2015 Xfinity car at Road America
See also
In Spanish: Ryan Blaney para niños
