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.
A third-generation racecar driver, Blaney is the son of former NASCAR Cup Series driver Dave Blaney and the grandson of modified dirt track racer Lou Blaney. Growing up, Blaney had a very successful early racing career in quarter midget racing, Bandolero racing, and late model racing, which included Blaney winning his first quarter midget race at the age of nine, and in 2009, at the age of fifteen, competing in the Pro All Star Series late model division, finishing second in the final points standings while also winning the series' Rookie of the Year award.
Blaney began his NASCAR career, driving in select few races in both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series in 2011-2012 for Tommy Baldwin Racing and Penske Racing. In his first full-time NASCAR season in the Truck Series in 2013, driving for Brad Keselowski Racing, Blaney finished 6th in points while also winning the Rookie of the Year Award. The following year, Blaney finished second in the final point standings, narrowly losing the Truck Series title to Matt Crafton by twenty points. Blaney made his Cup Series debut in 2014, driving a few select races for Penske. He signed with Wood Brothers Racing in 2015, driving a limited schedule in the famed No. 21 car, and remained with the Wood Brothers for an additional two years, driving his first full-time Cup Series schedule from 2016–2017. In 2017, Blaney captured his first career Cup Series win at Pocono Raceway and finished ninth in the final point standings.
In 2018, Blaney joined Team Penske full-time, driving the No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Since joining Penske, Blaney has never finished outside the top-ten in the final championship standings in the Cup Series, which includes Blaney winning the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship, and nearly winning back-to-back titles the following year in 2024, when he finished runner up in the final point standings to his Penske racing teammate Joey Logano. Blaney is the winner of the 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race, and has currently amassed a total of 20 Cup Series victories, including a crown jewel victory in the 2023 Coca-Cola 600.
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Racing career
Early racing career
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 the age of nine; he also competed, and won, in Bandolero cars at a young age. Moving up to Legends cars at the age of twelve, Blaney won the Lowe's Motor Speedway Summer Shootout and the Young Lions Winter Heat Points Championship, as well as three divisions of the Carolina Fall Nationals in quarter midgets. He also won the Concord Speedway Young Lions Winter Heat Points Championship in Bandoleros.
At the age of twelve, Blaney debuted in late model racing at Orange County Speedway, while in 2009, at the age of fifteen, 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 in Huntsville, Alabama and the Gasoline Alley National Championship quarter midget event in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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 returned to the PASS Super Late Model Series in the Carswell Motorsports No. 98 car.
NASCAR
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.
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 ten 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 eighteen years, eight months, and fifteen days. The previous record was twenty years and eighteen days set by Kyle Busch in 2005.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 fifteen Nationwide Series and two Sprint Cup Series races for Team Penske during the year.
In media
At the beginning of the 2017 season, Blaney began a NASCAR-supported podcast featuring former Miss Sprint Cup and current Motor Racing Network personality Kim Coon and NASCAR.com analyst Chuck Bush, called the Glass Case of Emotion. The podcast ended at the conclusion of the 2023 season.
In June 2017, Blaney became a member of Fox NASCAR's Cup driver-only broadcast team for the Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway, working as a pit reporter alongside Erik Jones and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. He also interviewed race-winner Brad Keselowski; the next day, the roles were reversed as he won his first Cup race with Keselowski, still in his firesuit, interviewing him. The driver-only broadcast format returned for the 2018 Xfinity race at Talladega Superspeedway as Blaney returned to his pit duties. Since 2021, Blaney has served as a commentator in the booth for the driver-only broadcast, as well as a rotating driver analyst in the booth for regular Xfinity and ARCA Menard Series broadcasts.
Blaney has made numerous guest-starring/cameo appearances in TV and film throughout his career. In 2017, Blaney voiced Ryan "Inside" Laney in the Pixar film Cars 3. That same year Blaney also had a cameo appearance as a delivery boy in the film Logan Lucky. In 2018, Blaney guest-starred in the TV show Taken in season 2 episode 12 "Imperium", as Special Agent Nathan Wood; the episode aired on April 20, 2018. Blaney also guest-starred as Shane Powell in an episode of the CBS reboot Magnum P.I., and as Overdrive, a villainous racing driver, in the Spider-Man episode "Bring on the Bad Guys". In 2019, Blaney had a cameo appearance as himself in the Netflix's television series The Crew alongside Austin Dillon and Cole Custer.
In 2021, Blaney was one of three drivers featured as cover stars for the NASCAR 21: Ignition video game. He also appeared on the NASCAR 25 cover, and helped curate the soundtrack for the game.
Blaney was a featured driver in the 2022 USA Network series Race for the Championship, following the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, as well as the 2024 Netflix documentary series NASCAR: Full Speed, which followed the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Personal life
Blaney is the only son and middle child of Lisa and Dave Blaney, with two sisters, Emma and Erin. He is of Irish descent and is close friends with fellow drivers Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, William Byron and Chase Elliott. Blaney is also an avid Star Wars and Trailer Park Boys 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.
Blaney is married to model Gianna Tulio; the couple has a son.
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.)
* 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.
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.