Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Ryan Blaney

How Ryan Blaney built a successful career. Explore key moments that defined the journey.

Ryan Blaney is a prominent American professional stock car racing driver. He currently races full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, piloting the No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske. Known for his skill and consistent performance on the track, Blaney has established himself as a significant figure in modern NASCAR.

Sections (3)

Full Timeline Career & Achievements Success & Recognition

1994: Wood Brothers' Highest Points Finish Since 1994

Ryan Blaney wound up finishing ninth 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.

2009: Started Competing in PASS Series

In 2009, at age 15, Ryan Blaney 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 2009, he also won the Eastern Grand Nationals in Huntsville, Alabama and the Gasoline Alley National Championship quarter midget event in Indianapolis, Indiana.

2009: Competed in Pro All Star Series

In 2009, at the age of 15, Ryan Blaney competed in the Pro All Star Series late model division and finished 2nd in the final points standings while also winning the series Rookie of the Year award.

2010: First Career Win in PASS South Super Late Model Series

In 2010, Ryan Blaney scored his first career win in the PASS South Super Late Model 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.

2011: NASCAR Career Began

In 2011, Ryan Blaney began his NASCAR career, driving in select few races in both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series for Tommy Baldwin Racing and Team Penske.

2011: ARCA and NASCAR K&N Pro Series Debuts

In 2011, Ryan Blaney made his debuts in the ARCA Racing Series and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and East, 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.

2011: Won PASS South Super Late Model Series Championship

In 2011, Ryan Blaney returned to the PASS South Super Late Model Series, winning two races in the series, at Dillon Motor Speedway and Ace Speedway, and winning the series championship.

July 2012: Signed with Team Penske

In July 2012, Ryan 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.

September 15, 2012: First Career Truck Series Win

On September 15, 2012, Ryan Blaney won his first career Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway, becoming the youngest winner in Truck Series history at 18 years, eight months, and 15 days.

2012: Returned to PASS Super Late Model Series

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

2012: Drove in NASCAR Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series

In 2012, Ryan Blaney continued driving in select races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series for Tommy Baldwin Racing and Team Penske.

2012: Returned to K&N Pro Series East

In 2012, Ryan Blaney returned to the K&N Pro Series East, running six races for family-owned DB Racing, driving the No. 10 car.

2012: Switch to Truck Series Points

In 2012, Ryan Blaney switched from Nationwide to Truck Series points at Atlanta Motor Speedway in August.

2013: Full Truck Series Schedule and Nationwide Series Win

In 2013, Ryan Blaney drove the full Truck Series schedule for Brad Keselowski Racing and competed for the series' Rookie of the Year award. He won his first career pole at Kentucky Speedway in June and his second Truck Series race at Pocono Raceway in August. Blaney also won his first career Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway on September 21, leading 96 laps.

2013: First Full-Time NASCAR Season

In 2013, Ryan Blaney had his first full time NASCAR season in the Truck Series driving for Brad Keselowski Racing, finishing 6th in points while also winning the 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year Award.

January 2014: Full Truck Series and Nationwide/Sprint Cup Schedule

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

January 2014: Two Sprint Cup Starts

In January 2014, it was announced that Team Penske was going to re-open a third car, the No. 12, for Ryan 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 came at Talladega in the fall, where he notched a 22nd-place finish.

May 2014: Finished Second at Dover

In late May 2014 at Dover, Ryan Blaney finished second to Kyle Busch. After the race, Blaney was one of the drivers who said that because Kyle was winning a lot in the truck series, the Cup series drivers should no longer race in any division besides the Cup series.

August 2014: Won at Bristol and Canadian Tire Motorsports Park

In August 2014, Ryan Blaney won his second career Nationwide race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The next week, Blaney won his first Truck race of 2014 at Ron Fellows' Canadian Tire Motorsports Park raceway.

August 2014: Signed with Wood Brothers Racing for Sprint Cup Series

In August 2014, it was announced that Ryan Blaney was to run twenty Sprint Cup Series races for Wood Brothers Racing in the No. 21 Ford during the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

2014: Finished 2nd in Truck Series and Cup Series Debut

In 2014, Ryan Blaney finished 2nd in the final point standings, narrowly losing the Truck Series title to Matt Crafton. In 2014, Blaney also made his Cup Series debut driving a few select races for Team Penske.

2015: Continued Xfinity Series and Sprint Cup Schedule

In 2015, Ryan Blaney continued his Xfinity Series schedule, nearly winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, finishing second to Kyle Busch. He won at Iowa and nearly won at Road America. He won at the Kentucky standalone race in September. Blaney got his second top 10 of his career in the Sprint Cup at Kansas for the Hollywood Casino 400 finishing seventh.

2015: Sprint Cup Series

In 2015, Ryan Blaney performed well in the Sprint Cup Series, picking up his first Top 10 at Talladega in the GEICO 500, running as high as second and finishing fourth. He picked up a seventh-place finish in the fall at Kansas and ended the year with 15 starts in total.

2015: Signed with Wood Brothers Racing

In 2015, Ryan Blaney signed with Wood Brothers Racing driving a limited schedule in the No. 21 car.

2016: Full-Time Cup Series and Snapchat Takeover

In 2016, Ryan Blaney began competing full-time in the Cup Series with the Wood Brothers. Before the race at Auto Club Speedway, Blaney and Bubba Wallace took over NASCAR's Snapchat account, mimicking drivers. Blaney had a successful first half of the season, and finished 4th at Chicagoland. He put up a fight for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award, but lost to Chase Elliott.

2016: Full-Time Cup Series Schedule

In 2016, Ryan Blaney remained with the Wood Brothers for an additional year, driving his first full-time Cup series schedule.

June 2017: Fox NASCAR Broadcast Team

In June 2017, Ryan Blaney joined Fox NASCAR's Cup driver-only broadcast team for the Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway as a pit reporter. He also interviewed race-winner Brad Keselowski.

2017: Charter Loan and Daytona 500

In 2017, Go Fas Racing announced that they would loan their charter to the No. 21 Wood Brothers team, guaranteeing Ryan Blaney a spot in every race of the 2017 season. Ryan Blaney placed second to Kurt Busch during the Daytona 500. At Kansas, Blaney won his first career Cup Series pole. The race was primarily a duel between him and Martin Truex Jr.

2017: First Cup Series Win

In 2017, Ryan Blaney captured his first career Cup series win at Pocono Raceway and finished 9th in the final point standings.

2017: Start of Glass Case of Emotion Podcast

In 2017, Ryan Blaney started a NASCAR-supported podcast called the Glass Case of Emotion, featuring Kim Coon and Chuck Bush.

2017: Voice Role in Cars 3 and Cameo in Logan Lucky

In 2017, Ryan Blaney voiced Ryan "Inside" Laney in the Pixar film Cars 3. Blaney also had a cameo appearance as a delivery boy in the film Logan Lucky.

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April 20, 2018: Guest-Starring Role in Taken

On April 20, 2018, Ryan Blaney guest-starred in the TV show Taken in season 2 episode 12 "Imperium", as Special Agent Nathan Wood.

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2018: Joined Team Penske

In 2018, Ryan Blaney joined Team Penske full-time driving the No. 12 Menards sponsored Ford Mustang Dark Horse.

2018: Return to Pit Duties

In 2018, Ryan Blaney returned to his pit duties for the driver-only broadcast at Talladega Superspeedway for the Xfinity race.

2019: Cameo in The Crew

In 2019, Ryan Blaney had a cameo appearance as himself in Netflix's television series The Crew alongside Austin Dillon and Cole Custer.

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2019: Talladega Fall Race Win

In 2019, at Watkins Glen, Ryan Blaney spun Jimmie Johnson out of contention, leading to an argument between the two after the race. Blaney won the Talladega fall race in a photo finish and advanced into the Round of 8.

2020: 2020 Daytona 500 and Subsequent Races

In 2020, during the final lap of the Daytona 500, Ryan Blaney's push led to a violent crash involving Ryan Newman. Blaney finished second to Denny Hamlin. The incident had a mental toll on him, which improved after speaking with Newman. Blaney later crashed out at Phoenix and had mediocre runs at Darlington. He then achieved back-to-back third-place finishes at Charlotte and led 60 laps at Bristol before a wreck resulted in a last-place finish. He then recorded three top-five finishes, and won the GEICO 500, defeating Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

2021: Cover Star for NASCAR 21: Ignition

In 2021, Ryan Blaney was one of three drivers featured as cover stars for the NASCAR 21: Ignition video game.

2021: 2021 Season Wins and Playoffs

In 2021, Ryan Blaney won at Atlanta and Michigan, securing his fifth and sixth career wins. The Atlanta win was emotional due to his father's near-win 20 years prior. He achieved back-to-back wins at Daytona International Speedway, marking his sixth and seventh career wins. He entered the 2021 Cup playoffs as the second-seeded driver but was eliminated after Martinsville, finishing the season seventh in points.

2021: Commentator Roles

Since 2021, Ryan Blaney has served as a commentator in the booth for the driver-only broadcast, and as a rotating driver analyst for Xfinity and ARCA Menard Series broadcasts.

2022: 2022 Season Performance and All-Star Race Win

In 2022, Ryan Blaney started with a fourth-place finish at the Daytona 500. Despite no wins in the first 13 races, he had consistent top finishes and won the NASCAR All-Star Race. He clinched a Playoff spot at the Daytona night race, beating Martin Truex Jr. He was eliminated after the Round of 8 at Martinsville, finishing the season eighth in points despite being winless.

2022: Featured in Race for the Championship

In 2022, Ryan Blaney was a featured driver in the USA Network series Race for the Championship, following the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.

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2022: Won NASCAR All-Star Race

Ryan Blaney won the 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race.

2023: End of Glass Case of Emotion Podcast

At the conclusion of the 2023 season, Ryan Blaney's NASCAR-supported podcast called the Glass Case of Emotion ended.

2023: 2023 Season Performance and Coca-Cola 600 Win

In 2023, Ryan Blaney started with an eighth-place finish at the Daytona 500 and finished second at Phoenix. He spotted for Joey Logano at Bristol's Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt. He finished second at the GEICO 500 at Talladega. Blaney won the Coca-Cola 600, ending a 59-race drought. A sixth-place finish at Gateway put him on top of the points standings.

2023: Followed in NASCAR: Full Speed

In 2023, Ryan Blaney was a featured driver in the 2024 Netflix documentary series NASCAR: Full Speed, which followed the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

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2023: Won NASCAR Cup Series Championship

In 2023, Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series championship and also secured a crown jewel victory in the 2023 Coca-Cola 600.

2024: 2024 Season, Race Wins and Championship

In 2024, Ryan Blaney had a 30th-place DNF at the Daytona 500. He finished second at Atlanta. He also ran out of fuel at Gateway on the last lap. Blaney won at Iowa and Pocono. During the playoffs, he won at Martinsville, making the Championship 4, finishing second to Joey Logano for the 2024 Cup Series Championship.

2024: Finished 2nd in Point Standings

In 2024, Ryan Blaney nearly won back-to-back titles, finishing 2nd in the final point standings to his Penske racing teammate Joey Logano.

2024: Featured in NASCAR: Full Speed

In 2024, Ryan Blaney was a featured driver in the 2024 Netflix documentary series NASCAR: Full Speed, which followed the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

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