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Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Champion, enters his 11th full-time season in Cup Series competition in 2026 coming off a year that saw him earn a single-season career-best four wins in the No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske.

Following his second Championship 4 appearance in as many seasons in 2024, Blaney carried the momentum into the 2025 season to reel off a career-high four wins and a Cup Series-leading 15 top-five finishes, which culminated in his fifth-consecutive Round of 8 appearance in the NASCAR Playoffs. Despite seven DNFs over the first 20 races of the year, Blaney turned in six-straight top-10 finishes during the final stretch of the regular season to secure the second spot in the standings heading into the postseason.

Blaney clinched his spot in the NASCAR Playoffs with a dominant showing in Nashville before capping off the regular season with a thrilling charge to the front of the field in the closing laps at Daytona to take the checkered flag in a four-wide battle to the line. The No. 12 Ford team began its charge towards the title by winning the opening race of the Round of 12 at New Hampshire as Blaney led 116 laps to lock in to the Round of 8. Facing a must-win situation at Martinsville five weeks later to advance to the Championship 4, Blaney - after starting 31st - came up one spot short despite leading 177 laps in his attempt to win three-consecutive fall races at the paperclip.

The No. 12 team kept up its momentum heading into the season finale at Phoenix as Blaney came out ahead of a three-wide battle on the final lap of a green-white-checkered finish, capping the 2025 season with a fourth win while marking Blaney's first career victory at Phoenix after producing runner-up efforts in four of his previous six starts at the one-mile oval.

Blaney first joined Team Penske as a talented 18-year-old racer, competing in select NASCAR Grand National Series races for the team in 2012. He earned his first Grand National victory for Team Penske at Kentucky in 2013 and over the last ten seasons, Blaney has produced a combined 23 victories and 13 poles for the team across Grand National Series and Cup Series competition.

Away from the racetrack, Blaney works on several initiatives with the Ryan Blaney Family Foundation to raise awareness and funding for brain health causes with a focus on Alzheimer's Disease and concussions. Blaney has also become an avid golfer, playing regularly with Team Penske INDYCAR driver Scott McLaughlin.

Ryan and his wife, Gianna, welcomed their first son, Charley, in 2025 and reside in Mooresville, NC.

Blaney Key Accomplishments:

• Established single-season career-highs in wins (four), top-five finishes (15), and laps led (852) during the 2025 season
• Has qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in each of the last nine consecutive seasons (2017-2025)
• Won the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway on June 16, 2024, becoming the first driver to win at Iowa in each of NASCAR's national series by leading a career-high 201 laps
• Advanced to the Championship 4 for the second-consecutive season in 2024 following a dramatic win at Martinsville Speedway in the Round of 8 finale. The win marked Blaney's third of the 2024 season, tying a career-high (2021, 2023)
• Nominated for a 2024 ESPY Award - ‘Best Driver' - and was a presenter at the annual awards show in Los Angeles
• Won the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship - the first of his career and fourth overall for Team Penske - following a season with a career-best three wins (Charlotte, Talladega 2, Martinsville 2)
• Helped Team Penske secure back-to-back Cup Series championships for the first time in its history by capturing the 2023 title (Joey Logano won the 2022 crown)
• Won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2023 to snap a 59-race winless streak while marking the first time an organization has won both the Coca-Cola 600 and Indianapolis 500 in the same season
• Earned his first-career All-Star Race win at Texas Motor Speedway in May of 2022 after leading a race-high 84 laps to secure a one-million-dollar payday for the No. 12 team
• Recorded multiple Cup Series wins for the first time in his career with a team-best three victories in 2021
• Qualified for the NCS Playoffs in each of the last seven consecutive seasons (2017-2023)
• Earned second-consecutive win at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2020 to become the first driver since Jeff Gordon (2007) to post back-to-back victories at the Alabama superspeedway
• Won the 2018 Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway - the inaugural Cup Series race hosted on the track's road course configuration
• Posted first NCS win in 2017 at Pocono Raceway - the 99th all-time victory for Wood Brothers Racing
• Generated four wins in NASCAR Truck Series competition in consecutive seasons from 2012-2015
• Named NASCAR Truck Series Most Popular Driver in 2014
• Secured seven career NXS victories between 2012-2019 - all while running a limited schedule
• Contributed to four of Team Penske's NXS Owner's championships since 2013