Ryan Blaney comes from a racing dynasty, with his father, Dave Blaney, grandfather, Lou Blaney, and uncle, Dale Blaney, all with long and distinguished careers in motorsports.
Dave Blaney made 473 Cup starts over 17 seasons and was a World of Outlaws champion, his brother, Dale, was a sprint car champion, and their father, Lou, was credited with multiple Midwest titles.
But Ryan Blaney has now accomplished something is racing relatives never have: winning a NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Blaney may have finished runner-up to Ross Chastain in Sunday's season finale at Phoenix Raceway, but he captured the biggest prize, claiming his first Cup title at age 29 by beating the other three championship contenders in a 312-lap shootout at Phoenix.
Blaney outdueled a pair of Hendrick Motorsports drivers in Kyle Larson, who finished third, and William Byron, who finished fourth, to claim the crown and hand team owner Roger Penske his second consecutive Cup title, following Joey Logano's win in 2022.
"Just so proud of this team. What an unbelievable year, what an ubelievable playoffs for us," Blaney said. "To win back-to-back Cup titles for Mr. Penske, that's so special.
"And to have my family here for my first Cup title, I got emotional in the car. I'm not a very emotional guy, but this was so cool. I can't wait to celebrate with my guys."
Larson battled Blaney during the latter half of the final stage, but admitted his Cheverolet didn't have the speed of Blaney's Ford.
“(Ryan Blaney’s) car was really fast, really for the last few months, especially here today," Larson said. "Our pit crew and pit road just really kept us in the game. We weren’t really the greatest on the track but I was hoping for pit stops because I knew the way our team executed our lights, and the way our pit crew can execute a fast pit stop, I knew that that was our only shot really to win."
Byron dominated early in the race, leading every lap of the 60-lap opening stage, but he acknowledged that his Chevrolet got tight as the race wore on.
"I feel like we all raced really hard," Byron said. "I felt like in Stage One and Two, I could kind of take Ryan’s (Blaney) lane away a little bit and get him tight. And then once he got in front of us, it was really hard to chase him back down."
The final championship competitor was out of the race before the halfway mark. Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell suffered brake issues during stage 2 of Sunday's race and slammed into the wall, knocking him out of the race.
"That was my first time I’ve ever exploded a rotor in my career. So, yeah, I was surprised but early on in the race I had a little bit of brake fade and the second run it just kept getting worse and worse," Bell said. "Just obviously a disappointing way to end. I’m super, super proud of this 20 team and all of our partners. To be in the Final 4 is something we’re really proud of.”
Sunday marked the first time since NASCAR initiated this playoff format in 2014 that the race winner was not one of the Championship 4 contenders, with Ross Chastain having been knocked out of the 2023 playoffs before the Round of 8.
"There were some questionable times this year, and as we went, we continued to fight and prepare the same," Chastain said. "There were some tough days and nights, and sleepless nights, but it made us even hungrier and we brought the thunder this weekend.”
Kevin Harvick finished seventh in the final race of his Cup career.
“It’s been an emotional roller coaster for sure," Harvick told NBC. "This means a lot to me, just because I love driving the car, I love being around the people more. I love our sport. It’s given our family so much throughout the years…I opened this chapter unexpectedly in 2001 and closed it in 2023 how we wanted to, and that was being competitive.”
You can view a recap of all the action from Sunday's final race below the gallery:
Ryan Blaney thanked his team owner, Roger Penske, for "giving me a shot" after he captured his first NASCAR Cup Series championship and the fourth overall for Penske.
Blaney noted how important it was to win for Penske; the 86-year-old was recently hospitalized with shingles and missed Blaney’s win at Martinsville Speedway last Sunday. Penske was in Phoenix and calmly watched the race from a suite, but made his way to the frontstretch to congratulate his driver.
“It was definitely on my mind to give him consecutive titles, I mean, because he’s done everything in motorsports and we had a chance to go back-to-back on the Cup side with him,” Blaney said. “I mean, we couldn’t pass up that opportunity. So everyone worked really hard to make it happen and I’m so proud of the effort.” — The Associated Press
Ryan Blaney has won his first NASCAR Cup Series championship following a thrilling race Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
While Ross Chastain won the season finale, Blaney outdueled fellow championship competitors Kyle Larson and William Byron to give Team Penske a title for the second consecutive season, following Joey Logano's championship in 2022.
Blaney finished second to Chastain in the race, but that was more than enough to capture the championship as the task was just to beat the other title contenders.
Larson finished third in the season finale and Byron fourth for Hendrick Motorsports. The final championship contender, Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell, was knocked out of the race on Lap 109.
A caution flag has shaken up the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race as all the cars came down pit road, with some teams taking two tires and some taking four.
Denny Hamlin and Erick Jones, on two-tire stops, emerged with the lead, but the championship competitors were not far behind with Kyle Larson in third, Wiliam Byron in fifth and Ryan Blaney in sixth. Ross Chastain was fourth after the pit stops.
Kyle Busch spins out with 37 laps remaining, bringing out the caution flag in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race
The championship competitors were all racing in the top five when the yello flag flew.
Ryan Blaney, who has battled Ross Chastain and Martin Truex Jr. for the race lead in the final stage, was second behind Chastain with Truex in third. The remaining two title contenders were not far behind with Kyle Larson in fourth and William Bryon in fifth.
William Byron and Kyle Lason were the first two championship contenders to pit under green, getting fuel and ties on lap 241 of 312. Byron led Larson as they came down pit road, but Larson jumped his teammate with faster service.
The final championship competitor, Ryan Blaney came down pit road with race leader Ross Chastain one lap later and both maintained their positions.
With nearly all of the lead lap cars now having gotten service, Chastain leads Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson and William Byron. As the top Championship 4 driver, Blaney is in position to win his first NASCAR Cup Series title.
With less than 100 laps remaining in the NASCAR Championshp Race, all three remaining title contenders are in the top five. While non-championship participant Ross Chastain continues to lead the race, Ryan Blaney has surged into second as he chases first title. William Bryon, also seeking his first championship, is running fourth, while Kyle Larson, who won the 2021 title, is in fifth. Martin Truex Jr. also races in the top five in third.
Chris Buescher passed Ross Chastain on lap 171 and held the lead as Stage 2 of the NASCAR Championshp Race ends. Chastain finished second and Kevin Harvick third.
Pole sitter William Byron has been the top Championship 4 driver most of the race. Byron finished the stage in fourth, Ryan Blaney sixth and Kyle Larson seventh. Martin Truex Jr., who is not racing for the title, finished in fifth between Byron and Blaney.
The other championship contender, Christopher Bell, was knocked out the race on Lap 109 after slamming into the wall with brake rotor issues.
One more stage, of 127 laps, remains before the 2023 Cup Series champion is crowned.
Ross Chastain has led the second half of Stage 2 of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race after passing Kevin Harvick on Lap 117. Chris Buescher has moved up to second with Harvick dropping to third and Martin Truex Jr. in fourth.
Among the three remaining championship contenders, William Byron remains the top driver. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has settled into fifth, with Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney in sixth and Hendrick's Kyle Larson settling into seventh.
The second stage is 125 total laps.
After complaining about his brakes, Christopher Bell slammed into the outside wall on Lap 109 of 312 when his brake rotor explodes and his right front tire goes down, sending the No. 20 Toyota hard into the outside wall.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver had been racing in the sixth position behind fellow championship contenders Ryan Blaney and William Byron and just ahead of Kyle Larson. Bell, who was racing for his first Cup Series championship, will not be able to finish the race.
Following Bell's accident, all the cars came down pit road for tires.
Ryan Blaney is now the best of the championship contenders after passing William Byron for third during the middle of Stage 2. Byron had led every lap until Kevin Harvick passed the pole winner on Lap 93.
Kevin Harvick passed pole winner and Championship 4 driver William Byron on Lap 93 after Byron had led every lap since the green flag dropped at Phoenix Raceway. Harvick, who won the first NASCAR Cup Series championship under this current playoff format in 2014, is racing his final event before he retires from full-time racing.
Ross Chastain also passed Byron, who dropped back to third. Ryan Blaney has surged to fourth, Christopher Bell is sixth and Kyle Larson is seventh, with Chris Buescher in fifth.
William Byron kept the No. 1 spot following the first round of pits stops for tires and fuel in the NASCAR Championship Race. By virtue of winning the pole, Byron was able to select the best pit stall and that helped him keep his edge on Kevin Harvick on the race off pit road. Among the other three championship contenders, Kyle Larson gained one spot from fifth to fourth, Ryan Blaney gained two from 10th to eighth, and Blaney was also able to leapfrog fellow contender Christopher Bell, who held steady in ninth.
William Byron, who is chasing his first title, led every lap of the opening stage of the NASCAR Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. Byron ran up front for all 60 laps, edging Kevin Harvick as the yellow flag dropped for the stage break. Byron's teammate Kyle Larson dropped back to fifth after starting fourth, but Christopher Bell surged up to ninth after starting 13th, while Ryan Blaney also advanced to 10th after starting 15th.
Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace rounded out the Top 5, Chris Buescher finished sixth, Martin Truex Jr. seventh and Erik Jones eighth.
Championship 4 driver William Byron has led the first 30 laps after starting on the pole. Kyle Larson, who started fourth, moved up one spot from fourth to third, Christopher Bell gained two spots from his starting position of 13th to 11th, and Ryan Blaney moved up one position to 14th. The first stage is 60 laps.
The green flag has dropped for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race. Championship 4 driver and pole sitter William Byron leads the field as the final race of the season gets underway at Phoenix. Among the other title contenders, Kyle Larson started fourth, Christopher Bell 13th and Ryan Blaney 15th.
Any one of the 36 drivers entered in Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway can win the race, but only four – Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Kyle Larson – can with the 2023 Cup Series championship. Simply put, whichever of those four drivers has the best finish in the championship race will win the title.
Since NASCAR adopted this playoff format in 2014, however, the winner of the final race of the season has always been one of the Championship 4 drivers.
Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway starts at 3 p.m. ET (1 p.m. local) in Avondale, Arizona.
NBC is broadcasting the race and has a pre-race show beginning at 2 p.m. ET (Noon local). Peacock will have a post-race show beginning at 7 p.m. ET (5 p.m. local).
Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway can be live streamed on Peacock, the NBC Sports website and the NBC Sports app.
It’s a hot one in Avondale, Arizona. Temperatures are in the 90s with plenty of sunshine and no signs of clouds raining on NASCAR’s parade.
Kevin Harvick won the first championship under this current format, which was put in place in 2014. Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, who won last year’s championship, are the only drivers to win more than one title in this format.
Here are the past nine champions: Kevin Harvick (2014), Kyle Busch (2015), Jimmie Johnson (2016), Martin Truex Jr. (2017), Joey Logano (2018), Kyle Busch (2019), Chase Elliott (2020), Kyle Larson (2021), Joey Logano (2022).
CHRISTOPHER BELL
KYLE LARSON
RYAN BLANEY
WILLIAM BYRON
Championship contender William Byron won the pole position in Saturday’s qualifying and will start on the front row alongside Martin Truex Jr., who qualified second. Among the other Championship 4 drivers, Kyle Larson will start fourth, Christopher Bell will start 13th, and Ryan Blaney will start 15th.
NBC's NASCAR analysts have made their picks for the 2023 champion as the Cup Series final race inches closer to going green. Three picked Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron, two picked Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney and one picked Hendrick Motorsprts' Kyle Kyle Larson. Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing, sadly, go no love. Their picks:
The United States Air Force Band Singing Sergeants performed the National Anthem ahead of the Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. Stationed at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., The Singing Sergeants is one of six musical ensembles from The United States Air Force Band and is the official chorus of the United States Air Force. Their performance was accompanied by a flyover by four F-35s from the 310th Fighter Squadron (“Top Hats”) from Luke Air Force Base in Maricopa County, Arizona.
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