Ryan Blaney career highlights, moments through the years

2011: Ryan Blaney won the lone K&N Pro Series West race (now ARCA Menards Series West) he started in 2011, the Casino Arizona 125 at Phoenix. He earned top-10 finishes in the two K&N Pro Series East (now ARCA Menards Series East) races he ran that year.

2012: Blaney got a chance to race in the Xfinity Series driving for his father Dave Blaney's car owner, Tommy Baldwin Jr. The younger Blaney finished seventh in his series debut in the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond.

2012: Blaney earned his first Darlington stripe that first partial season in Xfinity Series cars, and he did well enough in starts with Tommy Baldwin Jr. that Roger Penske gave him seven starts in the No. 22 Dodge that season.

2012: Blaney got nine starts in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2012. He won his third start after qualifying second at Iowa.

2013: Blaney (right) makes a NASCAR Next appearance with Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson. In a bumper Next crop, Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez were also in the Class of 2013.

2013: Blaney's great relationship with Pocono began with his second career Craftsman Truck Series win.

2014: With his dad, Dave, on hand Ryan Blaney made his debut in the Cup Series at Kansas. He drove the No. 12 Team Penske Ford to a 27th-place finish.

2015: Ryan Blaney signed with the legendary Wood Brothers Racing for a part-time schedule in 2015. Len and Eddie Wood announced before the 2016 season that they would run a full schedule with Blaney piloting the No. 21.

2017: Kansas Speedway was kinder to Blaney in 2017, as he picked up his first Cup Series pole at the 1.5-mile track.

2017: The June race weekend at Pocono started out on a sentimental note, as Blaney and his close friend Bubba Wallace took photos commemorating the pair driving two iconic cars in a race together. Blaney was in his usual No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford, and Wallace was getting his first start for Richard Petty Motorsports in the famed No. 43 Ford.

2017: That Pocono weekend ended even better than it started: With champagne in Victory Lane as Blaney celebrated his first win in NASCAR's top series.

2017: That win at Pocono granted Blaney a berth in the 2017 NASCAR Playoffs, where he was joined by four other Ford drivers: Kurt Busch (from left), Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

2017: Blaney celebrated his ninth-place finish in the final 2017 standings after his first playoffs appearance, joining the burnout exhibition during the Victory Lap in Las Vegas.
The 2017 season would bring change for the young driver, as he moves from Wood Brothers Racing to Team Penske.

2018: In his first start in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, Blaney nearly took home the 2018 Daytona 500. YRB led 118 laps before his involvement in a late incident dropped him back to seventh.

2018: Blaney notched the second victory of his Cup Series career with a last-lap pass at the Charlotte road course. His victory came after contact between Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson opened the door for him to grab the victory.

2019: A short-lived -- but fiery -- feud between Jimmie Johnson and Blaney boiled up following road-course racing at Watkins Glen. A post-race discussion seemed more a stern lecture from Jimmie, who jabbed his finger in Blaney's face. Johnson later told TV cameras he thought Blaney was "scared" -- leading to a fiery retort from Blaney and threats of retaliation from both. Eventually the two talked it out at Michigan ... with beer.

2019: Blaney qualified for the NASCAR Playoffs for the third consecutive season. He's joined by Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, who also made the postseason.

2019: A win at Talladega locked Blaney into the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Playoffs. His win marked his third straight season with a trip to Victory Lane and also his second trip to the Round of 8 in three years.

2020: Blaney inked a multi-year extension to keep him in the Team Penske fold three races into the season.

2020: Blaney notched a second straight win at Talladega for his fourth victory of his Cup Series career. While an early playoff exit would be disappointing, Blaney matched a career-high in top fives (11) and a new high in laps led (668).

2021: After his win at Atlanta, Blaney continued his tradition of giving the checkered flag to a young fan in the stands.

2021: The 2021 season marked Blaney's first multi-win campaign as he ended up with three wins including back-to-back victories at Michigan and Daytona to close the regular season. He reached the Round of 8 while posting career highs for a season in wins, top 10s (20) and average finish (11.9).

2022: Blaney won his first All-Star Race at Texas. He led a race-high 84 of the 140-lap event that went into overtime. It was the Next Gen car's first All-Star Race.

2022: Though winless on the season, Blaney put on a show throughout the year, summed up by his impressive performance in the Phoenix finale. Blaney led 109 laps out front of hard-charging teammate Joey Logano, but fell behind as the race went on. All-in-all, his 12 top-five finishes were a career-best and nine stage wins topped the entire Cup Series field.

2023: Blaney ended a 59-race winless streak with his win at Charlotte Motor Speedway, scoring a crown jewel victory in the Coca-Cola 600. The Team Penske driver led 163 of 400 laps at the 1.5-mile oval en route to his first win since the 2021 Daytona summer race.

2023: Blaney managed to break through the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and into his first Championship 4 by winning the Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway. Blaney led 145 circuits around the famous short track to qualify for the championship race.

2023: After nabbing his Championship 4 spot a week prior, Blaney was the best of the remaining playoff drivers in the title race at Phoenix Raceway. The No. 12 driver captured a second-place finish to claim his first career Cup Series title, holding off fellow title-eligible drivers en route to the checkered flag. 

2024: Blaney returned to Victory Lane for the first time since the 2023 campaign that saw the No. 12 prevail as a champion. By winning at Iowa Speedway, Blaney became the first driver to win at the 0.875-mile oval in all three national series.

2024: Sometimes, everything comes full circle. In Blaney's case, it came in a more triangular form as the No. 12 pilot won at Pocono Raceway, coinciding with where he won his first career Cup Series race seven years prior. The victory marked the 12th time Blaney found Victory Lane in NASCAR's top flight.

2024: In the penultimate race of the season Blaney was in a must-win scenario at Martinsville Speedway if he wanted to defend his title. The No. 12 charged to the front in the final 14 laps and erased at three-second gap to the leader to earn his third win of 2024 and a chance to defend his championship at Phoenix Raceway the following week.