Ryan Blaney recounts 2023 Coca-Cola 600 win, how it set up run to Cup championship

CONCORD, N.C. — As another Coca-Cola 600 approaches Sunday evening (6 p.m. ET, Prime Video, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), it sparks all the fond memories for Ryan Blaney's return to Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he was victorious in the 2023 edition of NASCAR's longest race. Not only was it the first crown-jewel triumph checked off for the No. 12 Team Penske driver, but it snapped a 59-race winless drought for Blaney that included a zero in the 2022 Cup Series season. RELATED: Charlotte weekend schedule | How to watch Sunday's race "There was multiple special feelings going on," Blaney said Saturday ahead of Coca-Cola 600 practice. "We only won the All-Star Race in '22, so it was a little while since I last won. So that meant a lot finally getting back in Victory Lane. Winning the 600 was obviously a huge milestone. I grew up coming to this race watching dad [Dave] run and Memorial Day weekend always meant a lot to me." Reaching the start/finish line after the cooldown lap to begin his familiar no-burnout celebration, Blaney was met with a heavy roar from the crowd that made it to the 1.5-mile facility on a Monday evening after weather hampered the weekend. With chants of "Blaney, Blaney, Blaney!" ringing from thousands, the then 29-year-old took a page from organizational teammate Josef Newgarden, who won the Indianapolis 500 the day before, to run into the grandstands and greet the fans. "Josef went in the stands when he won the Indy 500 that day before and I just thought that was awesome. That was so cool," Blaney said. "I was super psyched for Josef and that group, for him to get his first Indy 500 and it just kind of, all of a sudden, I wanted to do and I think I said to myself when I saw him go in the stands on Sunday, I was like, 'man, if we can win, I want to do that.' That'd be cool. Yeah, that was such a fun night." [caption id="attachment_471791" align="alignnone" width="1300"]Logan Riely | Getty Images[/caption] What made it even more special for Blaney was having the CEO of primary sponsor BodyArmor that night, Federico Muyshondt, at the track to celebrate. "He and his family were in town, and since the race got delayed, he had to fly his family to the airport," Blaney said. "He had to drive them to the airport and they were going to leave because they had to get back home, his kids had to go to school. He just had this feeling that we were going to win. So he turned around after he dropped his family off, he came back and watched like the last 40, 50 laps, and was able to celebrate in Victory Lane. Just his dedication to like, 'man, I think we're going to win this thing', to come back, leave his family like, I'm staying. I'm not missing it and to share that moment with him was really cool since they were on the car for that race." The win didn't just get Blaney back on the board in the win column -- it also set up his run to the 2023 Cup Series Championship. MORE: Relive 2023 Coke 600 The path wasn't straightforward to hoist the Bill France Cup. However, Blaney secured a pair of clutch playoff wins at Talladega and Martinsville to ultimately finish the best of the Championship 4 when the checkered flag flew at Phoenix Raceway. "I think it really set us up for that," Blaney said. "We started off '23 running OK, not great, and we were able to find a lot of good things at this race two years ago that kind of was like 'OK, I think we're on a good path right now ... That was really the start I feel like of our group and our mentality and our performance kind of getting to where it needed to be, which is always neat to look back on those things, and like, where was the point that you kind of really knew you could make a charge of this thing? And really, I do think it started there."