CHICAGO — Regardless of how his 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign turns out, Ryan Blaney has a life-changing moment to look forward to this offseason.
The former series champ and his wife, Gianna, announced this week that they are expecting the arrival of their first child. The couple married last December, one year to the day after their engagement (on 12/12, nonetheless). Their due date, Blaney said, follows suit in keeping major life events outside of the racing calendar.
RELATED: At-track photos: Chicago | Weekend schedule
“We’re in the winter, so that takes a lot of stress off,” Blaney said Saturday before practice and qualifying for Sunday’s Chicago Street Race (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). “I can’t say we necessarily drew it up that way. Just kind of got fortunate on the timing of it. So hopefully, fingers crossed, it all goes to plan, and we can be kind of settled into the offseason by the time that the little one comes.”
Blaney said he’s planning to lean on longtime friend Bubba Wallace for advice in the parenthood department. Wallace and his wife, Amanda, welcomed their first child — a son, Becks Hayden Wallace — to the world last Sept. 29. The youngest member of the family joined in on the celebration earlier this year after Wallace’s victory in a Daytona 500 qualifying race; Gianna voiced her approval in the comments, saying: “Fav pic ever.”
“I ask him every day,” Blaney said. “I ask him all the time, and I see it firsthand, being over at his place and flying together and stuff like that. You know, seeing Becks around and watching Becks grow up and stuff like that has been kind of neat. So yeah, I ask him all the time for advice, what are some goods and what are the struggles of a newborn and things like that. So it’s been nice to have him right there and kind of go through the same thing.”
Said Wallace: “I’ve known for a while, obviously, and just hearing how excited they’ve been. Gianna has been going through a little rough patch just from the sickness and stuff. It’s crazy how everybody’s different through their pregnancies and everything. Amanda was, for the most part, OK, and Gianna’s been taking it all in stride, but excited to see them become parents.”
Blaney’s parents — Lisa and former Cup Series driver Dave — have already become grandparents with Ryan’s sister Emma the mother of two young boys. The new addition to the family, however, will be the first of a new generation on Gianna’s side.
“My older sister has a couple kids, but it was Gianna’s parents’ first grandchild, so that’s pretty exciting for them,” Blaney said. “And so yeah, my parents were excited, and yes, it’s pretty cool. That’s like another level of pride as a parent, I feel like, and as a kid, too, giving your parents a grandchild and stuff like that. So my parents were excited, and her parents were extra excited, like I said, because it’s going to be their first grandchild.”