2023 Cup Series Champion · NASCAR

Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney won the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship for Team Penske, the first title of his career and the family's first at the top level. He drives the No. 12 Ford and has twenty Cup wins.

Nationality
American
Born
31 December 1993 · Hartford Township, Ohio, U.S.
Car
No. 12 Ford · Team Penske
Family
Son of Dave Blaney, Cup Series driver and sprint car champion
Cup teams
Team Penske · Wood Brothers Racing
Championships
1 (Cup Series 2023)
Shop the Collection Watch highlights
Graphic illustration of NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney wearing his black and neon yellow Team Penske Menards racing suit and cap, featuring his number 12 Ford Mustang race car
2023 Cup Series Champion
2014 — Present
1
Cup Series Championship
20
Cup Series Wins
16
Pole Positions
404
Cup Series Starts

Who is Ryan Blaney?

Ryan Michael Blaney, born 31 December 1993 in Hartford Township, Ohio, is an American stock car driver for Team Penske and the son of Cup driver Dave Blaney. He won the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship and has 20 Cup wins and 16 poles from 404 starts.

Full name
Ryan Michael Blaney
Nationality
American
Career
2014 — present
Best known for
Winning the 2023 Cup Series championship for Team Penske

By KozmozInspire Editorial Published Updated 9 sources

Rider Profile

Ryan Blaney: Full Biography

Ryan Michael Blaney is an American stock car racing driver, born on 31 December 1993 in Hartford Township, Trumbull County, Ohio. He drives the No. 12 Ford for Team Penske and is the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion.

He is the son of Dave Blaney, a sprint car champion who spent more than a decade in the Cup Series, and grew up racing in Ohio before moving through the K&N Pro Series, ARCA, Trucks and Xfinity.

His Cup career began with Wood Brothers Racing, the team he part-timed with in 2015 and drove full time for in 2016 and 2017. His first win came at Pocono in June 2017, the Wood Brothers’ first Cup win since Trevor Bayne’s 2011 Daytona 500.

Team Penske took him for 2018 and he has stayed since, winning the Coca-Cola 600 and the championship in 2023, finishing runner-up in 2024, and taking three more wins in 2026. Twenty Cup victories and sixteen poles have come from 404 starts.

The Career

Three Chapters That Defined Ryan Blaney

Chapter 01

Wood Brothers

Blaney grew up around racing in Ohio — his father Dave was a sprint car champion who went on to more than a decade in the Cup Series — and came through the K&N Pro Series, ARCA, the Truck Series and Xfinity, where he drove for both Brad Keselowski Racing and Team Penske. Two Cup starts for Penske in 2014 were followed by a part-time season with Wood Brothers Racing in 2015 and two full years in the famous No. 21. The breakthrough came at Pocono in June 2017, his first Cup victory and the Wood Brothers' first since Trevor Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500, and he finished the season ninth.

Ryan Blaney's green No. 22 Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford at Dover International Speedway in 2017. Early Cup, 2014 — 2017 Photo: Ryan Blaney, No. 22 Team Penske Ford, Dover Xfinity Series (2017) by Zach Catanzareti / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Chapter 02

Penske, and a Title

Team Penske signed him into the No. 12 for 2018, and the wins came steadily rather than in bursts — one a season from 2018 to 2020, three in 2021, then a winless 2022 in which he still scored twelve top fives and won the All-Star Race. 2023 brought both halves together: the Coca-Cola 600 in May, then a playoff run that carried him to the championship with three wins and eighteen top tens. It was his first title and the first of his family's at the top level of American stock car racing.

Ryan Blaney's No. 12 Pennzoil/Menards Ford on track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2023, his championship season. Team Penske, 2018 — 2023 Photo: Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford, Las Vegas (2023) by TaurusEmerald / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Chapter 03

Still Contending

The defence very nearly worked: three wins in 2024 and runner-up in the championship. Fifteen top fives and four more wins followed across 2025, and 2026 has been among his strongest — three victories, four pole positions and seventeen top tens, running second in the standings at the time of writing. Sixteen career poles and 404 starts put him among the most experienced drivers on the grid while still in his early thirties.

Ryan Blaney celebrating in the winners circle with the trophy and team members after winning the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway on 16 June 2024. Cup Series, 2024 — present Photo: Ryan Blaney in victory lane, Iowa Corn 350 (2024) by Senior Master Sgt. Vincent De Groot / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Career Timeline

Ryan Blaney Career Timeline: 1993 — Present

Born in Ohio

Born on 31 December 1993 in Hartford Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, son of Cup driver Dave Blaney.

Cup debut

Two starts for Team Penske.

Wood Brothers

Sixteen Cup starts in the No. 21.

Rookie season

First full Cup year; twentieth in the standings.

First Cup win

Wins at Pocono, the Wood Brothers' first victory since the 2011 Daytona 500.

Joins Team Penske

Takes the No. 12 and wins at the Charlotte Roval.

Consistent form

Eleven top fives and seventh overall.

Three wins

His first multi-win season.

All-Star winner

Winless in points races but twelve top fives and the All-Star Race.

Coca-Cola 600

Wins NASCAR's longest race in May.

Cup Series champion

Takes the title with three wins and eighteen top tens.

Runner-up

Three wins and second in the championship.

Second in the standings

Three wins and four poles in a strong campaign.

By the Numbers

Ryan Blaney Cup Series Record, Season by Season

Ryan Blaney season-by-season record: team, wins, poles, top 5, top 10 and final standing.
SeasonTeam Wins Poles Top 5 Top 10 Pos.
2014 Team Penske 0 0 0 0 NC
2015 Wood Brothers Racing 0 0 1 2 NC
2016 Wood Brothers Racing 0 0 3 9 20
2017 Wood Brothers Racing 1 2 4 14 9
2018 Team Penske 1 3 8 16 10
2019 Team Penske 1 1 11 18 7
2020 Team Penske 1 0 11 17 9
2021 Team Penske 3 0 11 20 7
2022 Team Penske 0 3 12 17 8
2023 Team Penske 3 0 8 18 1
2024 Team Penske 3 1 12 18 2
2025 Team Penske 4 2 15 19 6
2026 Team Penske 3 4 6 17 2

The championship season is highlighted. Cup Series career totals: 20 wins · 16 poles · 102 top fives · 185 top tens from 404 starts across 13 seasons, which is what this table sums to. All four totals match the figures in his article's infobox exactly (404 starts, 20 wins, 16 poles, 185 top tens). The 2014 and 2015 rows are marked NC because he ran those seasons part-time and was not classified in the standings. Per-season poles were counted from the bolded qualifying-time poles in his Cup results grid, since the career summary carries no poles column; they sum to 16 and match the infobox. Poles set by competition-based formula, which the grid marks in italics rather than bold, are excluded — the same basis NASCAR uses. The 2026 season is in progress, with 26 starts recorded at the verification date. Verified 2026-09-03.

Ryan Blaney in his own words

In His Own Words
To have another shot at a championship is special
Ryan Blaney · NASCAR, after winning at Martinsville, November 2024
Frequently Asked

Ryan Blaney: Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Ryan Blaney?

Ryan Michael Blaney, born 31 December 1993 in Hartford Township, Ohio, is an American stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 12 Ford for Team Penske and won the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Has Ryan Blaney won a Cup Series championship?

Yes, in 2023, with three wins and eighteen top tens. He was runner-up the following year.

Is Ryan Blaney related to Dave Blaney?

Yes. Dave Blaney is his father — a sprint car champion who spent more than a decade in the NASCAR Cup Series.

How many Cup Series races has Ryan Blaney won?

Twenty, from 404 starts. His first came at Pocono in June 2017, driving for Wood Brothers Racing.

Which teams has Ryan Blaney driven for in the Cup Series?

Team Penske, for two starts in 2014 and full time since 2018, and Wood Brothers Racing from 2015 to 2017.

Why was Blaney's 2017 Pocono win significant?

It was his first Cup Series victory and the first for Wood Brothers Racing since Trevor Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500.

How many pole positions does Ryan Blaney have?

Sixteen in the Cup Series, four of them in 2026. The figure counts poles earned on qualifying time, not those set by competition-based formula.

What car number does Ryan Blaney drive?

The No. 12 Ford for Team Penske. He drove the No. 21 for Wood Brothers Racing earlier in his Cup career.

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References

Sources & Further Reading

Every statistic on this page is drawn from the following records.

  1. Ryan Blaney · Wikipedia
  2. Ryan Blaney (Q7383887) · Wikidata
  3. 2017 Axalta presents the Pocono 400 · Wikipedia
  4. 2023 Coca-Cola 600 · Wikipedia
  5. 2023 NASCAR Cup Series · Wikipedia
  6. 2026 NASCAR Cup Series · Wikipedia
  7. Dave Blaney · Wikipedia
  8. List of NASCAR Cup Series champions · Wikipedia
  9. Blaney earns first Cup title after unbelievable year, playoff run · NASCAR

How this page is made

Rider profiles are compiled from official series records and cross-checked against independent statistical databases before publication.

Commercial disclosure. This page links to merchandise sold by KozmozInspire. Products are fan-made tributes inspired by motorsport history and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed from the rider, their estate, or any team.

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