Beyond Joey Logano, who has won two championships in just three years, Ryan Blaney stands out as another driver in NASCAR who has impressed everyone. Since joining Team Penske in 2018, he has been a consistent top-10 finisher and captured the NASCAR Cup championship in 2023, finishing just 0.330 seconds behind his teammate Logano in 2024 to claim second place.
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However, Blaney’s winning sequence had started with NASCAR’s oldest running outfit — the Wood Brothers Racing team.
A fan’s recent nostalgic tweet about Blaney’s tenure driving the #21 car for Wood Brothers Racing, stating, “The Streets will never forget Wood Brothers Racing Ryan Blaney,” sparked a wave of fond memories among the NASCAR community. One fan chimed in, recalling the moment they became a Blaney supporter: “When I first became a fan.”
— BlaneyBest¹² (@BlaneyBest) December 23, 2024
Another fan highlighted his achievements with Wood Brothers Racing, noting, “P9 in points in 2017 in that car, doing more things in that car than anyone else has done in the 2 decades before and more than half a decade since.”
After narrowly missing the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award to Chase Elliott in 2016, Blaney’s final season with Wood Brothers in 2017 saw him finish the opening race of the season in second place. And then he went on to secure three top-5 finishes and clinched a memorable victory at Pocono Raceway.
Recalling Blaney’s triumph at Pocono, a fan remarked, “The 99th win holding off a charging Harvick at Pocono was one of the best drives of the later gen 6 era.” The victory came after Blaney overtook Kyle Busch with just 10 laps remaining, managing to fend off Kevin Harvick and secure his spot in the playoffs after starting from fourth position.
In that dramatic race: As the race resumed with 13 laps remaining, Busch surged ahead while Brad Keselowski stumbled, allowing Blaney to seize P2 place. With fresher tires, Blaney began reeling in Busch, whose tires were showing their wear, with 10 laps left in the race.
After blazing past the start/finish line, Blaney veered to the track’s bottom, aiming for the preferred line into Turn 1, but Busch was quick to thwart his attempt along the front stretch, keeping the duel alive. Blaney then made his move on Busch’s inside as they exited Turn 1, the two making slight contact as they sped down the Long Pond Straightaway.
Blaney momentarily backed off entering Turn 2, but Busch inadvertently left the door open, allowing Blaney to dive back inside as they exited the turn and overtake him on the Short Chute. Blaney then spent the final nine laps fending off Harvick to win his first victory in the Cup Series and the Wood Brothers’ 99th win since Trevor Bayne’s Daytona 500 triumph in 2011.
Though Harrison Burton delivered the Wood Brothers Racing team their 100th win, it remains to be seen how their new recruit, Josh Berry, will fare in his quest to steer the #21 car back to victory lane.
