After struggling for much of the 2022 Cup Series, William Byron is having a breakout 2023 season. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is tied with Kyle Busch for the most wins (three) this season and has been in contention for a top 5 most weekends. Turns out, Byron is winning off the track as well. He has been in a happy relationship with Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney’s sister for close to four years. Turns out, there is much more to that story.
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Byron sat with Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin on his podcast, Actions Detrimental, and opened up on how the situation went down with Blaney. Unsurprisingly, the revelation of the relationship also followed some in-garage moments and observations by other drivers.
William Byron on how the Ryan Blaney encounter went down
During the conversation, Hamlin asked Byron, “You ever had any interesting scenarios with the girlfriend?” A relatively relaxed Byron replied, ” No, I think Ryan and I are, we knew each other way back before I started dating her. So, it was a little awkward at first you know because I didn’t really ask him if I could date Erin so it felt bad about…”
After the 23XI owner asked him if it was necessary to ask Blaney, the Hendrick driver replied, “I don’t know if I should have. But he brought it up and I was like, ‘Yeah, we’re dating’, but yeah, I mean we get along really well so yeah, it’s cool.
How did Ryan Blaney react when he got to know about the relationship?
In February 2020, Blaney got to know about the two dating through a friend. Blaney played it maturely, saying, “I really wanted to mess with him before the race and really tell him that I slyly figured it out, but I didn’t.” The Team Penske driver did not seek to poke his nose in the matter, declaring, “I mean, people always ask me, ‘Are you mad that Will is dating your sister?’ I don’t care, she’s 22 and can do whatever she wants. And I like him. So it’s all good.”
Predictably, the other drivers did their part, milking the situation to the maximum. Like Corey LaJoie put it then, “Oh, that is a hot topic in the garage. That is the ultimate mind games you can play, too. I am sure that gets in (Blaney’s) head a little bit just thinking about it when he lines up next to (Byron) on a restart. You can’t wreck your sister’s boyfriend. You can’t do it!”
Current NASCAR commentator and then Stewart Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer believed that all said and done, Byron did indeed have the upper hand in the battle, joking, “Whatever happens on the track, guess what? I’m going home with your sister! I mean, it’s done. What is he going to say?”
