NASCAR Winner Spotlight: Ryan Blaney Earns First Victory
NASCAR saw another first-time winner in 2017 as Ryan Blaney went on to win the Pocono 400!
Ryan Blaney is currently in his second full season driving in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. If you’ve been watching the 23 year-old all season, you wouldn’t believe this is only his sophomore season. In his 68th career start, Blaney drove a Cup car to Victory Lane for the very first time.
The Pocono 400 looked to be in the bag for Kyle Busch. The No. 18 dominated for most of the race. Blaney looked to be in position for a decent finish. But a late caution gave the No. 21 a shot to win. Busch stayed out on older tires. Blaney made an aggressive move that Busch tried to block.
Blaney was able to take the lead from Busch, but his work was not done. Kevin Harvick was coming fast and looking to take the lead himself. For the final 10 laps of the race, Blaney had to hold off the charging Harvick. In the end, Blaney was successful in passing one previous champion and fending off another.
We did it!! Such a great privilege to driver for the Wood Brothers. Good times with good friends is all I can ask for. Let's go for win 100! pic.twitter.com/3joF2o2uAe
— Ryan Blaney (@Blaney) June 12, 2017
With the win, Blaney becomes the third driver to earn their first victory in 2017. He joins Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Austin Dillon as first-timers. The win also signifies the legendary No. 21, owned by the Wood Brothers, reaching Victory Lane for the first time since 2011 when Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500. Blaney now joins iconic drivers such as David Pearson and Cale Yarborough as winners in the No. 21.
There were tons of people excited to see Blaney get this victory. Many fans and drivers alike took the time to congratulate Ryan either at the track or on social media. Brad Keselowski even hustled over to grab the microphone and interview Blaney on FS1 after the roles were reversed in the XFINITY Series on Saturday.
Way to go @Blaney!! That makes me smile! 21 @woodbrothers21 back in VL in @NASCAR.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) June 11, 2017
https://twitter.com/keselowski/status/874047938510671875
Good job @blaney. Congratulations on your first of many cup wins!
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) June 11, 2017
Hell yea @Blaney ☝🏼🍺 tonight!
— Kasey Kahne (@kaseykahne) June 11, 2017
Ole @Blaney raced his ass off for that win! Congrats buddy!
— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) June 12, 2017
Next: Post-Race Driver Grades From Pocono
The support for Ryan Blaney has been through the roof. He is a young star that everyone can get behind and cheer for not only because of how talented he is, but also how awesome of a person he is. Blaney currently sits in 12th place in the standings and is now locked into the playoffs.