Just one day after closing out the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season with his fourth win of the year, matching his single-season career-high from a year ago, Team Penske's Ryan Blaney was injured in a fall.
The 2023 champion and 21-time race winner shared Tuesday afternoon on social media that he had suffered an injury that required medical attention and would be skipping Tuesday's NASCAR Awards banquet as a result.
He also withdrew from Wednesday's Veterans' Day event at Daytona International Speedway, the Ford Proud to Honor Veterans Day Classic charity race. Blaney, who had been lined up to represent the U.S. Marine Corps, is set to be replaced by Robert Noaker alongside drift racer Ben Hobson, in an event featuring Ford drivers competing in Ford Mustangs.
— Ryan Blaney (@Blaney) November 10, 2026
Ryan Blaney recovering after suffering undisclosed injury
Blaney did not disclose any further details about the injury, aside from noting that he is doing well and is in the process of resting and recovering.
The 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to begin on Sunday, February 21 with the 69th annual Daytona 500, with the preseason exhibition Clash race scheduled to take place at the same track eight days prior on Saturday, February 13. The two Daytona Duel qualifying races, scheduled for Thursday, February 18, are technically the season's first scheduled points-paying races.
So if ever there were a time to begin his recovery, it would quite literally be just one day into the offseason, with more than 13 weeks to go until the next competitive event (and more than 14 weeks to go until the next points-paying event).
That being said, we hope it's nothing serious and that he can get back to his normal life as soon as possible so that he can enjoy the three-month offseason after another impressive Cup Series campaign.
Blaney finished the season fourth in the championship standings, extending what was already a series-best streak of top 10 points finishes to 10 consecutive seasons.
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