NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney heads into 2024 newly engaged, seeking to defend Cup

Justyn Melrose and Kevin Connolly

3 hours ago

DAYTONA, Fla. (WGHP) — We are just days away from this year’s Daytona 500, and one of the favorites again this year is Ryan Blaney.

He’s finished second in the Daytona 500 twice now, first in 2017 and again in 2020, but he did a little better than second when it came to the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series. Winning three times and seizing his first championship, 2023 will be an unforgettable year for the High Point, North Carolina, native.

“From the championship, getting engaged and then I turned 30 in late December, so I keep telling people I don’t know how we top the end of 2023,” Blaney said. “It was a huge year and just really great, really great to share those few moments with her.”

Blaney spent a lot of time this off-season making different appearances representing NASCAR.

“I’ve kind of always been that way, opening myself up for opportunities to grow the sport, because it doesn’t only grow the sport, it grows yourself as well,” he said. “To me in my mind, it’s a win-win for everybody, right? Because I want the sport to be healthy, because I want to be in the sport for a long time.”

For Blaney, racing is a family business from his grandfather to his father Dave, who spent 17 years in NASCAR. He got to learn NASCAR from the inside, which is why he rarely said no to appearances.

“That’s what my dad told me at a young age, trying to leave something better than when you found it or when you got into, and that’s how I’ve approached everything,” he said.

After a whirlwind conclusion to his 2023 season bagging the win in Martinsville and second place in Phoenix to win the championship, now Blaney’s attention turns to “what’s next?”

“The last two weeks of the season were odd because, you know, we win Martinsville. We didn’t have time to celebrate Martinsville as a team because you’re immediately to Phoenix,” Blaney said. “(After) Phoenix, we were able to celebrate it a little bit, but it just gets scrunched together. So, you know, I think it’s time to celebrate, and we’ve had our time to celebrate, but now it’s, ‘OK, how do we replicate it?’”

Blaney starts the season as one of the favorites to win the 500 and one of a handful of drivers with the best odds at bagging the championship.