Ryan Blaney’s dad says he envisioned NASCAR Cup Series Championship for his son as a kid

“I could actually,” Dave Blaney said, asked if he envisioned his son’s title-winning future. “He was always super talented, really young. But lots of guys are. You’ve still got to make all this stuff happen. Progress through it. He’s done it all. He’s made it happen.”

Alas, it was an emotional afternoon for the entire family, and it’s easy to see why Ryan Blaney was able to keep his eye on the prize his entire racing career. It takes a village, and the Penske wheelman had a strong support group throughout.

There may be more titles in his future, but the first one will always be special to Ryan Blaney. He’s officially a NASCAR Cup Series champion, and the future is brighter than ever as he continues to march forward.

More on Ryan Blaney, 2023 NASCAR Cup Series title

For years, people have thought of Ryan Blaney as a potential champion. He’s won some races here and there. However, it felt like he had underperformed at times. 

This season, with three wins, a dominant playoff run, and a great championship race, he proved his supporters right.

Team Penske now has back-to-back championships in the Cup Series for the first time. You look at Blaney’s performance in the six races of the season, he was fantastic. Two wins, a top-10, and two runner-up finishes. He didn’t win this race, but he won the championship. 

In the youngest Championship 4 ever, Ryan Blaney wins the battle of this generation of racers. Larson is a champion and finished second in this playoff battle. Byron and Bell are both future champions, or they at least have the potential to be. 

No matter what happens from here, Ryan Blaney will forever be a NASCAR Cup Series champion. He wasn’t part of the NASCAR 75 Greatest list, but we’ll bet you he’s part of the 100 Greatest when that list comes out.

On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this article.