“He was super talented, really young”: Ryan Blaney’s dad Dave Blaney envisioned his son winning Cup Series championship long ago

Ryan Blaney clinched his maiden Cup Series Championship in Phoenix on Sunday, 5th November and his dad, Dave Blaney, was full of praise for his son.

Ryan Blaney's dad never won the NASCAR championship. But, he always had faith in his son to win the championship one day and was beaming with pride in Phoenix.

Speaking to Fox's Bob Pockrass after the season finale, Dave Blaney stated that he always envisioned his son winning the Cup Series Championship for a long time.

“He was super talented, really young. But lots of guys are! You still got to make all this stuff happen and progress through and he’s done it all. He has made it happen,” Dave Blaney said.

Ryan Blaney's dad has had a very long NASCAR career. In his 17 years of racing, Dave Blaney had 473 race starts with 28 top-ten results.

Dave has an Xfinity win to his name. During his stint in the Xfinity Series, he has raced 121 times.

---

Ryan Blaney clinches his maiden Cup Series Championship

NASCAR Phoenix Auto Racing

Ryan Blaney held off Kyle Larson to win his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series Championship with a second-place finish. Blaney gave Team Penske back-to-back championship titles.

"What a year, congrats, RP. Thanks for giving me a shot," Blaney stated after the race (via ESPN).

With his win, Blaney becomes the first Ohio-born driver to win the championship. His teammate, Joey Logano won the Championship for Team Penske in 2022.

Ford Performance, which has had a difficult season overall, had an incredible end thanks to Blaney, who won two of the six playoff races.

“It was definitely on my mind to give him consecutive titles, I mean, because he's done everything in motorsports and we had a chance to go back-to-back on the Cup side with him,” Ryan Blaney stated.

Ross Chastain won the final Cup Series race becoming the first driver since Denny Hamlin in 2013, to win the season finale while not competing for the title. Kyle Larson and William Byron put their Hendrick Motorsport Chevrolet in third and fourth place respectively.

Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing finished last in 36th place due to a damaged brake rotor. Kevin Harvick wrapped up his NASCAR career by finishing in seventh place.