Ryan Blaney gives a shoutout to Iowa fans and family after first win of the season

Ryan Blaney became the first driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, and also the second Team Penske driver to make it to this year's playoffs. Grabbing the checkered flag as 40,000 spectators looked on, Ryan Blaney gave a shout-out to the fans, his mother, his friends, and his family, who were also present in the crowd.

A couple of weeks ago, Ryan Blaney found himself just yards away from the start-finish line at the World Wide Technology Raceway but ran out of fuel on the last lap. However, this time, the #12 team made no mistakes and bounced back with a solid win, despite being on two older tires.

"What a cool way to win here. This place means a lot to me and means a lot to my mom (Lisa, from Chariton, Iowa)," Blaney exclaimed as he spoke to NASCAR. "We had a lot of people here tonight cheering us on, so they willed us to that one."

Blaney's Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang was fast enough to lead a race-high 201 laps, including the final 88 laps of the race. The Ford pilot held off runner-up William Byron by a margin of 0.716 seconds, en route to the 11th win of his Cup career and first of the season.

According to Blaney, none of that would have been possible without the support of his pit crew.

"Overall, I really appreciate the whole (number 12 team). I mean, our car was really fast all night and we got a little bit better through the night, and two tires was a good call there," Blaney explained. "I didn’t know how well I was going to hold on. I started to struggle a little bit at the end but had enough to hang on. I’m super proud of the effort."

Currently, Blaney sits 7th in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings with 501 points to his name, as reported by FOX Sports. His next race is at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 23.

Ryan Blaney brings Team Penske an astonishing triplet

Besides being the first driver to win a Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway, Ryan Blaney is also the first driver to win NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races at the iconic short-track oval in Newton, Iowa.

Reflecting on this unique achievement, NASCAR on NBC posted,

"Truck. Xfinity. Cup. Ryan Blaney is the FIRST DRIVER to win at Iowa Speedway in all three series. 🏆🏆🏆"

Blaney was just 18 when he grabbed his first victory in the Truck Series race at Iowa in September 2012. Three years later i.e., in 2015, the third-generation driver secured a victory at Iowa, but this time, it was in the Xfinity Series.

Now, Ryan Blaney has the opportunity to become the first driver to win back-to-back Cup Series championships in the current playoff format.