WATCH: Ryan Blaney’s heartwarming gesture of gifting the checkered flag to young fan after Pocono win

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney went down victory lane in The Great American Getaway 400, at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, July 14. The Team Penske driver, elated after his win was witnessed handing over the checkered flag to a young Blaney fan in the stands.

The win at Pocono was Blaney's second win this season, after his success at the inaugural Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway last month. Between both wins, Blaney secured two top-ten finishes coming in at P6 in Nashville and P10 in Chicago last weekend.

The last time Blaney won at Pocono was in 2017 driving the #21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing. After winning the 2017 Axalta Presents the Pocono 400, Blaney was witnessed handing out the checkered flag to a young Kyle Larson fan. The Team Penske driver carried on this tradition on Sunday, handing out the checkered flag to a young fan in the crowd.

Here's a look at the kind-hearted gesture, posted on X (formerly Twitter), by NASCAR on NBC:

"After each win, Ryan Blaney finds a fan in the crowd who will take home the checkered flag."

Ryan Blaney led the last 44 laps of the race, defending his position from the reigning victor, and the most successful driver at Pocono, JGR's Denny Hamlin, who was only 1.32 seconds behind him. Blaney's win at Pocono marks not only his 12th victory in his Cup Series career but also makes him one of five Cup drivers to have multiple wins this season.

The #12 driver, after this weekend's incredible performance, has scored a total of 627 points this season, putting him at P7 in the standings table, 13 points behind the retiring JGR driver, Martin Truex Jr.

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"This place has been special to me" - Ryan Blaney shares his thoughts on winning at Pocono

Ryan Blaney started The Great American Getaway 400 in P8. Despite not securing wins in stages 1 and 2, Blaney's resurgence in stage 3 led to a triumphant victory at Pocono.

In a post-race interview with NASCAR, Blaney shared his thoughts on coming back to winning ways at Pocono:

"This place has been special to me, honestly ever since I was a kid. Iran at the dirt track outside of turn three when I was 9 years old...Got my first bwin here with Wood Brothers Racing in 2017, and it's cool to be back." [00:15]

On being asked about the difficulties and challenges that came with restarts at Pocono, Blaney said:

"I knew that was going to be the toughest part, I had faith and confidence that our car was good enough if we came out at turn one with the lead, we could hold it...My biggest focus was just coming off at turn one with the lead, and I figured we could kind of manage after that." [01:05]

Ryan Blaney and his #12 team have been consistently delivering strong performances in recent weeks. With the playoffs approaching, Blaney appears well-prepared to defend his championship title.