Ryan Blaney: NASCAR Champion 2024 Season, Daytona 500 Win Next

Ryan Blaney and his fiancée made a viral moment when she called him "Ryan (Bleeping) Blaney", now they're making t-shirts.

Ryan Blaney was about to race in a NASCAR playoff race last October at Martinsville Speedway when his now-fiancee, Gianna Tulio, hugged and kissed him. As he was about to get into his Ford, Tulio gave him the standard goodbye that most significant others offer to drivers on the grid, "Good luck, be safe, I'm proud of you." But she added one more tip, "And remember, be Ryan (Bleeping) Blaney." This quip was caught on camera as part of the Netflix NASCAR "Full Speed" documentary that chronicled an inside look at drivers and their personal and private lives during the championship races.

The couple might even cash in on the profane motivational push. Blaney said, "Maybe we'll make some shirts. I can't have the full wording on the shirts, but we'll bleep out some letters." Coming soon on a Blaney T-shirt to a NASCAR retail shop near you, #RFB.

Blaney was indeed "Ryan Bleeping Blaney" that day and won Martinsville to advance to the championship race. He clinched his first Cup Series title a week later at Phoenix Raceway, and enjoyed the spoils that followed, like an appearance on the "Today" show.

Blaney turned up his performance in the No. 12 Ford in the playoffs. Over the final six weeks, Blaney racked up two wins, two runner-ups and didn't finish lower than 12th. Blaney's first career title was the fourth Cup championship for Team Penske and 44th overall for the storied organization.

Blaney intends to use his stature as NASCAR champion to lead, both at Penske and in the Cup Series. A proud "Star Wars" geek who once named his podcast " Glass Case of Emotion " in a nod to "Anchorman," Blaney said he's already broached NASCAR with proposals on topics of importance to him. Blaney said he was never the driver to raise his hand and speak up on industry business, but admits as champ, "I need to pay attention a little bit more to issues."

Appearing clean-shaven after he grew a bushy playoff beard -- the unkempt look usually a no-no at Penske -- the blue-collar Blaney is trying to become the sixth driver to follow a championship with a Daytona 500 victory the next season. The feat hasn't been done since Dale Jarrett won the 1999 title and then enjoyed the last of his three Daytona 500 wins in 2000. Blaney has a pair of runner-up finishes in the Daytona 500, losing to Kurt Busch in 2017 and Denny Hamlin in 2020.

Blaney is set for his 10th Daytona 500 start and winning the race is now the one glaring omission on his NASCAR resume. He just might win Daytona -- as long he remembers what Tulio told him. That he's Ryan Bleeping Blaney.

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