At last, Ryan Blaney is back in Victory Lane, and no place better to do it than at the Coca-Cola 600. The Team Penske driver was in excellent form during the race and was in the Top 5 for most of it. In all honesty, he really needed this win to bolster his confidence. This was because he had not won a single race all of last year, so he was in desperate need of redemption.
So when he finally crossed the finish line at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. And this was quite evident in the emotional interview that he gave after the race.
Ryan Blaney Speaks His Heart After He Ended His 59-Race-Long Winless Streak
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The #12 driver will want to keep up this momentum and mount a serious title challenge. His last win was at the Daytona International Speedway, all the way back in 2021. At the time, he was just coming on the back of a hot streak, because the Daytona win was his second consecutive one. Unfortunately, since then, it had always been a case of so close but yet so far for the 29-year-old.
Even in 2023, he finished as the runner-up on two occasions, at Phoenix, and at Talladega. So it wasn’t for the lack of trying, but it must have been a relief to finally get the monkey off his back.
This season has not been particularly kind to Ford cars. Between the Team Penske and Stewart-Haas Racing teams, few have put in consistent performances. For Penske, it was mostly defending champion Joey Logano, but now Blaney is looking like he is joining the party. Meanwhile, in the SHR camp, veteran driver Kevin Harvick has been carrying the team single-handedly.
Looking at all this, Blaney’s victory at NASCAR’s crown jewel seems even more special. After Monday’s race, Choking back tears, Blaney mentioned on the track, “You know, you start to get a feeling like you can’t win anymore. Well, you don’t win in a while, can get hard. So just super thankful to the #12 guys for believing in me. Thank you guys for sticking around! I really appreciate it!”
We all believed, Ryan. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ACu5i1FzR1
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 30, 2023
NASCAR Fans Were Thrilled to See Blaney Back in Victory Lane
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Witnessing the raw emotion, several NASCAR fans were happy to see Blaney get over his bad luck. The #12 driver has currently racked up eight wins in his career, so he will be aiming to build on that. However, with such a long, winless streak, one could hardly blame him for being demotivated. Fortunately, his team and many of his fans never lost faith and believed that he would win again.
No give up. 👏
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) May 30, 2023
“Proud of you @Blaney! Congratulations!”
“Reminds me a lot of Jr. Because Jr got that way in the last few years at DEI. Both very good guys and great for the sport.”
“The Blaney family is a class act. Each and everyone of them are grounded in reality. The world would be a much better place with more people like them in it.
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Always have believed in you @Blaney and always so proud of you!!! CONGRATULATIONS ON THIS WIN!!!! 🏁🏁🏁
— annie (@likeiambrandnew) May 30, 2023
“We never gave up on Blaney. Happy to see him back in winners circle”
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There was also an interesting comparison to none other than Dale Earnhardt Jr. According to some people, similar thoughts had crossed Dale Jr’s mind while he was racing for Dale Earnhardt Inc. Others also praised Blaney and his family for being ‘grounded in reality’ and being very likable.
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