Ryan Blaney has solidified himself as one of NASCAR's elite despite not winning another championship

Ryan Blaney's NASCAR Cup Series journey has been rather atypical for a driver of his standard. 

Most Cup Series champions will have an elite season in which they come up just shy of the Cup, which eventually spurs a championship run followed by continued success. 

From 2017 to 2021, Blaney won seven races and finished no worse than 10th in points. It was a solid stretch for the Hartford Township, Ohio, native, but not one where he showed flashes of true championship potential. 

That's why it was so surprising when Blaney went on a playoff run for the ages in 2023, winning two of the final six races and finishing second in the season finale to win the championship. Blaney's stats weren't mind-blowing, but he got hot at the right time to earn his crown. 

Despite his postseason run, however, Blaney still had his fair share of doubters. It was clear that in order to be considered one of the best drivers in the sport, he'd need to back up his 2023 run with an equally impressive 2024 campaign. 

Faced with the pressure of defending his championship, he did just that. 

Blaney may have fallen 0.33 seconds shy of another Cup Series title, but consecutive three-win seasons and Championship 4 appearances have made it clear that Blaney and the No. 12 team will be long-term residents near the top of the points standings. 

Blaney's 2024 season didn't start to heat up until the temperatures did. After missing out on the win at Atlanta in February by inches, his first win of the year appeared to be in the works in St. Louis on June 2 — until he ran out of gas coming to the white flag, handing the victory to his Team Penske teammate in Austin Cindric. 

But Blaney's solid showing in St. Louis proved that the No. 12 team was capable of winning, and two weeks after the St. Louis heartbreak, it was Blaney who won the inaugural Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway, leading 201 of 350 laps. 

Less than a month later, Blaney scored his second victory of the season at Pocono — the track that yielded his first career win with the Wood Brothers in 2017 — giving the No. 12 team some momentum heading into the playoffs. 

Inconsistency bit Blaney throughout the 2024 playoffs, and while he made the Round of 8, a crash at Las Vegas seemed to make it clear that a repeat wasn't in the cards. 

At Homestead-Miami, Blaney was within two corners of winning — until Tyler Reddick pulled off a legendary move to pass Blaney and take a Championship 4 berth of his own. 

One week later, however, Blaney drove perhaps the best race of his life, storming back from a deficit of nearly three seconds over the race's final 50 laps to clinch a spot in the championship race. 

At Phoenix, Blaney nearly pulled off another Herculean comeback, catching teammate and eventual champion Joey Logano in the closing laps, but he was unable to make the winning pass. 

Even without another Bill France Cup to add to his trophy case, however, Blaney's stock as an elite driver skyrocketed in 2024. He's solidified himself as one of the sport's elite, and barring a disastrous set of circumstances, will be in the championship conversation for years to come.