Ryan Blaney’s Unexpected Act After NASCAR Nashville Race Is Turning Heads originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Ryan Blaney has finally broken through into the win column. The Team Penske driver scored his first win of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series when he topped the field in the Cracker Barrel 400 race at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee, on Sunday.
Blaney started in the 15th position but still had a solid performance, as he led by a total of 139 laps while also winning Stage 2 of the race.
Blaney continued to grab attention after winning the race, as he personally handed the checkered flag to a lucky fan in the stands.
That moment was captured on video, which was later shared by NASCAR on Instagram.
“A true role model,” said a fan after seeing the video of Blaney’s gesture to the fan.
Another one said: “Ok, that’s pretty cool!”
From a commenter: “🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Ryan Blaney is so smooth with the W”
“That’s what it’s all about! Blaney made that kid a fan for life,” a social media user posted.
Via a different commenter: “He is a cool guy n a great race car driver.”
Said another: “Man of the people 🏁.”
The 31-year-old Blaney deservedly cherished the victory, as he had come close to one multiple times in previous starts. So far in the 2025 season, he has six top 5s and seven top 10s through 15 starts.
Hopefully for Blaney, his win in Nashville would not also be his last this season, as he now looks forward to the next race on schedule, which is the Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 8, followed by the Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, on June 22.
Related: Furious Denny Hamlin Rips Team for ‘Unacceptable’ Issue at Nashville
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
