Ryan Blaney enters the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season carrying renewed momentum from his earlier victory, but he continues to credit Kevin Harvick’s sportsmanship during his breakout Pocono win as a pivotal factor in his journey. Highlighting the significance of Kevin Harvick’s sportsmanship during Ryan Blaney’s Pocono win, both memories and rivalries come full circle as NASCAR returns to Pennsylvania’s demanding triangle for another fierce showdown.
Blaney’s Rise: From Young Rookie to Cup Series Champion
Patience, resilience, and calculated aggression have defined Blaney’s 2025 campaign as expectations soared after his 2023 championship win. A recent triumph at Nashville Superspeedway ended a stubborn winless streak and revitalized not only his playoff prospects but his reputation among fans and fellow drivers. Regular Top-10 finishes and strategic racing have kept him firmly in contention, a testament to his development since making his Cup debut in 2014 with the Wood Brothers Racing team.
Hailing from a storied racing lineage—his father Dave Blaney also made his mark as a Cup Series driver—Ryan Blaney’s progression through the Xfinity and Truck Series exemplifies both old-school grit and contemporary adaptability. Securing a seat with Team Penske, Blaney quickly established himself as a cornerstone of the organization, blending composure under stress with a modern racing approach. The 2025 calendar brings him back to Pocono Raceway, a track that holds special meaning given the legends he has battled, such as Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch.
Pocono 2017: Where Blaney and Harvick’s Rivalry Forged Respect
This year’s stop at Pocono marks more than the pursuit of stage points. It’s a vivid reminder of the 2017 Cup race where Ryan Blaney’s career path changed forever. In a recent broadcast interview with Kurt Becker, Blaney revisited the memories tied to his breakthrough Cup victory at the tricky triangle.
“Let’s take closer order on Pocono,”
recalled Becker.
“You’ve got quite a history at the track, you’ve won there in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and of course your first NASCAR Cup Series win came at Pocono in 2017. I went back and looked at the footage of that race, you had to deal with getting around Kyle Busch with 10 to go that day, then you had to deal with fending off Kevin Harvick. Did you even have time in that final 10 laps to really think about the fact, ‘Hey, I’m on the brink of my first win?’”
—Kurt Becker, Broadcaster
In 2017, Blaney, then a 23-year-old pilot in the #12 Team Penske Ford, made headlines by overtaking Kyle Busch with just 10 laps remaining, a move noted for its blend of aggression and respect. Kevin Harvick, a revered veteran, relentlessly chased him down to the checkered flag, finishing less than two-tenths of a second behind after a tense battle to the final lap.
“Not much, not until it was over,”
replied Blaney.
“Now you said, there was so much going on, we had to go up there and get the lead and for a moment when I got the lead, I was like, ‘Ok, I might drive off in the sunset here,’ and then the next thing I know, I got Harvick breathing down my neck and giving me all sorts of trouble and then it turned back to, ‘Hey, ok, I can’t make a mistake here. I got to do all I can to just run the best laps that I can,’ and luckily, we were able to do that.”
—Ryan Blaney, Driver
Blaney’s skill and presence of mind secured the narrow win, yet he remained quick to praise Kevin Harvick for the integrity of their duel. That day, the two drivers established a sense of mutual respect that persists to this day, influencing how Blaney approaches high-pressure showdowns with NASCAR’s elite competitors like Kyle Busch and Joey Logano.
“Kevin raced me very, very clean, which was super great,”
continued Blaney.
“So, it wasn’t an easy one by any stretch of the imagination, but I think what makes it more special is, ‘Hey, we had to drive up here and get the lead and then we had to fend off Kevin.’”
—Ryan Blaney, Driver
The 2017 triumph placed Blaney in the record books as the youngest new Cup winner for Wood Brothers Racing since Trevor Bayne’s historic Daytona 500 victory in 2011. The achievement also marked a first for several other team members, embedding the moment as a cornerstone in their professional lives.
“So those moments are very special when you work so hard and things finally go your way and you just do your job, and you do your job right,”
Blaney reminisced.
“So that was a very special day for me and all that group with the Wood Brothers. It wasn’t only my first win, it was a lot of those folks on that team, it was their first couple win as well, so to be able to share that with all folks was definitely a very unique experience and its cool to have that first altogether.”
—Ryan Blaney, Driver
Momentum Builds Ahead of Pocono Return
Since his breakthrough years, Blaney’s evolution has been marked by growing poise in front of NASCAR’s most raucous crowds. His recent win at the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway confirmed Team Penske’s upward trend, and Blaney is confident that his group’s chemistry could help him relive past magic at Pocono if the team maintains its current form.
“I feel like our group is doing great,”
said Blaney.
“It was nice to win, a couple weeks ago in Nashville. Finally get to Victory Lane. So, I’ve been proud of our efforts so far and hopefully things can smooth out a little bit for us so that we can get a little bit more consistency.”
—Ryan Blaney, Driver
Fresh from celebrating that hard-earned win, Blaney looks to solidify his playoff standing while relishing the opportunity to revisit the site of his earliest Cup success. The specter of past battles with Kevin Harvick and the rival veterans keeps the urgency high as the field prepares for yet another relentless race weekend.
In-Season Tournament Intensifies the Stakes
The introduction of NASCAR’s first In-Season Tournament adds another layer of pressure as Blaney heads to Pocono seeded 23rd. While the tournament seeding process started at Michigan International Speedway, Blaney admitted that he did not initially focus on rankings. With the results from the Mexico City event affecting the brackets, the stakes of securing a favorable spot have become more evident in recent days.
“I don’t see anything negative about it, at all,”
Blaney said.
“I can’t say I was too hyper-focused on it at Michigan, and even at Mexico City, I wasn’t crazy hyper-focused on the seeding.”
—Ryan Blaney, Driver
Blaney’s awareness of the race-within-a-race dynamic was cemented once he saw how the preliminary seeding could pair him against formidable competitors early on. As the opening round approaches at Atlanta Motor Speedway, known for its unpredictable on-track action, he recognizes the importance of race positioning and the likelihood of upsets affecting the entire tournament.
“Then I saw a chart of the seeding as of right now after Mexico City and I was like, ‘Oh man, I need to get my seeding up,’”
continued Blaney. —Ryan Blaney, Driver
Blaney expects the Atlanta race to be particularly volatile, with the bracket format fueling intense head-to-head battles even among mid-pack drivers. While surprises are almost guaranteed on such a level playing field, his focus now shifts to leveraging every lap at Pocono to improve his place in the all-new competition.
“Atlanta being the first race, it doesn’t really make a huge difference. I think you’re going to see a lot of upsets at Atlanta just because of the way the track is,”
Blaney said. —Ryan Blaney, Driver
What Blaney’s Journey Means for NASCAR’s Next Chapter
As NASCAR returns to Pocono Raceway, the story of Ryan Blaney serves as a case study in both personal growth and the traditions that distinguish the sport. Blaney’s respect for Kevin Harvick’s sportsmanship in his own formative win highlights why veteran drivers remain integral to NASCAR’s competitive fabric. With new formats like the In-Season Tournament shaking up the field and young stars pushing the limits, the old and new collide in unpredictable ways.
Legendary figures like Kyle Busch and Joey Logano set the standard for rivalry and intensity, but it is instances like Blaney’s duel with Harvick that demonstrate the balance of tenacity and respect required for NASCAR greatness. As Blaney continues to build on his breakout moments, fans and teams alike watch closely to see if his hunger and composure can again yield another spectacular finish amid mounting pressure.
Whether Ryan Blaney’s Pocono magic resurfaces or NASCAR’s established veterans find another way to command the spotlight, all eyes remain fixed on a weekend set to deepen the sport’s ever-evolving script.
