Ryan Blaney powered to his second Daytona win of the season last weekend, wheeling the No. 12 Team Penske Ford from 13th to 1st in a thrilling final-lap charge. While the Coke Zero Sugar 400 victory capped off the regular season in style, Blaney had something even bigger on his mind, preparing for fatherhood.

Since 2024, the NASCAR Cup Series has witnessed many of its veteran drivers welcoming little ones. They include Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Bubba Wallace. Wallace and his wife welcomed Becks Hayden in September 2024. And now, his best friend is going through the same major life changes before the much-awaited D-Day.

Ryan Blaney lets slip his grand preparations

The 2023 Cup Series champion has a happening life both on and off the racetrack. Ryan Blaney made his and Gianna Tulio’s relationship public five years ago, and they got engaged in 2023. Then, on 12/12/2024, the No. 12 driver tied the knot with Tulio. It seems only yesterday that they had a snowy fairytale wedding in Aspen, Colorado – and now the couple is expecting their first child.

How time flies! Blaney and Tulio announced the good news on 5th July, with the birth date estimated to be around winter, during the Cup Series off-season. While there is still time left, the present situation has left Blaney in a dilemma. He is juggling racer and dad duties – and not surprisingly, excelling at both.

Ryan Blaney came clean on his Sunday activities after winning spectacularly on Saturday. Instead of passing celebratory drinks among friends, Blaney was passing the shopping cart to his wife, Gianna. Blaney said in a recent “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour’ episode, “It’s a new thing that I have to balance – preparing for our son and focusing on racing in the playoffs. It’s having to go back and forth. And I don’t ever wanna take away either one…100% effort in both racing and getting ready for our child…Making sure that Gianna is feeling good, comfortable. People ask me, Oh, you had a Sunday off, did you party? I’m like, No, we went stroller and car seat shopping yesterday. I’ll tell you how life changes, that’s for sure.”

Besides Bubba Wallace, other people in Ryan Blaney’s vicinity are already enjoying parenthood. They involve his sister, Emma, who has two children, and IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin, whose daughter was born in October 2024. And all these people are helping Blaney prepare for his turn.

Blaney continued, “The only thing that’s on my mind is the preparation work, making sure that everything is ready as it can be, hoping everyone’s healthy when that day comes…It’s funny, at this stage of my life, when all my buddies are having kids. You know, like Bubba, Scotty Mac, I have a few other friends that are pregnant right now…I’m excited for our son to grow up with Becks, Bubba’s boy.”

Clearly, there is a lot on Ryan Blaney’s plate at present. But while he prepares for his big role transition into a father, his own father is doing his job.

Feeling anxious at every turn

Once, World of Outlaws legend Dave Blaney prepared for his own child’s birth in this world. While he excelled on the racetrack by winning 95 WoO features, he also excelled outside it by raising another motorsports legend. But while supporting the career of his son, Ryan Blaney, Dave has concerns.

His son had recently grown a penchant for crashing on superspeedways. In the last 6 races on drafting tracks, Ryan recorded wrecks despite his previous wins in Daytona and Talladega. So, when Dave and Lisa Blaney made their trip to South Florida, they were reluctant to watch the race.

Fortunately, Ryan Blaney could weave his way around the wild carnage at Daytona. Yet even after winning the Coke Zero Sugar 400, he confessed how stressed out his parents were watching their son risk yet another scary wreck.

He said, “I can’t believe they come here. Because Dad hates speedway racing. He hates watching it. Absolutely despises it. My mom is a nervous wreck the whole time. I’m like: Just stay home. They just pace and pace and pace. But it’s fortunate that we were able to pull one out tonight, so it was good to see him in Victory Lane.”

That same level of concern may visit Ryan Blaney, too, if his child also decides to continue the family tradition. With his duties as a racer and a father coming up hot, let’s see how Blaney finishes the season.