Team Penske was in for a thrill ride at Martinsville on Sunday. Spoiling the days of many, including Denny Hamlin and Aric Almirola, the #12 driver, Ryan Blaney emerged winner. The victory booked his spot in the Championship 4 for the first time in his career and slung his team into cloud nine. With the bottles of champagne ready to be opened, Blaney was one happy bloke on the pit road at the end of the 500 laps.

The temperature in the Virginian town peaked on the day. Adding to the heat along with the seething engines and burning rubber after the race were Blaney and his girlfriend of 3 years, Gianna Tulio.

Ryan Blaney celebrates his historic win with his girlfriend Gianna Tulio

Weeks back, Ryan Blaney’s best friend Bubba Wallace had revealed that they were planning for an offseason trip to Australia along with their partners. With just one race to go, the Team Penske star will be one happy man going to the land down under, regardless of the results in Phoenix. He has endured longer in the competition than he has ever done before, and as of yet, there is no saying that he will not be able to conquer Phoenix too.

With the close-cut chase with Denny Hamlin throughout all three stages making his victory all the more sweet, Blaney rejoiced with his partner, Gianna Tulio. Tulio is a renowned model who was crowned Miss Hooters in 2021. Sharing a romantic picture of the couple kissing on the hot tracks of Martinsville, Blaney voiced his happiness to the fans. The driver and Tulio have been together for nearly 3 years now and the latter can often be found on race tracks, showing her support.

On her part, Tulio had also shared a series of stories on her Instagram page with pictures of the couple celebrating the grand occasion. Extending her happiness to congratulate the family, she shared a story from Ryan’s sister Erin Blaney. The post celebrated the achievements of both Ryan and William Byron, who has also made it through to the Championship 4.

Watch Story: Blaney’s Triumph Amidst Hamlin’s Tactics

As the racing community is already aware, William Byron and Erin Blaney are together in a romantic relationship. Blaney’s story read, “Just Wow. Emotions,” along with a collage of images from the track.

Going to Phoenix for the first time, Ryan Blaney expresses his happiness at how far they’ve come

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Leading 145 laps at Martinsville, Blaney won his third race of the year. On the bus to Phoenix, he will be joined by William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Larson. Expressing his glee at having an actual shot at the championship, Blaney said, “All you want is a shot at a championship. You get your shot when the playoffs start, if you make ’em, OK, you have a shot. But then your real shot is if you get to Phoenix, right?”

Well, now that he has got a real shot at the title, the Ford driver finds it hard to wait for the finale to begin. Climbing out his Ford in front of his home crowd, he was met with cheers that hit the sky’s roof. As he started talking to NBC Sports, he was interrupted for a little greeting by Gianna Tulio, before he continued answering the questions.

Blaney said, “We put together really strong strong playoffs and um especially the round to eight you know we had a had a good run on the whole round eight so yeah just overall just uh really proud of the whole effort. […] This is awesome so can’t wait to get to Phoenix next week.” Hopefully, the couple will have a lot more to celebrate before the season ends.

“Been Super Close for Many Years”- Ryan Blaney Gets Emotional As Championship Ticket Completes Unfulfilled Martinsville Dream