Ryan Blaney Scores First NASCAR Cup Win of the Season at Nashville LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — Ryan Blaney thrilled fans with a celebratory burnout after capturing his first NASCAR Cup Series win of the season Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway, launching the second half of the year in style.
“I’m ready to go celebrate,” said Blaney, the reigning 2023 Cup Series champion. Despite a strong start to the season with five top-five finishes, Blaney hadn’t reached victory lane until now. Driving the No. 12 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, he earned his 14th career win and his first since November at Martinsville.
“I never gave up hope,” Blaney said. “We’ve had speed all year, but luck just hasn’t been on our side. These 12 guys keep grinding no matter what.” Blaney became the ninth different winner in the 2025 season and the fifth different driver to win at Nashville in as many races there.
His victory also marked back-to-back Nashville wins for Team Penske. Starting from 15th, Blaney surged to the front and won the second stage. He maintained a comfortable lead, finishing 2.83 seconds ahead of Carson Hocevar, who matched his career-best finish from Atlanta in February.
Despite early complaints about his No. 77 Chevrolet, Hocevar credited the team’s adjustments. “Either I’m really dramatic or they’re really good on adjustments,” Hocevar joked. “Probably both. This track’s tough to pass on, and we went from 26th to second.” Denny Hamlin, running his 700th Cup race, came in third—matching Jeff Gordon’s finish in his own 700th race at Darlington in 2013.
Joey Logano (last year’s Nashville winner) finished fourth, and William Byron rounded out the top five. Hamlin hoped for one final caution that never materialized. “I could hang with Blaney for about 40 laps, but after that, he just pulled away,” Hamlin said. The green-flag sprint to the finish forced strategic pit stops. Blaney had led 107 laps before pitting on lap 248.
Hamlin briefly took the lead until his own stop on lap 256. Brad Keselowski led for a stint before pitting on lap 269, giving Blaney control for the final 31 laps. Hamlin had an extra reason for caution: his fiancée was due to give birth on race day.
Joe Gibbs Racing had Ryan Truex on standby, but Hamlin ultimately raced and won Stage 1. Meanwhile, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick welcomed his second son early Sunday morning and finished 26th later that day at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte.
The night ended early for Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who was knocked out on lap 106 after contact from Hocevar sent him into the wall—the first time this season Stenhouse failed to finish a race. (Potential penalties from the incident are still under review
