Did Ryan Blaney Have The Greatest Winless Season Ever?

[@austinemms9772]

The fact that he tied Kyle Larson, the defending Cup Series champion, in the points standings speaks volumes about his consistency and how good he is during races.

[@richiewells25]

For like 2 or 3 years he even lead in the standings at some point in the season too.

[@NASCARFAN93100]

Ryan Blaney was one of 4 drivers to score 17 Top 10s in 2022 alongside Teammate and Champion Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch who had a miserable 2022 season

[@kyle57688]

Yeah for all the dogshit luck harvick and KB had this year when they didn’t have bad luck they were very consu

[@kyle57688]

Consistent

[@TheAzuncazunc]

It shows how differently people would’ve looked at Kyle Busch season had he won Vegas or maybe a few other races that slipped away near the end

[@NASCARFAN93100]

@@TheAzuncazunc It probably wouldn't have made much difference Considering how disastrous Race 16-31 was for Kyle Busch and besides Jeff Gordon had 4 wins in 2005 and still had the worst season of his career

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

Ryan Blaney 2022: Suffering From Success

[@SuperNASCARrocks]

I wouldn’t say the GREATEST winless season ever, but he did have a good year. They ran up front pretty much the entire year. There were at least 4 or 5 races where they could’ve won just on pure pace alone. I was kind of shocked when he went winless. The #12 team looked fast enough every week to win, consistently running up front. Hopefully they can get back to victory lane next year.

[@kevinlittrell3407]

I think he really could’ve won any of the first 4 races, but the 12 pit crew REALLY struggled with the new tire. I remember at Fontana, he’d be running like 3rd, lose like 8 spots on pit road, gain all of the that track position back just to lose like 8 more positions on pit road, and by the end of the race I think he just ran out of steam.

[@thetechfromheaven]

He also helped his teammate win the championship. If it wasn't for Blaney sidewinding Logano, Chastain would've pulled some fun move at the end.

[@DennyDeliversYT]

debatable whether he has the best winless season… but Ryan Blaney really has the best twitter most popular driver campaign rn lmao

[@williamhardenbergh3470]

FACTS

[@kingofrunescapepking]

True and yet he's still going to handily finish 2nd at best

[@merlinbeen8432]

Which means what exactly regarding his winless season? Will he get a "Twitter" trophy? What a freaking world.

[@williamhardenbergh3470]

id rather be ty gibbs and ross chastain and actually win then be loved for finishing

[@williamhardenbergh3470]

@@merlinbeen8432 2nd

[@mrcoconuts809]

It reminds me Ryan Newman’s 2014 season Quietly had a banger of a season

[@The_Real_OQ]

I've never seen a driver closer to being an absolute juggernaut than Blaney. Like he is just knocking down the door of being a championship favorite but he hasn't had a season where he's been the best he could be. But I feel like we're right around the corner from that. Should be fun to watch.

[@oIRONITEo]

If it's not him making a mistake, it's his team literally almost every week it felt like.

[@NASCARFAN93100]

Dale Jr's 2013 season is up there as one of the best winless seasons in NASCAR history 10 Top 5s 22 Top 10s A 12.6 Average Finish And a 5th Place Points Finish

[@tristonwebb7045]

I mentioned that as well. He also led the points for at least a few weeks in the summer stretch too

[@Tylnorton]

Harvick's 2021 winless season was even better. 10.9 average finish 10 top 5 24 top 10 5th place finish and in a real points standing all year long, he would have been in 3rd.

[@jjy4824]

Yep thought of this immediately

[@jjy4824]

He had 5 runner ups as well

[@zachsaunders6365]

His dad Dave Blaney was probably the greatest winless driver ever.

[@sprintcarman369]

Correct that's part of why he hung around so long in garabge rides at the end of his career, to make connections and set up ryan for success.

[@nickphilkill8287]

Greatest winless drivers would be an interesting series I could see this guy doing

[@mrcommentman1235]

Ryan Blaney is ballin' !!!

[@ZPaul_]

Crazy to think that Truex and Blaney the 2 drivers with the most stage wins didn’t win a race. They both fall into the same boat. Had the speed to run up front and win, but just couldn’t catch a break. Especially Truex 😞

[@d2eagle525]

Being a Truex fan, this season caused great pain. At least I like to watch the Melon Man too so I had him to root for in the playoffs

[@johnvandeventer8668]

I think it was a pretty good year for him despite going winless

[@ashenwolf98]

If we’re not limiting it to just Cup, I’d say Matt Crafton in 2019 is a contender for best winless season. 7 top 5s, 18 top 10s, only five finishes outside the top 10, and he won the championship in a playoff elimination format.

[@ashenwolf98]

Oh, and of those five finishes outside the top 10, three of them were still top 15 and only one was a DNF

[@Angie-Pants]

Ugh I hope he doesn't turn into the new Mark Martin. I can't endure all that heartbreak again.

[@Lord_Reavous]

Blaney is already has better opportunity to succeed than Mark did; considering Mark failed in his first attempt and lost about 4 years of learning the cup car. As a Mark Martin fan myself, I do hate the thought of someone else struggling in that fashion. Ryan did lose a close Daytona 500 which is similar. Overall though Mark thinks of his own career as great just having won races; and if you can achieve 30-40 wins, I'd say you earned admiration for that feat alone. (So yeah I give Hamlin his due for that too even if I can't stand his persona).

[@carlos_lt42]

Nah that’s just Denny Hamlin

[@gregrowe1168]

Ricky Rudd in in that category too. So close but never got that championship. Look at all the hall of famers that Mark Martin lost to. First it was Dale Sr. Then Jeff Gordon. Then Tony Stewart. And finally Jimmie Johnson. 21 cups among those 4 drivers. Well Jimmie isn’t in the hall of fame yet but obviously he’s in as soon as he’s eligible. He’s like the Karl Malone of NASCAR, great talent but always getting beat by an all time great. He even tried joining Hendrick near the end of his career, much like Karl joined the Lakers to try to get a ring but both failed.

[@seannolan9857]

Personally, I think the best winless season was Harry Gant in 1981. Only driver to ever lead over 1000 laps in a year without getting a win.

[@Thatguyyouwannaforget]

This ages soo well

[@Racer55R]

The year Blaney finally wins the Daytona 500, he's gonna be scary like 2021 Larson level scary

[@81casperflip]

It's ironic that a teammate basically cost him a win at the first and last race of the season

[@merlinbeen8432]

Cost him? You mean he wasn't given it? He had to race for it. And fell short? That's on him. What a weird angle to look at someone else's accomplishments. Ryans fan boys are always coming up with excuses. He had a say in his performance this year and he made alot of mistakes. Fact. He was loving the wall more than Larson in past seasons...for starters!

[@81casperflip]

@@merlinbeen8432 exactly

[@jbucktheman]

I still think Mark Martin 1996, Kevin harvick 2021, Chase Elliott 2017, Dale Jr 2013, and Matt Kenseth 2014 are better winless seasons but blaneys was pretty good

[@TheJudoJoker]

In terms of winless seasons, I think a now forgotten, but nonetheless great winless season is Jamie McMurray. 9 top 5s 23 top 10s! Avg finish 13.2 6 DNFs (4 were blown engines) For reference, Kurt had 10 top 5s, 21 top 10s, avg finish of 12.5 in 2004. He only missed the chase by 15 points, which is 3 positions in the old points structure. He had a 25 point penalty early and also lost 3 spots on the last lap at Bristol from a Matt Kenseth bump and run. If he made the chase and everything else stayed equal, he would have been right in the middle of the championship battle between Johnson, Gordon, and Busch. Instead, he had clinched the "best of the rest" award 2 races early.

[@doomusrlc]

Mark Martin 1996, Kyle Larson 2019, Matt Kenseth 2014, and Dale Jr 2013 are up there too. Edit: Ricky Rudd 2000 and McMurray 2004 as well

[@doomusrlc]

And both Ken Schrader and Morgan Shepard in 1994 had good winless seasons.

[@Slothfries25]

You should compare Ryan's newmans 2014 winless season vs martin treux jr and Ryan blaney 2022 season or any drivers who didn't win like harvick and compare all drivers and seenwhat they had all in common like top 5 or top 10 wrecks to by making a separate video just to see who would have the best out of them all just ideas i was thinking. Great content as always. Hope Harrison burton turns his season around in 2023 lets go 21

[@specksofdust]

Ryan Blaney also had the most led races, with like 25. He was up there more weeks than not.

[@elmerchudd3342]

Do a greatest winless drivers series starting with Dave Blaney 1995 World of outlaws champion (beating Steve Kinser at the height of his dominance)

[@bigredbirdy6563]

Great idea. Blaney was one of the best ever in a sprint car. People were sure he would be the next Jeff Gordon he just never had the connections to get a great ride

[@zt5547]

I think he had a better season than 95% of drivers who won.

[@SR2448_]

I think Daniel Hemric's 2018 Xfinity Season can be argued as one of the best winless seasons in Xfinity. 16 top 5s, 23 top 10s, an average finish of 9.0, and would've won the championship under a season-long points format. Under the chase format he made the final 4 and finished 3rd.

[@aarongannon3384]

The one reason I'd say he season could be classed as disappointing is he only made the playoffs because of Kurt Busch's injury

[@davisowen97]

He easily had one of the best durable cars this year. He had problems but not to the level like anyone else, especially in the first half of the playoffs. His car was fast overall too. His mistakes grew more frequent during once the playoffs got going. Also it was the first season with a new crew chief

[@franksinatra8445]

I found the video sad as a blaney fan so much potential in the season but lots of good days no great days NASCAR wouldn’t even let the blaney fans enjoy the All Star Race

[@KellieLeigh48]

Jamie McMurray 2004 was an awesome one

[@theunsolvedwizard3929]

Sadly everyone is forgetting about MTJ’s season in 2022 Truex Jr had the 2nd worst season since 2014. But I know this video is all about Ryan Blaney not MTJ but I feel like you should do a video of Martin Truex Jr’s season as well.

[@wingracer1614]

I got to go 2014 Ryan Newman. Yeah a little less competitive than Blaney but still managed 2nd in the championship

[@ToopyAndBinooRulesEst2004]

While I do hate him, I think the Gen 7 was the cause of his hangover from 2021, with 0 wins, 12 top 5s, 17 top 10s, an average finish of 13.6, along with 3 DNFs and an 8th place points finish in 2022, only time will tell if this hangover continues in 2023.

[@hunternixonfishing2500]

When he’s not winning races he’s very consistent on speed. It’s like you can’t put him in the same category as Chase Elliott or Kyle Larson because he doesn’t win but same time he’s better than a lot of the young guys in the sport.

[@Lord_Reavous]

Kind of reminds me of Mark Martins 1996 campaign (w/o the Allstar). Was in contention and very often a threat but wins fell through at the end. The only real difference is when Mark had issues they were worse; but it might as well have been so for Ryan.

[@connorbrown2746]

i had the pleasure of meeting him at, of all places, a Carolina hurricanes game, and he seemed like a genuine dude. i just feel bad for him since his direct competition just so happens to be a 2 time nascar cup series champion. i think he has it in him to be a cup series champion, but its going to be damn hard for him.

[@evanwilliams6406]

Ryan Blaney would have to have something like this happening to him. Blaney gets so close to victory lane he can smell the champagne, but someone always seems to grab that parking spot.

[@davelikesbacon]

When Blaney finally figures it out he's going to be a championship threat year after year.

[@goblin11c95]

ricky rudd in 2000. 12 top 5. 19 top 10. 11.5 average finish. 5th in standings.

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

Great season for sure.. not quite sure where to rank it. If you keep knocking at the door, eventually he'll make top 4, When you win can be much more important than how many times you win. Witness 1983 NCState Basketball National Championship. Survive and Advance is the name of the 30 for 30 documentary.

[@12magenta]

It was up there right with Mark Martin's 1996 season.

[@C-WiL]

James Hylton: Hold My Drink

[@Denielle-V]

Now he's entering the 2023 Xfinity 500 above the cutline. He's in good position this year to probably make it to the championship race on points alone, with William Byron, if either of the place 2nd and 3rd without a new playoffs winner.

[@Atrail_Mckinley4786]

The fact that personal injury law attorneys sponsored this video just made me laugh

[@ProjectVIN]

You were correct to point out the couple of driver mistakes, but I also remember a ton of iffy pit stops and I think more than one 'is the wheel on?' moments that sent him back into the pits and to the back of the pack again when he was running up front.

[@RYANCRISTMASBLANEY12]

Now he is a NASCAR cup series champion LETS GOOO

[@anthonydeloreto3881]

Harry Gant finished 2nd seven times in 1981 & led 1,169 laps. Finished 3rd in points without a win.

[@OGSharpshooter317]

Blaney in 2022 had 12 top 5s and 17 top 10s. Jeff Gordon in 2008 had more of each. Hell just last year Harvick had 24! Top tens. Both season are better winless seasons

[@SharkyCartelRailroad]

what about kyle larson's 2018 season??? that was a very consistent season!

[@jjjustin17favs]

Good year statistically but nothing sticks in my mind from him this season.

[@millennialchicken]

TECHNICALLY... he did win something... that counted for no points. But I count that as a W in my book.

[@rockingham20]

Exactly. How many wins would these guys trade to "not win" that first race back at Wilkesboro next year? All star race counts!

[@albinocj969]

James Hylton multiple times would like to talk about this.

[@danielfoster3642]

No. I think some of the other winless drivers you mentioned were far better than Ryan Blaney's 2022 season. Blaney might have had a good season, but because of the playoffs and everything, it really doesn't amount to much. And yes, Ryan Blaney did win the All Star Race this year, but that win does not count in the record books since it was a non points race.

[@racingjunkie27]

He had a shot at Phoenix (steal the race win away from Logano) though his teammate will still be champion if he finishes second, but Blaney cowardly backed off and degraded himself to just be Penske's b##tch. Blaney didn't even try, he just accepted defeat without hesitation. That's not what a race car driver does. I hope he never wins a race again.

[@mustanglover06]

I think he could've won 5-7 races this year, and many of them were lost due to pit road issues and things outside his control. I think next year he's gonna have a chip on his shoulder and we're gonna see him go out and kick ass, at least I hope so lol

[@tristonwebb7045]

Kasey kahne s rookie year didn’t have the consistency but all those 2nds and the speed all year. In the 12 man and 16 car chase/playoffs he prob ends thay year a 5-8 in the standings so it’s a contender. Dale jrs 2013 is decent. Led the standings for what 6/7 weeks

[@NASCAR2K1]

Ryan Blaney will win Phoenix, Gateway, Sonoma, Nashville, Michigan, Bristol, the Charlotte Roval, Las Vegas, Homestead, Phoenix again and the championship next year.

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

I was rooting for Blaney almost to the end. It doesn't even seem like he cared. The aww shucks, oh well attitude turned me off. And the worst championship went to Matt Kenseth with 1 win.

[@iagofreitas910]

Maybe tied with Dale Jr. 2013 and Newman 2014...

[@stoopid_roofer6447]

I was kinda wondering when you,or the iceberg were going to do this story!!!!...2023 champion Ryan Blaney!...I'm calling it now

[@Rowdy_2469]

As much as I hate Ford I'll Cheer for Ryan blaney

[@ATK10155]

I sat less than a hundred feet from the finish line at the Yellawood 500 last year. Ryan waited until it was too late to take the lead and didn’t have the talent to defend it from chase. His only attempt at retaining the lead was met with a tiny bump from chase that earned him a trophy. Blaney is great but he doesn’t have the clutch talent to win trophies let alone a championship.

[@J0K_XBL]

Kyle Larson 2018 Same amount of top 5s 2 more top 10 same amount of poles 782 laps led to Blaneys 636 12.6 average finish to Blaneys 13.6

[@robbyburns]

In my opinion Blaney had the best playoff/chase era wineless season but here are two Winston Cup era season's 1981 Harry Gant 0 wins 13 top 5's 18 top10's and 1,169 laps lead 3rd place points finish 1996 Mark Martin 0 wins 14 top 5's 23 top 10's 702 laps lead 5th place points finish

[@wingracer1614]

2014 Ryan Newman. 2nd in the championship

[@robbyburns]

@@wingracer1614 Forgot about Newman's 2014 season, I was thinking Blaney had more raw speed and let a handful of races slip away, as for Newman he only 41 laps all season in 2014 (compared 636 for Blaney in 22) I'm pretty sure Homestead was his best chance to a race that season, and the the tittle.

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

1981 is one Harry would like to forget probably. His magical September run in 1991 where he scored four straight wins in NASCAR's top series is one he likes to remember and it was all with the same car. I went to Wilkesboro hoping for five in a row and he was going to win that race too till he had brake fade & he had to let Earnhart through. Didn't have to nudge him, Dale just drove by him. Like Martinsville, if your brakes aren't good enough, you cannot win.

[@wingracer1614]

@@robbyburns Blaney was definitely more competitive. Newman really wasn't competitive at all which in a weird way, makes what he nearly did all the more impressive.

[@robbyburns]

@@GregBrownsWorldORacing He almost won the tittle in 1984 (65 points short of Labonte) and had a strong 1985 at one point posting a modern era record 4 straight second place finishes along with 3 wins.

[@justcallmejoeable]

Ryan Newman made it to the championship 4 winless that one year

[@JackCallSports]

Harvicks last year was way better

[@salty_flightdeck_cpo]

Remember those epic words, “If you ain’t first, you’re last” and “Second place is first loser”.

[@user-ed1yx2fq7l]

Kasey kahne 2004?

[@Indizzinator]

Should’ve won talladega

[@dylanbollinger6872]

Blaney is my driver it was a good but bad year because the winless part but lot of times ran very good.

[@GoodOlRoll]

Kevin Harvick 2021

[@CoolenergeRJJ]

really in the title did you think peps would say yes?

[@FinalWX13]

Hes cracked

[@Antluvstrains]

I really wanted him to go out and win Daniel Hemric and Matt Crafton style.

[@stephenholloway6893]

Crafton didn't win the race in 2019 just the championship.

[@Sebastian-M]

Not sure, Newman's 2014 season was pretty spectacular

[@seannolan9857]

41 lead laps is spectacular? He did a great job of gaming the system, but I wouldn't call it a great year.

[@coca-colatrackhousewarrior9925]

1996 Mark Martin had 14 top 5s 23 top 10s and 4 poles despite no wins with a 5th in points

[@RACINGUS95]

God, this year hurt

[@shiro3553]

It’s hard to be a Blaney fan that’s for sure, we always bring up he being unlucky but he needs to be more aggressive sometimes or have a stronger personality

[@dillonsloss2472]

Blaney would be an elite driver under the winston points standings system but because of this stupid playoff format be's only a good driver. He'll make the championship 4 and win one eventually but if we were still under the points standings format blaney could win multiple championships in his career

[@g_men2121]

It was a good winless but i wouldn’t say great. If he pulled a matt crafton and won the championship with 0 wins and only on points made the championship 4, yea u could argue it was great. But this was a really good season

[@nyrambler23]

Ted Musgrave in 1995 comes to mind as one of the greatest winless seasons ever.

[@riblitracing]

Matt Crafton would like to have a word

[@allennixon4745]

Yes and no it’s just that every time when he leading many laps in a race, he ends up losing but yes he had a great playoff run making to round of 8.

[@nascarsam6161]

I think Newman 2014 and Harvick 2021 were each slightly better.

[@jayhuey5898]

5:48 yeah that was a dumb question

[@carlcappuccio5640]

He's the Man and he will be a Champion !

[@kevinschmid238]

Modern day Mark Martin

[@dotscupseries9544]

Everyone sleeps on mtj

[@slipstream7324]

that's because logano won that damn war

[@soulninija9163]

Wait, didn't he win at the All Star Race?

[@jmichaelhpaul]

Put his stats side by side with Logano’s, equal, just without the wins!! His pit crew cost him several races, Cindric’s block lost him Daytona. He had a great season, just no wins.

[@merlinbeen8432]

OH come on...He didn't win squat and the comp is A WHAT IF DREAM. You guys are kinda freaky crushing on this dude. Just sayin'

[@anthonybilliot7645]

I am both very proud of blaney's effort but also dissaponted in the season at the same time just bd luck paired with untimley mistakes eirther by him or the pitcrew turned what couldve been a championship season into just a good season

[@kevinlittrell3407]

The beginning of the year was simply a bad pit crew. I bet it wasn’t a lack of talent, but I think that team really struggled to adapt to the new one lugnut tire. There were countless races where the 12 was a regular top 3 and poorly executed pit stops compromised track position and momentum.

[@PreeceFan60]

Ryan will win next year if not that is a let down

[@arcticphoenix2789]

I think that his winless season is one of the best, but not at Cecil Gordeon or Terry Labonte level.

[@rolandjovi2441]

Definitely not. Mark Martin's 1996 season is arguably the greatest winless season. In 31 races he would earn 14 top fives, 23 top tens, win 4 poles, have an average finish of just over 11th, and finish 5th in the standings.

[@coca-colatrackhousewarrior9925]

1982 Terry Labonte took 3rd

[@handsomedevil4928]

Marty Robbins

[@jinglebell61]

Future upload: Bad Seasons: Lewis Hamilton 2022.

[@Tickletipson514]

Wait didn’t he win the all star ra-

[@silvy3047]

It should have been Blaney over Logano

[@goaliecalledmike]

The fact that Blaney was the only one other than Logano and Jones (who got lucky on a caution) who led the championship race only says to me that he deserved to win something. Yeah, it doesn't mean a lot, but considering it was Phoenix, it's still pretty cool.

[@dindog22]

He’s not hungry enough