Gianna Tulio urges everybody to vote, albeit for Ryan Blaney’s Most Popular Driver quest
Gianna Tulio on Wednesday shared a post on Instagram where she asked fans to vote for Ryan Blaney, her fiance, in the Most Popular Driver contest. NASCAR recently released the list for the Most Popular Driver in the Cup Series, and Team Penske driver Blaney is a candidate for the prestigious crown.
Blaney made headlines recently after his victory right at the clutch moment at Martinsville. The #12 driver needed a victory in the very last race of the Round of Eight to qualify for the Championship 4, and he pulled off a stunning performance to clinch it.
Blaney held off Hendrick Motorsports duo Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson to take the Xfinity 500 win at Martinsville Speedway. With this, he secured his place in the Championship 4 alongside his Penske teammate Joey Logano, 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick, and HMS' William Byron.
The Championship 4 aside, Blaney is also a part of the Most Popular Driver contest. Citing the same, he shared a photo of himself with a "Make sure to vote for NASCAR's Most Popular Driver" caption.
Tulio shared Blaney's post on her Instagram story and captioned it:
"Y'all know what to do."
National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) awards the Most Popular Driver title to drivers in the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Truck Series disciplines every year. The tradition began in 1956.
Chase Elliott is the current Most Popular Driver and has won the title for the last six years. Prior to him, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the award 15 times (14 consecutive) to become the second-most awarded driver. Bill Elliott, the father of Chase Elliott, is at the top with 16 Most Popular Driver awards.
Ryan Blaney eyeing back-to-back Cup Series title
Following his Martinsville victory, Ryan Blaney entered the Championship 4 in back-to-back seasons. After winning the Cup title in 2023, Blaney is hopeful he can do it this time as well. Speaking to Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports, he said:
"It's something really hard to do in any sport, to go back to back," Blaney told Pockrass. "You have to perform two years in a row — you and your team have to do it and have perfect ends of the year. It's really tough. We have a pretty unique opportunity to try to change that [stat], and hopefully, we bring our best stuff and have a shot at it."
The Team Penske driver also said they've had a better year this season than in 2023:
"We've had an overall way better year than what we did last year, and maybe it hasn't shown because I've gotten in a ton of wrecks this year," Blaney added. "It's no one's doing. I feel like us as a group, we're way stronger than where we were in 2023."
The NASCAR Cup Series Championship is set to take place at Phoenix Raceway on November 10.