Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!
“Never Had Any Doubts”: Gianna Tulio Gushes Over Boyfriend Ryan Blaney’s NASCAR Championship
"You made history and I’m so honored I was able to be there for you,” Tulio captioned a tribute to Blaney this week after his big win.
As a third-generation racer with a championship family pedigree second to none, it was never really a question of if Ryan Blaney would ever score a NASCAR Cup Series title — it was a matter of when, something his long-term girlfriend Gianna Tulio says she knew all along.
After cruising to his first championship in his eighth full-time season in NASCAR’s top flight, Blaney and Tulio, a native of Philadelphia and an accomplished Hooters model, have been on a whirlwind tour to celebrate the Team Penske Ford driver’s monumental victory in Phoenix, Arizona.
RELATED: How Ryan Blaney and Girlfriend Gianna Tulio Have Been Celebrating NASCAR Championship
Between stops in the NASCAR studio, and high-profile media interviews, the couple has been gallivanting around New York City, taking in the Big Apple's sights, including a trip to the Empire State Building and Times Square. Yet, between all the hoopla and well-deserved fanfare on their publicity blitz in the city that never sleeps, Tulio still finds the time to make sure Blaney knows just how special of a moment his recent success on NASCAR’s biggest stage truly is.
What did Ryan Blaney's girlfriend Gianna Tulio post about him after his NASCAR Cup Series championship win?
"I never had any doubts in you and never will,” Tulio captioned a touching Instagram tribute to Blaney on Wednesday. “You made history and I’m so honored I was able to be there for you & watch you fight for it."
For Tulio, posting supportive messages for her bearded beau Blaney is nothing new. As a regular NASCAR event attendee, she fully comprehends the magnitude of Blaney’s championship victory.
“Nerves are kicking in,” Tulio wrote in an Instagram post before the championship race in Phoenix on Sunday. “The day you’ve been working so hard for is here!"
While Blaney’s stellar talent behind the wheel makes his job look easy, his path to capturing the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series title was anything but that. Sure, he notched pivotal victories at Talladega and Martinsville — two of his four top-five finishes in the final six events of the season — but the 29-year-old Tarheel also hit a couple rough patches in the road, collecting three DNFs after accidents in Las Vegas, Charlotte and Pocono.
Prior to giving Roger Penske his second consecutive championship after Ford wheelman Joey Logano brought home the title last year, Blaney’s 2022 season was peppered with lingering misery before he won the Coca-Cola 600 to snap a drought of 59 races without a win.
Even during the championship event, Blaney battled stiff competition from the other contenders. William Byron harnessed the requisite speed early in the race, but he wasn’t able to hold on. Kyle Larson also put up a good fight in Arizona but, in the end, it came down to a duel in the desert with Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain.
There were plenty of dramatic flashes and suspenseful moments between Blaney and the Watermelon Man, who he admitted hitting on purpose during the race. But, despite Chastain capturing the checkered flag in Phoenix, that wasn’t going to spoil Blaney’s moment in the sun, which he's been spending with none other than his girlfriend, Tulio.
