Getty Ravens QB Lamar Jackson showed up to the Coca-Cola 600 to support 2023 champion Ryan Blaney.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson decided to take a break from voluntary workouts to head to the Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 26. Jackson was there to watch the Coca-Cola 600, and, based on his apparel, to support 2023’s Coca-Cola 600 champion Ryan Blaney.
Jackson showed up to the event decked out in a long sleeve t-shirt sporting #12 and Blaney’s name along with Team Penske.
The Ravens QB took time to meet with some of the pit teams and was popular among the drivers and NASCAR fans. However, Jackson’s fandom was on full display for Blaney and the feeling was mutual for the NASCAR driver.
Blaney told Heavy Sports, “I loved meeting Lamar, he’s one of my favorite players to watch in the league. I’m always cheering for new era 8 and was awesome he was there cheering for me as well.”
Jackson was taking selfies with fans before the event but got the photo that he wanted with Blaney. The MVP QB, and the jersey he was wearing, also drew the attention of the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s X account, which posted, “No. 8 is all in on No. 12.”
The weather got in the way of the race being completed and it was called after 249 of the 400 planned laps.
Coca-Cola 600 Started the Ryan Blaney Run to Victory
The Coca-Cola 600 will always hold a special place in Blaney’s heart, as it was the track that catapulted his run to winning the 2023 Cup Series Championship.
Blaney was winless in 2022 and heading into the 2023 season things were starting off difficult for the driver again.
That all ended in Charlotte when Blaney was able to regain his winning form after a dominant race. NASCAR’s Reid Spencer covered the victory, writing, “Breaking a 59-race drought in Monday’s rain-delayed Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney gave team owner Roger Penske his first same-year sweep of IndyCar’s biggest race and NASCAR’s longest.”
The 2023 race suffered from rain issues as well, but the race was fully completed. “Blaney led a race-high and career-best 163 of 400 laps and held off polesitter William Byron for his first victory on the 1.5-mile Charlotte oval and the eighth of his career,” Spencer explained.
YOUNG RYAN @BLANEY IS CHAMP RYAN BLANEY!
HE WINS THE TITLE IN 2023!
However, Blaney got back to his winning ways, and it continued towards the end of the year. NASCAR’s Dustin Albino covered the driver securing his first championship, writing, “Blaney claimed his first career Cup Series championship on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway in his first Championship 4 appearance.”
Blaney had come close in prior seasons but was never able to break through to the final grouping. “In four previous trips to the Round of 8, Blaney came up empty-handed. This year, the No. 12 team stepped up at the right time, scoring a pair of playoff victories at Talladega and Martinsville en route to the championship,” Albino explained.
The 2023 champion is currently 12th in the 2024 race for the Cup Series Championship. He has four top-5 finishes this season but is still looking for his first win of the season.
Lamar Jackson Looking to Capture His Championship
Like Blaney, Jackson has come close but has not to this point been able to get over the mountain to claim his championship, the Super Bowl.
While the QB has two MVPs under his belt already he is looking to get the prize he truly wants. The Ravens came up just short in 2023, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game.
Lamar Jackson isn’t worried about the Ravens-Chiefs week 1 matchup 👀
Heading into the 2024 season the Ravens are poised again to be a top contender not only in the AFC but the NFL. They added RB Derrick Henry to an already dangerous offense and Jackson is more motivated than ever to get to the promised land.
Ravens’ fans hope that he will mirror Blaney’s breakthrough 2023 championship and lead the Ravens to their own championship in the form of the 2024-25 Super Bowl.