All in the family: Ryan Blaney-William Byron ties extend beyond the racetrack

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AVONDALE, Ariz. — William Byron just smiled when asked if his girlfriend, Erin Blaney, would wear clothing that showed a split allegiance Sunday for the NASCAR Cup Series championship race.

Byron and Blaney’s brother, Ryan, are among the four drivers eligible to win the title. Erin Blaney typically doesn’t wear team gear so she certainly won’t wear anything that shows allegiance to either of her loved ones on Sunday.

“I’m sure she’ll stay out of the mix,” Byron said Thursday. “She doesn’t want to be in the spotlight. She’ll be cheering us on.”

The Byron-Blaney relationship is nothing new as they have dated for four years. But it has taken a little bit more of the spotlight with both Byron and Blaney being in the Championship 4 for the first time in their careers. The top finisher among Byron, Blaney, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell will be crowned the champion.

Byron mentioned his “brother-in-law” during his postrace interview at Martinsville as Blaney’s victory helped Byron earn his championship spot. 

“I told Erin, ‘You have the best-shot percentage to be happy after the race — you have 50 percent shot to be happy,'” Blaney said. “We’ll see. It will be fun.”

The drivers didn’t know each other all that well away from the track before they started seeing each other at Blaney family events. They get along fine, even as drivers for rival teams with Byron racing for Hendrick Motorsports and Blaney for Team Penske.

“I don’t have a problem with it,” Ryan Blaney said. “I feel like people make more of a deal of it than it actually is. He and I have a good relationship. We respect the hell out of each other.

“At the end of the day we do race hard on the racetrack like any other competitor. I don’t race him any differently than I would anyone else that I have respect for.”

Byron said it has never gotten too awkward.

“Ryan and I had raced for years, and it really didn’t change how we race each other,” Byron said. “I feel like we always race each other well.

“We’ve had little run-ins here and there, honestly, and we got through it and came out better for it.”

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass, and sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass.

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