Latest news with #DaveBlaney
New York Times
25-06-2025
- Automotive
- New York Times
Ryan Blaney on how he got better, how to fix the racing and more: 12 Questions
Each week, The Athletic asks the same 12 questions to a different race car driver. Up next: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske. This interview has been edited and condensed, but the full version is available on the 12 Questions Podcast. New this week: The podcast is now available as an RSS feed, not just The Athletic app. 1. What was one of the first autographs you got as a kid, and what do you remember about that moment? Mark Martin signed my shirt. I was at driver intros with Dad (driver Dave Blaney) somewhere and I asked Mark to sign my shirt. I loved Mark Martin, and I just thought it was super cool. I was really fortunate to be at driver intros with my dad when I was younger and get to meet all the guys. I had Mark sign it, and that was one of the most sought-after autographs in my book. Advertisement 2. What is the most miserable you've ever been inside of a race car? Phoenix fall race, 2019. We were in the Round of 8, trying to get to Homestead. Essentially had to win. We ran third, but I had the flu and obviously I didn't feel good at all. I was hydrating all day, but then in the car I didn't sweat anything out — so I had to pee really bad. Not only was I sick as a dog, I had to pee really bad. I thought my bladder was going to burst and I felt like crap. Those two things compounded on each other definitely doesn't make for a fun race. 3. Outside of racing, what is your most recent memory of something you got way too competitive about? Golf. Playing with your buddies, got some money on the line. That's really the only thing outside of racing I get really competitive about. Didn't you say before The Masters you went to Augusta and shot like an 80? I think my best score out there was 82. You don't want to get too competitive there. The most competitive is like when you're at your local muni with your buddies and there's $100 on the line. You can't toss your clubs at Augusta. No, you don't want to do that. You won't be invited back. 4. What do people get wrong about you? I do it to myself a little bit, but if I have a little thing on the radio and I get frustrated, people are like, 'Oh, he's losing his mind.' That's not really the case. I have my 10 seconds of frustration, and I just have to let it out. Listen to other guys, man. There are guys way worse than me. And it's not me losing my mind. I just have to get it out, and it's how I move on past things. If I don't get it out, it just bundles up. It's weird, because I'm not like that out of the car. Like at home, I don't ever get to that point. I don't really ever get frustrated with much stuff outside the car. But when I'm competing, people get that wrong. It's not really losing my mind. It's my own way of getting everything out in the open that I need to. I wish people didn't hear it, but everyone does it to their own extent. Advertisement It's your pop-off valve. Yeah, man. The steam is building up, something happens and I just have to let it out. People are like, 'Don't push the (radio) button.' It feels way better when you push the button. You have to let someone else hear it. But I just get it out, and then I'm back to where I need to be. If I don't, I just think about it too much. 5. What kind of Uber passenger are you and how much do you care about your Uber rating? I don't ever cause problems. I'm appreciative for this person picking me up and giving me a ride, because most of the time you Uber, you're under the influence, so you need a ride home and you're thankful to that person for getting me home safe. I always try to be grateful to that person, be polite and respectful. If I'm with buddies and they're raising hell, I'm like, 'Dude, calm down. This person is helping us out.' I have a really good Uber rating. You didn't have to come pick me up. 6. I'm doing a wild-card question for each person. So for awhile you were getting one win a year, one win a year, one win a year. Then you burst out into three a year, three a year. Now on a weekly basis, you're one of the biggest regular threats, no matter where we go. So what do you think was the most important thing for you to unlock the next level of your potential? We really turned the page in '21. I was in this (situation) of just one win a year and only showing signs of being competitive a handful of weeks a year. It was like, 'All right, what do I have to change about myself and how I approach and run these races to be better? I have to take the next step forward.' It was really just talks with myself like, 'Hey, I don't like the way you do this. This needs to be better. You're stuck in your ways and you need to get better at that.' It's a tough thing to do … but it's necessary to do. In the winter of '22, I had to look and be like, 'All right, I need to change this up.' And then we went and won the championship the next year. 7. This is my 16th year of doing these 12 Questions interviews, so I'm going back to an early interview I've done with each person. (In 2014), I asked you: 'If someone let you design a new racetrack with an unlimited budget, what would you build?' You said a road course with crazy banking. Is that still what you'd build? Yeah, I think you could have a road course with a ton of different style corners. Like Turn 4 (in Mexico City), that long right-hander, if you bank the top lane where it's like a progressive banking. Charlotte (Roval) is somewhat that way (with the banking), but it's not like a corner. At Charlotte (on the banking), you're running wide open. It's not part of a technical lifting point, and it's like a sharper corner. That'd be neat (to have one). Advertisement Then you have your Talladega Superspeedway-style long corner to where you're drafting up a little bit. Then you have some tight hairpins and stuff. So I'd stick with that design of the road course with some crazy banking in it and a bunch of different styles. A decade later, I'd say the same thing. 8. Other than one of your teammates, name a driver who you would be one of the first people to congratulate them in victory lane if they won a race. I always go to victory lane if I'm still in the race for when Bubba (Wallace) or Chase (Elliott) wins. I always try to go there. And it's vice versa for them, which is always neat. We've always just done that with each other. But then if you go get your first Cup win, that's kind of cool. I'll go up there and congratulate you. Like when (Daniel) Suárez got his first one at Sonoma, I walked down there and congratulated him. And there's been a few like Ricky (Stenhouse) when he won the (Daytona) 500, you go congratulate those guys. 9. How much do you use AI technology, whether for your job or your daily life? Man, not a lot. I think I've used ChatGPT twice. I actually asked it a question last week. I had a question on this home thing. I said, 'Hey, Chat, my wife and I just bought this house.' I (had) a question about cleaning service or inspection. … And it was super nice. It was like, 'Hi Ryan, congratulations on your new home! Here is what is typically done.' … You've got to be friendly to it. You don't want it to come bite you in 10 years. If you're kind of a jerk to Chat, if you're a jerk to AI, you've got to keep them on your side when they take over everything. 10. What is a time in your life that was really challenging, but you feel proud of the way that you responded to it? The most recent one was the '24 championship race. We ran second. Really close. Bummer. You're bummed out. But Joey (Logano, his teammate) and the (No.) 22 (team) won it, Roger (Penske) won another championship. I'm not tooting my own horn, but those are easy ones to brush off and be like, 'Damn it. That sucks.' And it does stink. But in the post-race stuff, I was pretty good and congratulated all those guys — which I was happy for them and Roger. If we're gonna lose to anybody, it's your teammates. 11. What needs to happen in NASCAR to take this sport to the next level of popularity? We're starting it (in Mexico City). I've always been a big advocate of international to some extent, whether it's north, south, head east — that's a big thing. Advertisement But it's hard, man. How do you draw people in? That's a job I don't want to have: How do you draw people to your sport, no matter what it is? Just showing a good product is important. And explaining the product — racing is hard to explain to a lot of people who didn't do it growing up, because you can't go to a park and drive a race car, unlike basketball or football or baseball. There's not a lot of traveling rec leagues. So it's a really hard position to explain the technical side and how these cars are not what you buy off a lot and you're just driving them around in circles. There's so much behind the scenes and backstory. So how do you explain that? We've been doing a good job of doing that with Netflix to an extent, and showing drivers' personalities more. Amazon has been doing a good job of showing more ins and outs of it. So continuing to show more in-depth about it is really important, along with going into places that you haven't been before. 12. Each week, I ask a driver to give me a question for the next person. The last one was with Christopher Bell. He says: 'What are your thoughts on the current rules package — aero and horsepower, all three track types — and what should we go to if you want something different. Oh God! (Laughs.) What are my thoughts? Obviously, I wish it was a little bit better. You're always going to want something better. Obviously, the horsepower thing is a no-brainer. I wish we got back up in there. But the Xfinity (Series) cars have less horsepower than we have, and I wish we could (do what they do) — and we could do this with the old car. I wish you could get people loose on the left rear again. Kind of drive the car in front of you where if you're close, you can get on the left rear quarterpanel and get them loose, get them off the bottom and go on. … Getting loose underneath somebody right now, the inside guy actually has the advantage because he just uses that guy up on the top and the top guy gets tight. End of story. That's why you see a ton of dive bombs; people use them up because the inside guy doesn't really get loose anymore. It affects the outside guy more. The next interview I'm doing is with your buddy, Chase Elliott. Do you have a question I can ask Chase? When are you ever going to get better at golf, and what is it going to take for you to get to a point where you can compete with me? How many hours do you have to put in to get to my level? (Top photo of Ryan Blaney celebrating his win in the Nashville Cup Series race in early June: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
Forbes
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Ryan Blaney On Aiming To Win NASCAR'S Coca-Cola 600 This Weekend: ‘I'm Inching For Another One'
NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney is no stranger to the Coca-Cola 600. The 31-year-old previously won the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway back in 2023 on his way to his first and only NASCAR Cup series championship that season. He broke a 59-race drought that day by winning, which eventually lifted him to the top of the points standings the following week. Following the sport's annual All-Star race, Blaney currently ranks fifth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. While it's a long season and there's still 13 races to go in the regula season before the playoffs start, Blaney is well aware of the importance of the Coca-Cola 600, having gone to the event as a kid while his father, Dave Blaney, raced at the course. 'It's a cool race to win, man,' says Blaney in a one-on-one interview. 'It's kind of one of our crown jewel events, kind of one of the big three for us. I grew up going to that race a lot as a kid, watching my dad run, and it was always special, Memorial Day weekend, Being able to just be around the racetrack and things like that, and what the weekend means. For that race, it's super rewarding to win it because it's the longest race we have.' The Coca-Cola 600 isn't just notable due to its length of 600 laps, it's noteworthy because it starts under daylight before concluding fully at night. 'It's a long night,' says Blaney of racing in the Coca-Cola 600. "You're in that thing, stressing it out for four-plus hours and just mentally, stay in it for 600 miles. It's tough physically to keep your your body right for that long. It's the ultimate reward. 'If you can do it, if you can outlast everybody and just outperform everybody over a long stretch that night,' Blaney continues to say. 'It's a fun weekend. I'm inching for another one, hopefully we can do it.' At this stage of his career, Blaney is obviously a veteran driver who's no stranger to the different courses throughout the NASCAR season. He's also well aware of the grind that a full NASCAR season brings which starts in February and extends through November if you're competing for the cup. Blaney is in the midst of his 10th full season in the cup series and races for one of the top organizations in Team Penske alongside one of the top drivers in Joey Logano. Logano recently lost the All-Star race in an exciting finish to Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell. Bell beat out Logano for the top prize of $1 million at the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway this past weekend. 'It's just like a fun accomplishment and celebrating with your guys,' says Blaney. "It's just like a no-holds barred race, no one's racing for points. You're going all out the whole time, it's a short little race. It was great. 'North Wilkesboro is an awesome racetrack, we brought it back,' Blaney continues to say. 'It was kind of dormant from the mid 90's, and just three years ago, we kind of revitalized it, and put on a great show for the last three years. The fans up there love it. We pack that place out every single year we've gone.' Blaney says it would be cool if NASCAR added even more stakes to the race by making it a points-based one, but says it's a "good" time either way. "I thought the racing was really, really good there," says Blaney. "We'll see what they do with it in the future, whether they make it a points race or whether they keep it the All-Star race. I'm good either way, but as long as everyone has a good time, I'm there for it." Blaney currently has 362 points and is 16 points behind Chase Elliott for fourth in the standings. The current leader is Kyle Larson at 469 points, who has a NASCAR-leading eight top-five finishes this season. Meanwhile, Blaney has the third-most top-five finishes with five. The Ohio native finished second last year in the NASCAR Cup Series, just five points behind fellow Team Penske racer, Logano. He says the NASCAR season is long, but it's "what you sign up for" and you have to "dig your teeth in" during the 38-race season. "Just keep doing what we're doing," says Blaney on the key to finishing the season strong. "It's kind of been a scrappy year so far. Had a few more DNS than I like to have, and we're still fifth. I feel pretty good about where our group is at as a whole. That's really all I've ever cared about is, how well are we doing together as a team, and are we doing all we can, week in and week out, to maximize our potential? I feel like we're doing that." The veteran driver gives credit to his crew at Team Penske and says the key is to keep "maximizing" their potential. "It's just that some things haven't gone our way," says Blaney. "So just keep doing it. We've had a great last couple of years and contended for championships, and just got to keep doing what we do. I have a good group behind me, so we just have to keep maximizing our potential." The Coca-Cola 600 will also be notable because Blaney is showcasing a new paint-out during the race coincides with BodyArmor's CHILL release. The CHILL product line is a limited edition release during this summer and includes frozen cherry, frozen orange and frozen berry. Blaney -- who has been partnered with BodyArmor since 2017 -- says it's been a "fun partnership" and says that the drinks help big time with the hydration process of being a NASCAR driver going through hundreds of laps during a race. "BODYARMOR being with a sport like ours is just a match made in heaven," says Blaney. "It's just the physical kind of beating that we take with the hydration side is pretty brutal. I couldn't ask for a better partnership. It's always fun also to show we can showcase different paint schemes and different products that they have on our cars. The fans always enjoy that, and I always like to see what BODYARMOR has to come up with. It's one of the best partnerships I've ever had, the people are amazing, and I look forward to the future even more." He details that the paint-out will be red, white and blue to pay tribute to Memorial Day weekend during the Coca-Cola 600. "We got BODYARMOR chill on the car this weekend, great, red, white and blue looking car for Memorial Day weekend," says Blaney. "That's the BODYARMOR Chill, that's an LTO, limited time offer this summer. That's just a great combo of pumping out something new for the summer that's only going to be around for a few months. There's no place better to do it than the 600 and on a special weekend like that."
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Throwback Weekend holds importance to Cup garage: 'Brings back those memories'
DARLINGTON, S.C. — Since the 2015 season, NASCAR's premier series has honored the legends that have paved the way in the Cup Series with Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway. That effort continues a decade later as paint schemes of the past will adorn Next Gen cars for 400 miles of racing action on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Advertisement RELATED: At-track photos: Darlington | Weekend schedule From Earnhardt to Yarborough, the Cup Series garage is lined with colorful schemes and crew shirts alike, paying tribute to drivers and teams who came before them and have been influential in their desire to compete in motorsports — a tradition drivers feel is important to carry on. 'I love it. I absolutely love it,' Ryan Blaney said in his Saturday media availability. 'I love to see what people come up with. Every year, there's so many neat schemes from drivers or teams that have inspired a lot of people to be in the garage today that get to throw it back. And I love just walking through the garage. I really wish we wouldn't announce it on X, I wish you just show up with it and then people see it in the garage for the first time, because that'd be a huge, neat reveal type situation. 'But you walk around the garage like, 'Man, I remember that car as a kid, ' or 'I've seen videos from that car from the '70s or '80s.' That's just really, really neat. So it still is very special, and the teams love doing it, and I hope the fans still enjoy it. I know they do.' Advertisement Ryan Blaney's No. 12 Team Penske Ford has direct family connections to the 31-year-old this week as they don a throwback scheme to his father, Dave Blaney, and his 2006 Xfinity Series win at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Left, Dave Blaney celebrates an Xfinity win in 2006; right, Ryan Blaney drives a throwback in 2025 to his dad\ Memories from Blaney's childhood suddenly get thrust onto the NASCAR Cup Series stage, something that is important to him and carries significant weight to his family. 'I didn't really know we were doing that,' Blaney said. 'That was kind of a Penske surprise to me, so I thought that was pretty neat. 'Just neat that I can have the option to do that. And it meant a lot to my dad, a surprise to him. I remember that race. Unfortunately, I wasn't there, but I was watching it on TV, and a couple of guys are still walking around the garage. They were part of that team. Trent Owens was the crew chief on that thing. He's still around. So it means a lot. It's cool when you can throw back to your family.' Advertisement Ryan Blaney is not the only driver competing on Sunday to have personal connections to his throwback paint scheme. Team Penske teammate Joey Logano's No. 22 Ford pays tribute to another three-time Cup champion, Cale Yarborough. In 2009, when Logano was just a rookie in Cup competition, the now 34-year-old three-time title winner had the opportunity to take laps around Darlington in the passenger seat with Yarborough behind the wheel. That memory is one Logano recalls fondly as a young driver looking to make it in the sport, gathering wisdom from one of the most successful drivers to race on Sundays. Advertisement 'Yeah, Cale and I sat right here at one point,' Logano said at Darlington on Saturday. 'It was a really neat experience to ride with him. You get some tips that are still useful today, the laps run around here, and I mean, ultimately, cool factor, though, right? I mean, riding in the passenger seat with Cale Yarborough driving you around as a rookie. The coolest thing. So kind of a full-circle experience here for me, thinking about that moment. Both of us had three championships. It felt like the timing was right to honor him and his family.' The 'cool factor' is an important sentiment to the drivers in the garage, but for Logano, honoring the history of the drivers that made it possible for the drivers we see today is the most important aspect and highlights the success of Throwback Weekend. 'It's all too important to do,' Logano said. 'I think, for me, obviously, this is a cool factor. I think we see that, but I think the part that's even more meaningful is that in sports, a lot of times when an athlete retires, they kind of ride off into the sunset and unfortunately, get forgotten about fairly quickly. 'I think Throwback Weekend like this brings back those memories. It's really cool for that driver to see their scheme back on the race track and a way for us to pay honor to the pioneers of our sport and the people who have built our sport. I think that's what makes this weekend really special.'
