“It Was a Shame”: NASCAR Star Ryan Blaney Was Once Starstruck By NBA Legend Kobe Bryant

Ryan Blaney (L) and Kobe Bryant (R).

Ryan Blaney is currently one of the most exciting stars of the American Stock Car Racing scene. The 2023 Cup Series champion has been the poster boy for Team Penske’s charge in motorsport. Yet, the #12 driver described how starstruck he got when he met the legendary NBA star, Kobe Bryant.

Bryant, who spent 20 glorious years at the pinnacle of Association Basketball with the LA Lakers, is regarded as one of the most prominent sporting personalities across the globe. But what set him apart from Blaney was his mentality — and an eagerness to learn about different sporting disciplines.

Blaney met Bryant in 2018 and was instantly pulled towards him. “I don’t get starstruck very often,” he began.

“But he was just an amazing — not only basketball player but what he did after basketball and what he did outside of the sport was pretty incredible. I didn’t expect the amount of interest he showed (in NASCAR). He wanted to learn everything about it. He asked really good questions,” he added.

But Bryant’s story is one of tragedy. He lost his life in a terrible helicopter crash in 2020. In hindsight, Blaney called it a misfortune of colossal degree that he could not show him more about the world of Stock Car racing.

He revealed, “That was something that really tickled me, how excited he was to learn about it. It was a shame we never got him out to a race.”

When Blaney paid homage to Bryant with special livery

Back in 2020, as the news of Bryant’s death emerged, Blaney was naturally taken by a rude surprise. At the following NASCAR Cup Series outing at the Auto Club Speedway, the #12 driver paid tribute to the LA Lakers maverick with a special livery design.

Blaney took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to write, “I was fortunate enough to meet Kobe & this is a great way to honor him, Gianna & all the victims.” His sponsor, Body Armor ran Bryant‘s iconic ‘Mamba’ colors and design on Blaney’s Ford Mustang.

The #12 driver even released special merchandise commemorating the legendary life of the basketball icon. The sum total of those proceeds was donated to Bryant’s charity — the Mamba Sports Foundation.

Post Edited By: Srijan Mandal
Kobe Bryant Ryan Blaney

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

Don’t miss these