Ryan Blaney cruised onto victory lane this year at Phoenix Raceway and claimed his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series championship. But this sport is not someplace without a raging rivalry between the drivers amid the cutthroat competition right? Well, recently speaking on Bussin’ with the Boys podcast, Blaney was asked this very question, if he ever shared a rivalry with someone.
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Subsequently, the 2023 Cup Series champion responded, “I feel like I don’t, I’ve been lucky I haven’t had anyone like I really despise. Like, you’ll have kind of run ins with some guys every now and then. Some guys kind of they will hate each other for years and years. I haven’t really been that way.”
“I’d say more of my rivalry is like my buddies, who I grew up racing with. Like we’re and we’re all good friends you know, Chase Elliott, I, Bubba. Wallace and I we grew up together we started racing together when we were like 9-10 years old… I feel like, like that’s my rivalry is my buddies.”
Ryan Blaney shares a close bond with Bubba Wallace
The trio began racing all around the same point of time and over time developed a close friendship with each other, often poking fun at each other. During the NASCAR awards banquet at Nashville, Wallace took to social media to poke fun at his best friend after a wardrobe malfunction left Blaney with his trousers high above his ankle while on stage.
Despite their close friendship, once on the racetrack, everyone is for themselves. For example, after Blaney won the championship, Wallace, his ‘best friend’, fell into depression. Wallace is often hard on himself when it comes to competition, hence it was understandable why he did not attend Blaney’s post-win after-party.
Looking at how these drivers despite sharing a close bond still strive to be the better over the other on the racetrack, it makes sense why Blaney would consider his best friends to be his rivals in the sport.
