While many veterans such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Jeff Burton have traded their helmets for headsets to break down races from the booth, Ryan Blaney has no intention of following their path, even though he has called a handful of Xfinity and Truck events each year in recent seasons.
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Three years ago, the No. 12 Penske driver made it clear he did not want to be in the booth week in and week out, saying a “handful” of events is enough. Blaney has stuck to that plan, continuing to appear occasionally to offer fans insight from the driver’s lens.
The 31-year-old doubled down on that stance during a recent appearance on the Team Blaney podcast, saying, “I enjoy doing them. I try to only do, kind of like max three a year, because they are fun, whether they’re Truck races, Xfinity races.
“I enjoy the people in the booth, whether it’s Michael [Waltrip] and Jamie [Little], working with Adam Alexander every now and then. He’s such a good guy. It’s a cool perspective. It’s neat that I can give my little piece of driver perspective every now and then for those races.”
Praising the work of Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Steve Letarte, Blaney said they deliver excellent analysis from the booth.
Still, he does not envision himself taking that seat in the long term. As he put it, “I wouldn’t see myself doing them when I’m done (racing). It’s just something that I have fun doing, a handful of times a year at most.
“And when I’m done, I’m going to go find something completely different and off the reservation to do. But I have fun doing it while I can.”
He then reinforced that point on the 102.5 The Game show, stating, “I definitely don’t want to make a career out of it. Like, even after I’m done racing, I don’t really see myself doing that stuff.”
Blaney enjoys stepping into the booth because he feels it provides a valuable perspective. Fans appreciate hearing a driver’s view of what another racer is thinking or how a track is behaving, giving them a glimpse into the competitor’s mindset.
While he believes it adds something special to his trackside appearances and his resume, Blaney remains certain he won’t make the booth his home once his racing career comes to a close.
