Ex-NASCAR driver gets decimated in Ryan Blaney Foundation’s Pickleball final

Ex-NASCAR driver Corey LaJoie suffered defeat in the Ryan Blaney Foundation's Pickleball final. The event, Pickle for a purpose, was started by Blaney through his family's foundation. The event was conducted for charity purposes by the foundation, and they urged donations and donated the money raised through the event to noble causes. The foundation's primary aim is to help people and families affected by brain health issues and create awareness regarding the same.

The event features eight teams, with LaJoie part of the Stacking Pickles team. The team reached the finals but lost to team Concord PB by a huge margin of 11:2. LaJoie's team reached the finals of the Pickleball event after knocking out Ryan Blaney's team by a score of 14:12.

"Unbelievable match, I feel that game was a mix of Dodgeball and Balls of Glory. I've never seen some of the things in my entire life that I saw in that game, and I am glad that the Pickles came out on top; they put up a tough fight. I thought I'd be home by now, but nonetheless, having some fun out here playing pickleball," Corey LaJoie told NASCAR after beating Ryan Blaney ( 54:25- 54:50 )

LaJoie drove the No.7 car for the Spire Motorsports team last year before Spire Motorsports and Rick Ware Racing negotiated a trade for the driver. The driver now drives part-time for Rick Ware Racing. Lajoie additionally works for Prime Video as a NASCAR analyst. LaJoie is a third-generation racer with his father a Xfinity Series champion and his grandfather a member of the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

Ryan Blaney falls short of securing his first win of 2025

Ryan Blaney finished third in the AdventHealth 400 race at the Kansas Speedway on Sunday. The driver was driving from a margin of six-plus seconds, but then he decided to speed up with just 10 laps to go in the race. Blaney finished 0.832 seconds behind the race winner, Kyle Larson, when the chequered flag was waved.

If the race had been 269 laps or even 268, then Blaney may have won his first race of the 2025 season.

"Yeah, overall good day. I think we were third in both stages and finished third, and, honestly, we were kind of running those guys down quick there at the end, the last handful of laps. I just kind of restarted too far back and had to make up a lot of ground,” Ryan Blaney said post-race [via Toby Christie]

Blaney and Team Penske have shown tremendous pace this season and have been close to winning races on several occasions. The 31-year-old driver is currently ranked fifth in the NASCAR Cup Series this season with 362 points scored.