Ryan Blaney recalls when he misjudged his Team Penske destiny after disastrous Indianapolis race

Ryan Blaney, who captured one of three consecutive titles for Team Penske beginning in 2022, was recently honored alongside the team by the town of Mooresville, North Carolina, for their recent dominance in American stock car racing. During the ceremony, Blaney reflected on a pivotal moment in his career when he misjudged a moment of weakness.

Back in 2015, Blaney was driving the #22 Ford for Team Penske on a part-time basis in the Xfinity Series. During the Pennzoil 250 at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Blaney delivered a strong performance, finishing second. Despite the solid result, the future Cup Series champion admitted he feared that not winning that day might cost him his shot at a long-term opportunity with Team Penske.

"I blew a race at Indy, a Nationwide race in 2015. Last lap, Kyle Busch goes on, wins the race and I'm like 'Oh my god, I just lost at Indy for Roger, like I'm canned, I'm done," Blaney told Toby Christie.

However, Blaney had completely misread Team Penske's owner Roger Penske's reaction to his P2 finish.

"He called me that night and was like a pretty cool moment of just like reassurance, like you know, 'We believe in you. You're gonna make mistakes, that's how you learn,' things like that. So that was like the only time in my mind I was like 'Oh my god, I'm getting fired,' and when I saw him call me I'm like 'This is it, I'm done, I'm done.' But those words afterwards really helped me out,"

Since joining Team Penske's Cup Series lineup, Blaney has secured 12 race wins and a Cup Series title in the #12 Ford. Blaney narrowly missed out on defending his title last year, which was taken by his teammate Joey Logano, marking his third overall championship.

This season, Blaney is currently ranked P5 in the driver standings. In 12 races thus far, the Ohio native has finished in the top five 5 times, with his best finish coming at Texas and Kansas, where he finished at P3 on both occasions.

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Ryan Blaney has a simple answer to whether NASCAR should host a points race at North Wilkesboro

The All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro has reignited conversation around the historic 0.625-mile short track. Following his P16 finish, Ryan Blaney weighed in on the growing traction the venue is gaining.

In an interview with FrontStretch, Blaney shared a very balanced answer to whether North Wilkesboro deserves a points race.

"I know people have been talking about wanting to make it a points race, um, and me, I could—I'm cool with it either way, you know. If you want to put it on the schedule for a points race, great. If you want to keep it this that's awesome too. Um, as long as we're going here, you know, I feel like it's special," [4:14 onwards]

Meanwhile, the highly anticipated Coke 600 returns next weekend as NASCAR heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway. Catch the race line at 6 PM ET on May 25.