The defending Cup champion, Ryan Blaney has seen his fortunes skyrocket in 2024 after succumbing to the big one at Daytona, claiming three back-to-back top-5 finishes in the next 3 races he ran. Before the season opener, however, Blaney was everywhere. From attending Knicks games at the iconic Madison Square Garden to making appearances with Paul “Triple H” Levesque on WWE Smackdown, the Team Penske star seemed to have completely capitalized on his inaugural Cup Series victory in 2023.
Safe to say, Blaney is a “superstar”. A lot of it is due to his friendly personality and online presence. He has made cameos in movies like the “Cars” trilogy, and Netflix shows like “The Crew” and even became one of the focal points of NASCAR’s dedicated, recently released docu-series, “Full Speed.” His success is similar to past NASCAR stars like Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, and Richard Petty.
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So when talking to the media after his Busch Light pole win at the Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500, Blaney addressed these very opinions, when telling FOX8 WGHP reporter Chris Weaver how he felt about NASCAR finally having “somebody that can move the needle.”
While answering about the immense impact that the aforementioned greats of the previous generations had, in turning the sport into the immense global spectacle it has now become, the Ohio native candidly shut down any such claims.
“Hey, I don’t know that’s the second time I’ve been asked that question today and I don’t know what the whole kick is right now about needing Superstars. I mean we’re all superstars, every driver. Everyone’s special in their own right, everyone’s successful, you know. with how they’ve approached everything.”
Blaney recognizes that his fellow NASCAR drivers have different approaches and ambitions, and he honorably continued, “Some branch out more than others and different aspects outside the racetrack, and some decide to stick around the racetracks and grow their stardom there with the fans at the racetrack. So everyone approaches it differently… “
As the latest face of a constantly evolving field, YRB understands the importance of standing out from the next driver and the need for fresher, newer levels of individualism to support the changing needs of an audience growing hungrier every day.
Blaney emphasized this perfectly striking down the claims of having to become the next generation of Petty, Earnhardt, or Gordon: “Yes, Jeff Gordon through the 90s was, you know, the biggest star… but times change, times are different, you don’t have guys winning 10 races anymore, this car doesn’t allow that. So how do you separate yourself to make yourself stand out? How do you make yourself different from the rest of the drivers who are all really good at what they do?”
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Yes, winning races makes a driver get all the cameras pointing towards them, however, in the end, the extremely “isolated” nature of collective marketing procedures in making a global sporting experience one of the best in the world, falls ultimately on the shoulders of these very drivers. The #12 said this to follow on his initial sentiments, explaining how NASCAR drivers “have to be willing” to market themselves.
“It starts with success on the racetrack and then the organization is marketing these drivers to how great they are at what they do and then the drivers have to be willing to do it and be in that role.” Nevertheless, Blaney recognizes the immense potential of the contingent heading to Bristol, and he makes his feeling perfectly clear.
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“So you don’t need to pluck out one person. There’s a lot of us here and you can push it. You can make 36 Superstars, I think that’s definitely possible.” The Team Penske star had some admirable statements to make towards the rest of the field. His patience will be put to the test as we await the green to wave on the Food City 500.
Source : EssentiallySports