Reigning Cup champion Ryan Blaney details the similarities between NASCAR and NFL ladder
Ryan Blaney sees a lot of similarities between NASCAR and NFL ladder.
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Ryan Blaney (Via IMAGO)
2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney has pointed out that there are a lot of similarities between the ladder in the premier stock car racing series and the premier football series, the NFL. Both sports have an established and regulated ladder system where young athletes prove themselves to make it to the big leagues.
In NASCAR, it starts with the local Kart and midget series, then late model and other national series before getting into the top-3 championship. The Truck Series acts as tier 3, while the Xfinity is tier 2, and the Cup Series is tier-1. In football, it starts from the little leagues then the athletes move up the ranks like high-school and College Football championships.
The Penske Racing driver while talking to them in a recent podcast, pointed out that there are a lot of similarities to ladder systems, where athletes move up the ranks by proving themselves at every level starting from the local leagues at a young age. Ryan Blaney followed the same path to become the champion after starting racing at the age of nine.
I feel like the steps are a little bit different. There are a lot of similarities… Like we have little league, like there is local tiny… I started when I was like nine, so like go-karts all those stuff that’s just like a little league kid getting going. T ball or something. So, there are different steps you take as you are getting older. I’d say like our AAA or AA is like Trucks or Xfinity Series and then you hope you get noticed and you make it up to the big leagues. You know, like the Cup Series.Blaney said via Bussin’ With The Boys podcast.
Ryan Blaney highlights one big difference in the ladder system
Racing is a sport that demands a lot of financial investment from the racers from the start, unlike Football which requires very minimal investment. Another major advantage the athletes hoping to make it in football has is the opportunity to prove themselves at the high school and college level where they are supported with scholarships.
I think it’s similar. You are not going to school for this stuff. There’s no scholarship for it. It’s just having good people around you, good sponsors are obviously huge on it.
Blaney went on to highlight the importance of having sponsors in racing as it is the only way to keep on racing if the racers can’t fund their racing ventures with personal wealth. There are a lot of racers at different levels of the sport who never got the opportunity to showcase their talents because of the lack of funding.
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Justin P Joy
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