Roger Penske asks Ryan Blaney to ‘slow down’ after seeking Indy 500 opportunity
Ryan Blaney believes he is in the prime age for the double duty.
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Ryan Blaney and Roger Penske (Via IMAGO)
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season has been huge for legendary Motorsports team owner Roger Penske. Ryan Blaney earned Team Penske Racing their first back-to-back Cup titles. Joey Logano won the titles in the 2022 season and Blaney repeated the same this year, making them the only side to win a championship in the Next-Gen era.
After the race, Blaney had just one request for Penske, an opportunity to race in the iconic Indy 500. The legendary team owner, who owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has one of the all-time best IndyCar teams. Blaney is interested in racing in both the IMS race and the Coca-Cola 600, challenging himself with the double-duty challenge only a few of the racing legends got to experience.
But Penske isn’t much interested in giving the Ford driver the shot and has asked him to slow down a bit. He believes if Blaney is given the opportunity, there will be a lot of drivers coming in asking for a chance to race in the prestigious open-wheel racing event.
It's interesting to me that Blaney said to me that he'd looked to go to Indy. I said we're going to have to slow down a little bit. We're going to have everybody coming to Indy.Penske said, as reported by AP.
2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson will get the opportunity to live Blaney’s dream next season. He will race in the Indy 500 for Arrow McLaren as a part of a deal with Hendrick Motorsports. Larson has already completed his rookie orientation for the event.
Why Ryan Blaney wants to race in the Indy 500?
Tema Penske Racing driver explained the reason behind his decision to seek the Indy 500 opportunity. He pointed out that he respects all forms of Motorsports and he wants to experience the double duty that just a handful of drivers have tried before.
The 30-year-old feels he is the perfect age to do it. He wants to experience the nostalgia of being able to run the 500 miles of IMS and the 600 miles at Coco-Cola 600. Only Tony Stewart has completed the 1100 miles and Blaney would like to be the next to do it.
I feel like not many people can do the double. It would be neat to just do it. I have respect for all forms of motorsports. So, I think you want to go experience something like that. At my age, it would be perfect to do it. I think the nostalgia of it, being able to say you ran 1,100 miles on one day on the racetrack, is pretty special.
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Justin P Joy
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