Ryan Blaney is the new Kasey Kahne: Kyle Petty

Kasey Kahne has driven for Richard Petty Motorsports, co-owned by Kyle Petty in the 2009 season, a year after Petty’s retirement.

Ryan Blaney is the new Kasey Kahne: Kyle Petty

Kasey Kahne, Kyle Petty and Ryan Blaney

In his NASCAR NBC podcast appearance, NASCAR legend Kyle Petty labeled No:12 Penske Racing driver Ryan Blaney as the next Kasey Kahne. The 2004 Cup series Rookie who replaced legendary driver Bill Elliott is someone Petty sees as the epitome of unfulfilled potential. He pointed out that the Ford driver is yet to fulfill his potential.

The 8 times Cup race winner pointed out that everyone has a lot to say regarding what is the ceiling of Blaney, but the driver has yet to reach those heights. He said, “Ryan Blaney is the new Kasey Kahne. Potential unfulfilled. Everybody wants to talk about what he can do, but he never does anything,”.

YouTube video

Kahne, who moved up the Motorsport ladder starting from regional sprint open cars racing, had an illustrious NASCAR Cup Series career that lasted 15 years and ended with a Tweet. He won 18 races in his career.  Kahne has driven for teams such as Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Petty Motorsports and was also part of the failed NASCAR Red Bull racing team.

FS Video

He announced his retirement midway through the 2028 season after sitting out of three races following a heart exhaustion during that year’s Darlington Cup race. His best season came in 2006 with Evernham Motorsports, where he scored 6 wins and finished 8th in the championship, his second best-finish ever. He never lived up to the expectations, and his stint in the No:5 HMS car, now driven by Kyle Larson, only produced 6 wins in 6 years.

Unlike Khane, Blaney is more consistent and has superior back-to-back finishes in the championship. He has scored 6 back-to-back Top 10 finishes in the championship. Kahne has just 3 Top 10 championship finishes. The 29-year-old has a long career ahead of him and has the opportunity to chase the championship with the Ford giants.

In case you missed it: “Far greater than I deserve,” Chase Elliott responds to NASCAR community’s overwhelming support following his leg injury

The recent criticism Ryan Blaney has to do with his winless 2022 season

Ryan Blaney
Ryan Blaney (Credits: NASCAR)

Ryan Blaney was among the most consistent drivers on the grid in 2022, but unlike his rivals, Blaney was never able to get his Mustang to the victory lane during the regular season. His sole win last year came in the exhibition event, the All-Star race.

Team Penske had an impressive 2022 as Joey Logano secured his second Cup title while rookie Austin Kendrick won the Daytona 500 and Rookie of the Year award. They scored a combined 6 race wins. Blaney’s contribution to the team’s total [point tally was limited to Top 10s and Top 5s.

Blaney scored 13 top 5s last year, with his last one coming in the season finale. He was the only playoff contender without a win last year. He got one of the 16 playoff spots after the Vegas Cup race winner Kurt Busch was sidelined due to a concussion.  He started the season with mixed results in the first three races and is hungry to return to victory lane.

Discover more: