Ryan Blaney Goes Against Veterans, Declares Six NASCAR Road Course Races a Season ‘Is a Good Number’

Team Penske Racing star driver Ryan Blaney has shared his thoughts on the discussion regarding NASCAR having too much road course races.

Ryan Blaney Goes Against Veterans, Declares Six NASCAR Road Course Races a Season ‘Is a Good Number’

Ryan Blaney (via Imago)

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One of the big topics of discussion in the NASCAR community at the moment is the number road courses races in the schedule. Veterans such as Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski, alongside other legends of the spot believe six non-oval races is too much. But 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney has a different view on the discussion.

Ahead of the Sonoma Raceway event, Ryan Blaney who is an average road course racer with just one win from almost 40 starts, pointed out that six road course outings in the 36-race schedule is the right number. He bellies adding or reducing one no-oval race is fine as well. The major reason behind this assertion is the fact that he loves the additional challenge these races bring in.

We do six (races) now I think; that’s a fine number to me. Whether you go four or six or seven, I don’t really have a huge preference…I’m not the best at them but I enjoy the challenge of doing something different, whether it’s like a street course or here (Sonoma)… But if it goes down or up, it’s really not going to change the way I look at it.

Ryan Blaney said via Frontstretch Plus on YouTube.

The same argument was shared by his Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, who is one of the bets road course drivers in the Chevy garage. He made the same point and highlighted how there was a time where the fan called for more such events. The advantage he gets in the tracks is a selfish reason behind his comments.

Ten years ago, they wanted more road courses. Now, we have too many. So, I think five or six is probably a good number but there’s also people way smarter than me making that decision… Selfishly, we typically run pretty well at the road courses, so I like them.

Alex Bowman said.

Ryan Blaney names the toughest road course in the schedule

On his podcast appearance after the Chicago race, Ryan Blaney shared his thoughts on the challenges offered by road courses. Talking about it, he asserted that the street course is one of the toughest no-oval races the sport offers and he enjoys it.

Ryan Blaney
Ryan Blaney (Via @Blaney/X0

I enjoy it. I enjoy the challenge of it. I mean, it’s tough. I think, I think Chicago is the toughest road course we go to, just because, you know, it’s people always ask me, like, what’s challenging about I’m like, well, just, you know, the roads are rough.

Ryan Blaney said.

He then went onto explain the factors such as bumps, barrow turns and close racing that make racing at Chicago more entertaining as well as impressive compared to other tracks. This makes the events more physical and mentally challenging for everyone involved.

Everything’s super rough, trying to figure out the bumps, and it’s so narrow, like there’s nowhere to bail. Like, if you kind of get in the corner too hot, smoke it in there, and you get bouncing real hard on your blocks or something, or on the shock limiters. Like, there’s no gravel trap or grass to run off to… So, it’s, like, really mentally challenging for me.

Ryan Blaney added.

The comments from the No:12 Ford Mustang driver is something NASCAR should consider while they make decisions on the future of the event. They have to negotiate a new deal with the city for the race, as the current deal ran out after last week’s race. It would be interesting to see how everything is going to playout with the event.  

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