NASCAR CUP SERIES: CHAMPIONSHIP

November 7, 2024

Ryan Blaney

Press Conference

An Interview with:

Q. Have you watched the replay of what you accomplished on Sunday? Is it giving you chills?

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, I watched the race back, yeah Sunday night when I got home. Yeah, it was cool to go back. I always watch the races back that night when I get home.

Yeah, just kind of cool to relive it, go back through it. So much happening in the moment. It's cool to kind of go back and remember some of those things that went on.

Yeah, crazy effort by our whole team. Knew what we needed to do to rebound from Miami. I thought it was a storybook type of deal. Hopefully we can finish that story off this weekend.

Q. (No microphone.)

RYAN BLANEY: I don't know. I did have some texts from some people that were like, Man, that's the greatest drive I've ever seen.

I'm like, Easy now. It was good, but...

No, that was just pretty neat to run how we did and come from as far back as we did. I think that was kind of the biggest thing. Restarting 10th or so, coming from six seconds back, being able to stretch it out there at the end.

I didn't know if it was going to go that way in the moment. Fortunately it did for us. So yeah, it was cool to hear those words.

Q. Is it fair to say you were at a certain level of aggressiveness?

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, I think I said Sunday night, like, I had to lay the bumper to more people than I would like to. I don't normally enjoy doing that. But in the moment, like, I couldn't waste any time on people, especially the last two runs of the race. I just couldn't waste any time knowing how good our car was. If we lost track position or something, we needed to get it back. I just couldn't sit around and ride behind guys for 15 laps.

I tried to do it in a way, if I did have to lay the bumper, of not just blast somebody out of the way. Like, you just kind of shove 'em in there a few miles an hour faster, get them off the bottom and go.

With the 9, like, I was never going to touch the 9. For the lead of the race at the end, I made my decision I was never going to touch him, for multiple reasons. He and I are buddies. Plus I didn't want to move anybody for the win.

It worked out to where I was able to get a big run off of two on the top and get underneath him. That's how you have to be at that place. I couldn't just waste any time. I didn't want to do anything overly egregious. I felt like it was all pretty fair.

Q. That change on Sunday night, going for the championship, will that change?

RYAN BLANEY: I don't know. Everyone has their line, right? Like, what line are you not willing to cross? Everyone's line is different of how they think of what they need to do in the moment.

I've always been a pretty huge believer, I'm not going to spin somebody out on purpose and I don't ever really want to get to the point where they could possibly spin out. If you do have to possibly get aggressive and nudge people out of the way, I mean, that's just what it is. You got to understand what you're going for.

That's all situational, what are you willing to do in that certain time.

Q. How would you say you stack up against the other three?

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, I mean, every one of us is going to say we feel great about our chances and we think we're the best group, as they should, right? Everyone needs to be confident in their team.

Yeah, I can personally say about our group, I feel like we've been incredibly strong all year really. I mean, it doesn't really show how great we've been really as a 12 team. It's easy for me to see it, how they are operating. I feel like it has been just unbelievable.

This place has been pretty good to us in the past. I feel like our performance at these types of racetracks this year have been really, really strong. Hopefully that continues.

But yeah, you never know. You never know who has what speed. We're going to know tomorrow night kind of where everyone stacks up.

But yeah, I think our 12 group is executing really, really well. We're controlling things we can control to the best of our ability. That's all I can really ask for. If it's enough, that's great. If it's not, you're going to come up short.

All I can ever ask is just give everything you got. That's all I ever ask of my guys. When they do that, they can be winners and win championships. Hopefully we bring that attitude.

Q. What would it mean to be the first champion who does go back to back under this format, the first champion to go back to back since 2010 when Jimmie did it?

RYAN BLANEY: We have a few milestones we could hit this weekend. Like you mentioned, go back to back, first one in this format, first one since Jimmie. We have a great opportunity to do that. We have a chance to win three in a row for Roger on the Team Penske side between Joey and I. We have a chance to bring three in a row for Ford on the Cup Series championship.

There's a lot of neat milestones we all can accomplish this weekend. But yeah, I think it would just mean a lot to go back to back. It's something that's really difficult to do obviously. It hasn't been done in a while. There's a reason for that. It's hard to get here two years in a row and then perform on the weekend.

Yeah, it would mean the world. It would mean more than the first, to be honest with you.

Q. (No microphone.)

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, when those came out, NASCAR had to make a call I feel like. I'm happy they decided to do something because I feel like when you get to those situations like we had at Martinsville, that takes a lot away from the racing aspect of it, of like the fast cars are going forward, the slower cars are dropping.

When you kind of do things like that, it does take a little bit away from the competitive side of it. So I don't know. I haven't really put any thought like was it enough, was it too much. I don't really know.

You just hope that there's a precedent set when you do, when NASCAR makes decisions like that, that you can just take that away, right? 'Cause that's no fun.

It's unfortunate that the amazing 500 laps of Martinsville, the whole race was awesome, a lot got taken away from the whole race because of what happened at the end with that whole deal that was going on.

It takes away from big storylines, good storylines, and has not so good of storylines when that stuff happens.

I don't know, enough or not enough. I don't really know. That's out of my call. Hopefully you don't see any of that funny business this weekend.

Q. How much do your notes from November play into context here this weekend?

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, I mean, there's things you always are taking from previous events. We've taken things that we learned last spring, last November, this spring, things we've learned through this year with this right side tire that we've run at other places.

Yeah, you're always, like, picking and choosing things that you think are going to work, that have been good for you, and you stay away from the things that maybe you tried and did that weren't as good for you.

You're always constantly learning. It's not like we're just taking what we did in the fall last year and putting it in this car. You can't do that. So you're always learning new things through the year. Hopefully we've applied the right things.

Q. A lot of drivers talk about execution. What does that mean from your perspective?

RYAN BLANEY: Execute the way you can? You can only control your team. I think when people say that, at least my definition of it is give 100% of your effort through the week, through the weekend. Don't make mistakes. Try your best not to make mistakes. If you do make mistakes, overcome 'em. Make a plan to remedy those mistakes.

I think that's the biggest thing, just controlling what you guys can control. Us as a 12 group do the best that we can as 15 people. That's really all you can do. You hope to out-perform everybody, not make mistakes if other people flounder.

Yeah, just try to do your job the best you can.

Q. How different was the preparation this year compared to last year?

RYAN BLANEY: Same. Pretty much the same. I'm kind of a big believer if you have your routine and it works for you, don't really do anything less or anything more. When you find something that works for you, for a certain moment... That's just from my side and Jonathan's side. He and I's conversations, I mean, my guys were there till 10:00 Tuesday night before that thing loaded up to kind of get it ready.

It's a short week for them. They had to really bust their butts to get the car where it needed to be to go and load up for here.

But yeah, my prep work? Very similar to how I deal with every single weekend. Look at past notes, talk to Jonathan, talk to Timmy, see where I think the track's going to be, where Jonathan thinks it's going to be, strategy.

Yeah, I mean, I don't really approach anything very different no matter what race it is.

Q. Has there been any sharing of information between you and Joey at all?

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, I mean, our group - and I'm speaking of all of Team Penske - we do a great job at communication between the drivers and the crew chiefs, engineers, car chiefs.

Everybody is very good at communicating back and forth of what we have. There's never any secrets that are kept no matter what it is. There's two of us racing for the championship, still an open book. Jonathan and Paul talked, This is where I'm going to be, this is where I'm going to be. Okay, if we agree on some things, great. If not, this is their own idea.

That side I think makes us incredibly strong. I feel like we utilize all our teams really good at Team Penske. That's what makes us successful.

We didn't vary from that at all just because that's the way we do it at Team Penske. That's the way Roger wants it done. That's the way he's done it for a long time to get to where he is.

You don't want to stray from that path just because you're racing against each other for a championship. You race together, against each other, every week. You have to use your strengths. That's one of our strengths, is communication.

Q. (No microphone.)

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, we have a chance to win another championship for him. That was great that he won IMSA and WEC. That was a huge accomplishment for him and Porsche. I know he's really proud of that.

I talked earlier, we have a chance to bring him three in a row on the Cup side. That would be an amazing accomplishment.

I've always just talked about, I've always thought internally to myself, I sit around, How do you make Roger proud? That's my only goal in my racing life for the last 12 years, is how do I make Roger proud because he's given me my life really. Bluntly, at the end of the day, it's win races and win championships, bring him things that he hasn't done before. It's a very small list of things that he hasn't done in motorsports. We have a chance to do it for him.

Yeah, it's just great to be in a position to where we can do it, have two cars that can do it.

The pressure side? I don't think it's any more pressure because they won those championships. There always is pressure because this is a big moment. But pressure is fine. It means you care when you feel pressure and you're anxious about things. It means you give a crap about what you're doing. It's how do you respond to that and how do you kind of use it to drive you.

Yeah, it would be great to add another one. It would be a heck of an end of the year for RP.

Q. Do you think you've made him proud?

RYAN BLANEY: I hope so. I hope so.

Q. You talk about bringing that third championship, what he's done for you. Have you had a conversation with him this week, what his advice was?

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, I mean, he's meant the world to my career and my life. I mean, honestly, I wouldn't be here without him, as well as other people that were hugely important in getting me where I am today.

I mean, he was the one who wanted to give me a chance in 2012, he and Brad were a huge part of wanting me to get over there. I owe them a lot.

But yeah, Roger stuck with me through thick and thin. He could have canned me whenever he wanted to, especially early when I wasn't probably performing how I should. It just means a lot that when someone sticks with you like that, just wants you to grow and learn.

To have a figure like that, someone I looked up to as a kid, I knew who Roger Penske was since I was born because my dad would always talk about him, was a huge fan of RP.

He's meant a ton. Yeah, it would mean the world to keep bringing him things. You can't buy him anything, so you got to win him championships and races. That's really all he cares about, which is pretty amazing how dedicated he is to motorsports for how long he's been in it. I mean, he's as dedicated as he's been since day one.

It's really neat when you have an owner like that that cares so much about what he loves, and you have that in common. You both love motorsports and racing. It's great when you can be on the same page.

Yeah, I mean, I talked to him last week. He was in Abu Dhabi last week for WEC.

Q. Bahrain.

RYAN BLANEY: Bahrain. He was on his way home from that. I didn't talk to him on the phone, but it was nice texting him back and forth.

Q. Are you still riding a wave here from Sunday?

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, a little bit. Our group does a really good job of moving on, focusing on the next goal, no matter what the outcome is, good or bad. Either we celebrate that evening, and the next morning when you wake up, it's on to the next thing, or you pout around a little bit that evening and wake up the next morning and do the next thing, right? Our group just operates like that, which is really, really neat.

Yeah, I talked about momentum last year and confidence coming into this race. We were able to utilize that. I think it's the same. Especially how we won it, I feel like it's even more momentum than last year. Winning that must-win last week at Martinsville, I think that Martinsville win last week was even bigger than '23 because we didn't have to win that race last year at Martinsville, we just had to have a good day. We still ended up winning, which was great momentum for us.

I think just the lows of me losing the race at Miami, us rebounding Martinsville, must-win, doing it, coming from where we did in the pack, to get the lead there at the end, carrying it into this week, then having the chance to do what we can do this week, going back to back, I think riding high for sure.

We're fully focused on what it takes to do it. Heck, we were talking about it onstage in Martinsville. Everyone was ready, What's next week? What are we going to do next week? How can we be better next week?

That's a cool group to be around.

Q. Does this feel like a normal championship weekend with the lawsuit, Bell and Byron thing, the race manipulation? Does it feel like a regular championship weekend, or does it feel like there's a lot wrong?

RYAN BLANEY: For me it feels normal. I'm not a part of any of it. I'm a part of what I'm doing: the championship. It's nice to not be a part of any of that, right, to be a part of things going on outside of just pure competition...

Yeah, for me it's a great week. Championship week. We got a chance to do it. Yeah, to me it's normal.

Q. What will it take for you to become the first guy since Jimmie Johnson to win back-to-back titles?

RYAN BLANEY: Beat three other guys (laughter). We'll see. That's all it is.

Q. You coming in as the defending series champion, how has this week been for you different from last year emotionally, mentally?

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, mentally I think it's been a little bit different because just a little bit more experience for being in the Championship 4. Last year was my first time. I was just excited to be a part of the Champ 4 and going for a title. I still obviously am very excited and fortunate to be here.

I had a lot of unknowns last year, right? Didn't know how the week was going to go. Being a part of the 4 this weekend, how does this weekend look like, the week leading up?

This year you just have more experience just because I did it a year ago. You kind of know what to expect. There's definitely things, like I look back at last year, the weekend, the race, this year I'd like to change how I kind of approach this for the second go-around. You try to help that. It just benefits you.

To me, I've always said, like, experience is kind of king over everything, I think. You just get more comfortable in these positions when you have the reps in it. You can look back at what you did in years past and try to switch some stuff up in how you approached it, how you handled some stuff.

Q. What is one thing you'd like to do differently?

RYAN BLANEY: I don't know. I feel like the only thing that I currently would change from last year is how I handled the first two-thirds of the race. I was in such a hurry to get to the front, like now, now, now, got to get to the lead. We didn't start great. I think I started, like, 15th or something. I was pretty wound up. Need to get to the front right now. Even in some situations with the 1 car, looking back on it it's easy to say, I wish I would have handled that a little bit differently.

That's the only thing I feel like I would have changed, just be a little bit more patient in getting there. You have over 300 laps to get there, so if it's not going great in the beginning, there's time.

Just talked about that experience thing. Like, as you experience that, you just realize this is how it can go and this is what I would change up.

That's the only thing I would change.

Q. Are you superstitious at all?

RYAN BLANEY: No.

Q. Same restaurants or anything like that?

RYAN BLANEY: No. No, not superstitious at all. No, not really doing any of the same things as I did last year.

Q. (No microphone.)

RYAN BLANEY: It's a little fuller than it was last year. It's funny. Your face hair grows quicker and the top of your head starts falling out as you get older. I'm experiencing that right away (laughter).

Yeah, that's about the only thing I've done the same.

Q. What are the advantages or disadvantages of having a teammate in with you?

RYAN BLANEY: I think the advantage of it is that we have a better percentage chance of bringing all of Team Penske a championship, right? That's great. You just have 50% shot, if we're being blunt, to bring Team Penske a championship. That's amazing, right? That fires everybody else up that works for Team Penske that don't have an allegiance. That doesn't work on just the 22 or the 12, whatever.

Obviously we're selfish and we want to be that person and that team to bring it. For everybody else that has their hands in Team Penske as a whole, that is great. It fires them up that we have two chances.

People have been asking me like, What are the disadvantages? I really don't think there is any. We don't hide anything from each other. Jonathan and Paul don't keep secrets. We've always communicated really well.

I mean, yeah, obviously the difficult part could be if Joey and I are running 1-2 at the end of the race and we're racing hard. That's great if we're 1-2, right? Overall that's great. Roger's always been the way of there's no team orders, there's no number one car, number two car, number three car. It's just race each other as hard as you can. I don't care who finishes first or second, as long as you finish first and second, right? Meaning do not wreck each other.

That's like the only thing. But I really don't think that's a disadvantage at all. If we're running 1-2, that's awesome. Just let us race it out.

Q. (No microphone.)

RYAN BLANEY: For my wedding?

Q. Yes.

RYAN BLANEY: I am. I'm excited to get married.

Q. A week-long festival.

RYAN BLANEY: Should be a good time. Yeah, we're excited to tie the knot. It's coming up very quickly. It's just over a month away. It's approaching rapidly.

Q. What does it mean to have her as a support system?

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, I mean, Gianna has been amazing since we've been dating here the last four and a half years and really has helped me out mentally through the week and after races, good or bad. Supports you either way. If things are going bad, she's there to support me and lift me back up and kind of lift my spirits and give me a bigger picture.

You can get so just consumed with what you're doing and this job. It can control you. It can control your emotions through the week. I didn't like that. If I had a bad race, I would be cranky through the week. Before her and I got together, I would be that way. I would just let it affect things in my life that it shouldn't be affecting.

She put that into perspective for me. That's really changed my outlook on things. I'm really lucky. Yeah, it's nice to have her. It was awesome to share a championship together, like that whole experience post championship and kind of going through the year and off-season with it. Yeah, it will be another fun off-season no matter what happens really, whether we win the championship or not. We have a big day to look forward to.

Q. (No microphone.)

RYAN BLANEY: A lot of people. Yeah, I really don't think it's a ton different than, like, Daytona 'cause it's a madhouse on pit road at Daytona. Really a lot of racetracks that we go to.

So yeah, this wasn't much different. I say the only difference was they lined all four of us up right there at the front. Everyone knows these are the Champ 4 guys and they're bunched together, so it just becomes a bigger mob around that area.

It wasn't bad. It was nice to have people wishing you good luck. I appreciate all that stuff. It gets you in a good mood. Yeah, that really didn't affect me at all.

Q. (No microphone.)

RYAN BLANEY: Change my life? Not really a lot. I mean, professionally and personally, behind the wheel, it gives you more confidence, right? You're always looking for confidence. At least I am always looking for confidence. I think as an athlete and driver, you're always trying to find reasons why you deserve to be here, why you deserve to have the job that you have.

When you can accomplish things like that, it definitely in your mind solidifies those. It makes you feel good. That confidence just keeps stacking and helps you out.

Really I think that's the only thing that's changed for me. My personal life has been the exact same, besides getting engaged. I was getting engaged way before the championship, so...

Yeah, I think just behind the wheel, and my team, just that confidence boost that it's given us I feel like has made us better overall. That's good.

Q. Maybe this is a stretch. Having that championship under your belt, the peace of mind, when you have a situation like Homestead, do you think that had any effect on being able to move on and reset for the next race?

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, I definitely think it helped. It kind of builds on what I just answered. You add confidence and belief in yourself that, Hey, I can do this stuff, contend for wins and championships. You've won a championship. You're mentally strong enough to do that.

So yeah, I feel like because of the championship last year, I did handle Miami a little bit better than I would. Just not getting angry. I was just bummed of myself, right? When you're the sole reason you lose the race, you can only put it on you. How do you respond to that, right? Do you get mad at yourself? Do you get down on yourself and bummed?

I definitely was bummed out about what I didn't do in the race car to win the race. I felt like I learned from it faster than what I would have a couple years ago and put it out of my mind quicker.

I told myself, I said, Okay, you can be sad about it for the night, but when you wake up Monday morning, you're fully focused on Martinsville. You're not going to think about Miami.

That's what I was able to do. I think that definitely came from last year.

Q. What makes Phoenix a good place to determine the champion?

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, what is this, the fifth year? I think it's put on really good shows, honestly. Sometimes, like, this place can get a bad rap from the social media people. Honestly, it puts on good racing.

If you just look around, and I can only describe it behind the steering wheel, it's gotten kind of wide like it needs to be. It has been for the last handful of years. So there's lanes and options. It's put on really good shows.

The area is fantastic. That's also a big thing, like how nice is the area, how do people respond to having this big race in their area. People come from all over the place out here.

I'm not opposed to having it move to a handful of different places every couple years. But Phoenix has proven, Phoenix Raceway has proven that they're very worthy of having championship races. They put on great hospitality for the people who come and camp out.

We were just out there earlier with all four of us. There were tons of people out here on a Thursday. So they're dedicated and they're psyched for the race weekend.

It's hospitality to the fans, hospitality to the teams, and putting on good shows. I think they achieve all that.

Q. (Question about confidence.)

RYAN BLANEY: Just everything. Kind of all of the above. Yeah, it's decisions you make, it's how you rebound after making bad decisions 'cause you're going to make bad decisions sometimes. It gives you confidence in kind of how you prep during the week. Hey, I think I'm kind of doing the correct things. You're always changing some stuff up.

Yeah, it's also how you kind of -- I don't know, it just gave me perspective and tried to make me focus on the larger picture instead of one lap at a time, kind of where do you want to be the last hundred miles of a race instead of the first hundred, you know? Or taking it one or two miles at a time.

Yeah, I feel like it kind of covers all that stuff.

Q. Can you try to describe the feeling of going from being a kid trying to chase dream to having a chance to go back to back being a NASCAR champion, living the dream pretty much?

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, yeah, I grew up watching my dad race for a long time. I was kind of born into it. Dad started Cup racing in the late '90s, so I grew up just watching all these drivers and admiring my dad, watching all these guys win championships and wanting to be like these guys.

I never really thought that I would -- I didn't think as a kid that I'm going to be a NASCAR champion one day. I just wanted to race and take next steps and next steps. How do I work really hard to achieve that goal?

I've been racing for 21 years. When you work 20 years to get to, like, the goal that you wanted to or what you watched guys achieve on TV when you were a kid, your heroes achieved that stuff, it's just surreal.

I said it a lot of times last year onstage, like I couldn't believe it. People always say, I always believed it, I always believed it. I could not believe it. It's just so surreal when you accomplish something that you have wanted ever since you were a kid. It's pretty special.

Q. Say you want to watch a race movie in the hauler, "Talladega Nights" or "Days of Thunder"?

RYAN BLANEY: Both of them are great. I love both movies. I would probably watch "Talladega Nights" over "Days of Thunder." I like comedies. People think that drivers get offended by "Talladega Nights," but I love it. I love every minute of it.

Q. (No microphone.)

RYAN BLANEY: Do you like "Talladega Nights" better?

Q. I like both of them.

RYAN BLANEY: Good.

Q. I like comedies.

RYAN BLANEY: We got that in common. Good.

Q. If you saw this bit on Mad TV, one reason you're racing is because you got hit in the face with a baseball.

RYAN BLANEY: Left eye. I'm a righty. Say I was in the batter's box. It was the first time fastpitch baseball. I think I was eight they start fastpitch, nine. Sun was right in my eyes. I never saw it coming.

Yeah, I get hit right in the eye. I was like, I don't know if I want to do this anymore. I'm going to wear a helmet and race. Yeah, that was the end.

Yeah, left eye. That was it.

Q. (Question about teammates.)

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, I mean, I feel like our sport, motorsports, is tricky situations 'cause you're competing directly against your teammate sometimes, but you're still racing for your company umbrella.

As far as, like, for two wide receivers in the NFL, yeah, you might want to get more touches than that guy or get paid more than that guy, but if you do well, he does well, your team is still going to win, right?

It is a little bit different. Joey and I have always worked really well together. We're still fiery competitors because you want to be the -- I'm not going to say main guy at the team, but you want to win the most races.

At the same time, I don't think we really compete against that stuff. We just go out and try to do the best we can each week, race each other with a lot of respect, and try to win races and championships for all of Team Penske and Roger Penske. I feel like that's the way we've kind of always operated.

Q. Last year you had a chance to win Homestead, came in second. Came to Phoenix and won a championship. This year is the exact same thing. Does it feel the same to you or box scores look the same?

RYAN BLANEY: Kind of like box scores look the same. Yeah, it is a funny coincidence that those last two finishes were the same, and we're back here.

Yeah, I mean, it's a new year, different situations. Hopefully we can repeat and do the same thing, right? I would like to think it's a huge coincidence that we went 2-1, then win the championship here this weekend.

Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. It feels pretty similar as far as, like, just being in this position because we look forward to the weekend and you look forward to just competing like normal.

Yeah, it would be a heck of a coincidence. Maybe it will happen.

Q. (Question about Ford.)

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, I mean, I'd like to think so. I'll have a better idea tomorrow when we get on track.

Yeah, we run fifth in the spring. Like you said, we were still trying to get going with the new Ford body. I feel like we've made huge improvements since then. All the types of tracks we have improved, but our short tracks have improved a lot. Been really proud of how we've performed on the shorter mile-under tracks.

Yeah, you hope the work you've done all year, what you learned, you apply and it works. Yeah, I definitely think we're stronger than what we were in the spring.

Q. Talk about your uncle's time with the Lakers. You're racing against Michael Jordan this weekend. What is it like to have these type of basketball legends in the sport?

RYAN BLANEY: I think it just shows how popular the sport is, how many eyeballs and interests that it piques.

When MJ came in the sport four years ago, I think everybody really embraced and just absolutely loved that he had a passion for it, right? The biggest athlete in the world has a passion for what we do, right? That makes you feel like you're doing something right.

To see just the love he has for motorsports, it was great. In bitter times when I lost Miami, to see the excitement on his face for the 45 winning, that's pretty cool. He's not just an owner who is in it just to be in it and for his name to be on a race team. He's there and he's sitting on pit wall and he knows every in and out about it.

I've sat down and talked to him. We've watched races together. He knows every little thing that's going on. That's just neat that someone cares, right? Especially to that stature.

Yeah, it's pretty neat. Like I said, I think it just shows how exciting the sport is and how exciting NASCAR is, that those eyes are getting attracted to it, as it should.