Ryan Blaney Breaks Down Real Reason For NASCAR's Disconnect With the Masses
Ryan Blaney didn't hold himself back from admitting the disconnect between NASCAR and the masses, revealing that it lags behind sports such as football, basketball, and baseball, which fans are able to play and enjoy themselves.
Blaney also pointed out that the lives of the drivers and who they are as people need to be showcased more often so people can connect with them at a personal level, rather than the drivers being featured for the sole purpose of promotion and advertising.
NASCAR is reportedly struggling to connect with a younger audience, but Blaney believes the sport needs to be showcased more with a human element that fans can relate to. Speaking in an interview with RG, he said:
William Byron, driver of the #24 Raptor Chevrolet, and Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, lead the field during the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on...
William Byron, driver of the #24 Raptor Chevrolet, and Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, lead the field during the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 08, 2025 in Brooklyn, Michigan. More"How can you make the drivers more personable? How do you increase their stardom, and it starts with not only showing the product on the track, it's also showing these people and these athletes and things like that.
"I've always said NASCAR is hard to relate to people, to the mass population, because unfortunately unlike football, basketball [or] baseball, you can't go to a park and play it [race] like everybody can do.
"You can't just go have a car and go to the racetrack. It's different, it takes a lot of time and money to do it, so people don't have that connection of, 'Oh yeah, I played that sport as a kid, so I really enjoy it now as an adult.'
"Watching racing is hard to do, so how do you do it in a certain way to where you just get people interested if maybe they haven't driven before, and how do you describe it in a way that they can relate to it?"
The 31-year-old driver believes shows like Netflix's docuseries, 'NASCAR: Full Speed,' could open up the sport to the younger audience. He said:
"I think that's neat for people to see, kind of that aspect of it. It's really important to do those things, to showcase more info about your sport. No matter what sport it is, how do you draw people that maybe don't watch your sport? How do you draw them in?
"I've had a lot of people since that first season say, 'Hey you know we watched the Netflix show and we didn't really know much about racing, but we really enjoyed the people in it and this is our first race.'"
The 2023 NASCAR champion often comes across as a relaxed personality. However, he admitted that he is the opposite when he puts on his crash helmet, a contrast well captured by the Netflix docuseries. Blaney said:
"You're going to be fiery, you're going to be passionate about what you do. But then you take off the helmet, you're just kind of a normal person. You can have a completely different attitude or mentality. I'm that way. I'm a freaking tyrant when I put the helmet on, but that's just how I am, and I'm a competitive person."
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