HAMPTON, Ga. – Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace are close friends, dating to their pre-adolescent days racing Bandoleros at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Blaney and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are close, too. So when Earnhardt perceived Wallace might be feeling the stress from all the attention he was receiving in the lead-up to the Daytona 500, he made a call to Blaney.
“I think it was right when I got down to Daytona, maybe Friday (before qualifying), and I was watching quarter-midget races over there in the infield, and Dale Jr. gives me a call,” Blaney said on Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“He was like, ‘Hey, I need you to go call Bubba and calm him down, because I think he was getting really overwhelmed with all the media and the pressure that was kind of being bestowed upon him and we haven’t even got started yet.’”
Blaney had a conversation with Wallace, trying to relax him and advise him not to be bothered by all the distractions.
“It’s a good thing that he’s getting recognized in all forms of TV and entertainment and media and didn’t see it as pressure – (saw) it as a well-deserved opportunity that he got.
“But I think he dealt with it really well and he proved that Sunday when he was able to kind of put all this behind him and just go out there and race.”
Indeed. Wallace finished second to Austin Dillon in the 500. If anything, the media attention has increased exponentially since then.
“I think he did a really good job of dealing with everything on the track and off the track, and I’m pretty proud of him for that,” Blaney said.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
- NASCAR to debut new short track package at Phoenix - February 28, 2023
- The Wrench Who Stole Racing - December 16, 2022
- Matt DiBenedetto’s excellent run comes to abrupt, violent end - February 17, 2019
