Ryan Blaney is an established NASCAR Cup Series star with 13 victories and the 2023 championship, but back in 2015, he wasn’t on such firm footing.
In fact, after a particularly frustrating run in a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Blaney was afraid team owner Roger Penske was ready to fire him.
“I did think I was going to get fired one year—not really, but in my mind I was,” Blaney said on Monday at a proclamation from the city of Mooresville, N.C., honoring Team Penske’s three straight Cup championships.
“I blew a race at Indy, an (Xfinity) race, like 2015, I think. I lost the race, blew Turn 2 the last lap, Kyle Busch goes on and wins the race. And I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, I just lost at Indy for Roger. I’m canned. I’m done.’”
When Penske’s number popped up on Blaney’s phone later that evening, he feared the worst.
“He called me that night, and it was a pretty cool moment of reassurance, like ‘We believe in you; you’re going to make mistakes; this is how you learn,’ things like that.
“That was like the only time in my mind I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m getting fired.’ And when I saw him call me, I’m like, ‘This is it, I’m done.’ But those words afterwards really helped me out. I was 22, so it was a cool moment to talk to someone like that.”
In fact, just one week later, Blaney won his first race of the season at Iowa Speedway.
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