After a dominant run at the 1-mile racetrack in Arizona, Ryan Blaney silenced the skeptics and won his first-ever championship. However, just a few weeks before NASCAR’s Championship 4 fury was let loose on Phoenix Raceway, Kyle Larson and William Byron were the fan favorites to win the most coveted race of the season. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was in the conversation, too.
Nonetheless, the fact that the championship winner was not even a blimp on their radar is quite interesting indeed. And now he is a prospect to win another sought-after title of the most popular driver. According to Blaney, if he does, it would be at his dear friend Chase Elliott‘s expense. Confused? Let’s see how that might be true.
Ryan Blaney names his grand bet for Chase Elliott
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Although Chase Elliott brought an end to Dale Earnhardt Jr‘s 15-year streak in 2018 to win his first MPD title and hasn’t looked back since then, with his post-race fanfare this year, Ryan Blaney is a formidable contender. But what happens if Blaney wins? This is what Blaney felt like the Golden Boy of Hendrick Motorsports should do to validate his (Blaney’s) win.
Blaney said, “I don’t know if anyone’s gonna dethrone him from that though; I really don’t. You know, his cheers run beyond the racetrack. All the way to the pool hall. If I won it’d have to be for him (to) do something wild and if he won it’d have to be something small for me.” Kim Coon was curious about what exactly that would be. Ryan Blaney said it needs to be a tattoo with “Merry Offseason” inked on it.
GCOE: We discuss creative options for Chase if I win ‘Most Popular Driver’ & so much more on our FINAL episode coming out soon.
VOTE MPD : https://t.co/8rTYD2uAL1 pic.twitter.com/o5XfDZGWGM
— Ryan Blaney (@Blaney) November 17, 2023
A tattoo of Blaney’s face? And that too, on a visible part of Elliott’s body? Blaney humorously mentioned to the hosts of the Glass Case of Emotion podcast that if Chase Elliott wins, the bet should be small for him, but if Blaney wins, it should be something as grand as tattooing his face on Elliott’s calf. Needless to say, both Chuck Bush and Kim Coon giggled at Blaney’s demand.
Watch this story: Chase Elliott’s Season: A ‘What If’ Scenario
It’s amusing how the current Elliott-Blaney MPD tussle is panning out, but wouldn’t it be a little bizarre if one came to know that Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott have been planning to stage a fight for ages on NASCAR’s ovals? Nevertheless, it is true.
The 2023 champion opened up about his choreographed fighting plans
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When 40 cars accelerate at full speed, the competition is so tough that sometimes even teammates get into a wreck. But there’s no reason for the fans to expect a brawl between Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney, as these two are close buddies outside the track.
Blaney and Elliott have been planning to stage a fight for years to see how that appeals to the audience and to create a buzz in the racing world as well. Elliott has gotten himself into fights before, but Ryan Blaney isn’t really known as a guy who would go and punch someone in the face. He seldom picks up a fight with his opponents.
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According to a tweet by NASCAR on NBC, Blaney said via the Dale Jr Download, “Chase and I have been talking about staging for years. Kind of run each other a little bit on the racetrack. Like at the end of the race. Get out and just go to town on each other. Could you imagine the headlines? That would be so cool.”
Would @Blaney fight his good friend @chaseelliott?
Turns out they've actually talked about that! 🥊 pic.twitter.com/zC1h19mm5v
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) June 24, 2023
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Indeed, it would be cool. As racing fanatics, everyone would want to see that happen. However, who is your pick for the most popular driver in 2023? Go to www.nascar.com/mostpopulardriver and vote for your favorite driver right now.