We’ve often heard the argument about NASCAR being different from other major Stick & Ball sports in America. It’s not just about the unique racing experience or product NASCAR brings, but more so about its interaction with the community they’ve built. Sure, the likes of the NFL and NBA have megastars compared to NASCAR in the modern era. But, when it comes to treating the fans with a warm gesture and special atmosphere, NASCAR outshines every other major league and series.

There are times when star drivers feel overwhelmed interacting with the fans. Joey Logano earlier this year even called out this special treatment, “Our fans are spoiled.” But again, the Penske star was only highlighting the tight-knit relationship the fans have with the sport. And ahead of the Watkins Glen playoffs race, his teammate Ryan Blaney has chimed in with his take.

Ryan Blaney thinks NASCAR fan interaction isn’t something other sports can match

One of the key differentiators, if you are going to compare fan interactions between NASCAR and NBA events, is access. Now imagine running up to Lebron James just five minutes before the start of his game to get his autograph or a photo. You cannot have it, right? But that is possible for a fan visiting a NASCAR race.

In fact, all the drivers are pretty much happy to sign the autographs and interact with the fans who come to see them. And Blaney, who finds himself doing this every week, shared how special this experience is for the race fans. “I think we do it better than any other sporting event, you know. I look at baseball, football, and basketball, right? Like it’s just different; you’re not really meeting the players or the athletes before the game,” the Penske driver said in an interview with News10NBC.

“NASCAR gosh, you can walk on the racetrack; like you said, you can drive your car around any weekend. You can see the athletes up close and personal, talk to them pretty easy and I think that’s what makes us a pretty compelling sport. We’ve all been very hospitable to our fans because we’ve understood that hey, this is what makes it tick,” he added.

While Ryan Blaney advocated NASCAR’s fan superiority, he was wary of the major challenge going into the second race of round 1 at Watkins Glen. And like most drivers in the Cup garage, he and his team are preparing for the new tire experiment by Goodyear.

No one knows how Goodyear tires will alter racing at Watkins Glen

NASCAR has had to deal with the criticism of its Next Gen race car for some time now. One of the biggest complaints they’ve received was a lack of wear-off and passing opportunities. Now, 2024 has seen Goodyear go all in with its tire experimentation, and it looked like it worked well at the Bristol night race. But, it has been a hit-and-miss kind of project so far, and this time around a road course race will see the arrival of a new tire compound.

In theory, the new tires are expected to create three seconds worth of lap time falloff. Thus, this will push the teams to plan out their strategy and improvise quickly, depending on the situation on race day. Sharing his thoughts on this new challenge, Blaney said, “It’ll be a little bit different this year, different tire, a little bit of changes to the track. So I think those challenges everyone is looking forward to. We’ll see; get there tomorrow and on track here in a couple of weeks.”

Blaney finds himself in a suitable spot heading into the race weekend at Watkins Glen. He finished 3rd at Atlanta and is placed in the second-best spot behind Logano, who has already locked himself in the next round.