NEWTON, Iowa — “I like him less and less every year.”
Ryan Blaney couldn’t help but throw another verbal jab at best friend Bubba Wallace, the perfect example of their ongoing banter as they continue to experience professional success together in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The pair celebrated the latest milestone with each other at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last Sunday when Wallace won the Brickyard 400, his first Cup win since 2022 and breaking a 100-race winless drought. The victory signified both drivers owning crown-jewel triumphs with Wallace joining Blaney, who won the Coca-Cola 600 in 2023.
Their history dates back two decades as Blaney and Wallace crossed paths as kids beginning their respective racing journeys.
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“It’s been super unique,” Blaney said. “We started racing bandoleros together when we were 9 and raced together for a long time. Then our career paths kind of separated a little bit. He went a different form of late-model racing than me and then ran K&N East [now ARCA Menards Series East] for a while, while I was still late-model racing and figuring out what we could do. Then our paths crossed back again a little bit in K&N and then Trucks and all the way up to Cup. I don’t think either of us, when we were 9 or 10 years old, would ever think we’d be where we are 20 years later.”
In the transition from childhood to adulthood, the meaning of friendship can change and be undervalued as individuals focus on career and family.
However, the proximity of the racing world keeps drivers close to each other on the weekends. And in Wallace and Blaney’s case, they even live near one another.
“In such a masculine and competitive sport, friendships kind of get lost,” Wallace said. “But that’s the cool thing about motorsports and us in general. There’s still six or seven of us that grew up racing together since we were kids and you kind of feel that bond from the get-go because of those moments. Blaney and I, we live 10 minutes apart from each other. We see each other all the time. He’s there for me and I’m there for him, and through the good, through the bad, you always try to be like that shoulder to lean on. I truly appreciate him and what he’s been able to do for me in my career.”
As Blaney has collected 14 Cup wins and a series championship in 2023, one could think it would make a friend loathe the success. But that’s not the case for Wallace. That goes back to their days as kids where he says he used to get the better of Blaney.
“You watch him and all the success that he has here, and what he’s been able to do in his career has been super cool,” Wallace said. “I can easily get jealous and not want to be a part of it, but it’s cool as hell to see us all where we came from. The thing that also kept me going is I do look back on the days when we were kids and I used to kick his ass. It’s like, you did it then. Why can’t you do it now, you know? I kind of kept that as fuel too, so we are super competitive.”
It’s not just the career milestones the two to get to celebrate together.
Wallace and his wife Amanda now have a son, Becks, who was born last September, while Blaney and wife Gianna are expecting their first child later this year.
From chartering planes to the track together to now beginning their journey as fathers, the bond between Blaney and Wallace continues to evolve and they hope they’ll be able to pass down that friendship to their kids.
“It’s just cool to have that relationship,” Wallace said. “You have your family here at the race track and when you have people you can lean on, it makes the bad weekends a little bit easier.”
“It’s an interesting dynamic,” Blaney said. “You’re competing with everybody out there, but you’re happy when your friends are successful and they win. I went over to Bubba’s house Sunday night after Indy to celebrate that. Couldn’t miss that one. So, yeah, it’s cool and then next stages of your life, right? Marriage and his kid’s nine months, mine’s on the way, and hopefully they’ll have the same friendship that he and I had growing up together. We’re both really lucky that [we’ve] been able to do what we’ve been able to do and stay really close through the years.”