Ryan Blaney explains feeling more relaxed in 2024 season after championship

Ryan Blaney is feeling the thrill of being able to relax a little more during the season after his NASCAR Cup Series title in 2023.

While there’s pressure on him to repeat as a champion, the Team Penske wheelman realizes much has changed, including his voice being heard more throughout the sport.

“Yeah, maybe a little bit. I’ve never been one to fully always speak out. If I do, it’s something really important to me. But I feel like the bigger voice comes from maybe more people listening and maybe you have a little bit more weight behind what you say,” Blaney told FOX’s Bob Pockrass. “So I think that’s even more important to have to choose your words carefully. You just can’t spout out about anything,

“You have to be kind of precise in how you speak because I feel like it’s a little bit more weight with your words.”

One of those scenarios where Blaney recognizes it was at Daytona, when he made his voice heard following his qualifying race, where he was wrecked.

“Maybe a little bit. But I would have said the same thing after the duels, championship or not. It was just a frustrating situation in that heat of the moment [being] upset I got hooked multiple times,” Blaney added. “I was just tired of it. Three times in a row here I’ve gotten hooked in the right rear, and I was sick of it.”

His newfound ability to voice his opinion louder than before has led to Blaney being a little more laid back in 2024, something he expanded upon during his interview.

“I think I have been a little bit more laid back about some things and tried to have the same mentality of what we had the last few months of the season last year and carry it over to this year,” Blaney said. “I feel like we were kind of the same way — just trying to be relaxed about it and not get too bent out of shape about things. I feel like it’s a little bit of a mentality from the end of last year and then the championship, too. I feel like you’re kind of more confident.

“You don’t take things as harshly and as deeply. You’re just like, ‘This is part of it.’ Try to be a little bit more relaxed. I feel like that’s better.”

We’ll see how Ryan Blaney’s fresh mentality contributes to his success over a full season, as he searches for back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series titles.