Bubba Wallace takes a joking dig at Ryan Blaney's on-the-run interview at Iowa:"We flew out early for this ish?!"

Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney's friendship dates back two decades. They have often indulged in off-track banter, a recent instance of which was the 23XI Racing's comment under Blaney's Iowa pre-race interview.

Prior to the Iowa Corn 350, the No. 12 driver gave an on-the-run interview to NASCAR, jogging across the Iowa Speedway and answering questions about his life.

While Ryan Blaney's fans appreciated the interview, his long-time friend Bubba Wallace took a dig at him in the comment section, questioning his decision to fly to the location early, writing:

"We flew out early for this ish?!🤦🏾‍♂️"

Bubba Wallace's comment on Blaney's Iowa interview (Image via Instagram/ @nascar)

Blaney was one of the racers who went up to Bubba Wallace to congratulate him on his Brickyard 400 victory, the video of which went viral as well. In a pre-race interview before the Iowa Corn 350, the Team Penske racer joked about liking Bubba "less and less every year.”

Dubbing their friendship "super unique", Ryan Blaney shared that he and Bubba Wallace started racing bandoleros together at the age of 9, following which they chose different career paths. The 23XI Racing driver opted for a form of late-model racing and joined the ARCA Menards Series East while Blaney was still in late-model racing at the time.

"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.” the Team Penske racer said (via NASCAR).

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"He’s there for me and I’m there for him": Bubba Wallace reflects on his bond with Ryan Blaney

In addition to reflecting on how long they have been friends, Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney also addressed the bond they share despite being NASCAR drivers from rival teams.

During the pre-Iowa race interview, Bubba Wallace acknowledged how friendships get lost in a sport as masculine and competitive as NASCAR. However, he added that there are six to seven drivers who grew up racing together, and so the bond has been intact over the years.

“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.” the 23XI Racing driver admitted.

Moreover, sticking to his old ways of trolling Ryan Blaney at every chance he gets, Bubba Wallace said that he used to "kick his a**" when they used to race as children. He added that it was the "you did it then why can’t you do it now?" mindset that enables him to be competitive toward Blaney.

When Ryan Blaney was asked about losing to Bubba Wallace when they used to race as children, the Team Penske driver shrugged off Wallace's claims and said:

“Well, they were cheating. There was no secret. Go back and ask everybody. The Wallaces were cheaters in Bandoleros and everything."

However, he acknowledged the 23XI Racing star's skills as a NASCAR racer, adding:

"But yeah, hey, how do I follow that up? I will say he did kick my butt pretty bad. They were really good in like Bandos and Legend cars and they were always the car to beat, but I think they were cheating the whole years I was racing with him.”

Ryan Blaney finished fourth at Iowa Speedway and currently stands 7th on the NASCAR Cup Series table with 665 stage points. Blaney's confidant, Bubba Wallace, on the other hand, is three spots below him in the table with 581 stage points at the 10th position.