“Did you not watch the race?”: Ryan Blaney and Dale Jr. share a hilarious exchange on his recent podcast

After winning the Pocono race, Ryan Blaney shared a light-hearted moment with Dale Earnhardt Jr. during a podcast episode. The duo discussed the placement of the sponsor logos and numbers on the car, mentioning the shift from the middle/rear to the front of the vehicle.

Ryan Blaney, currently in his 11th Cup Series season, has won 12 out of 327 races in his career, including a Cup Championship. By this time last year, he had secured a victory at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But this season, he has already celebrated wins at Iowa and Pocono, with top-5 finishes in four races and top-10 finishes in another four. Both victories were made even more memorable by the support of his family; his mother’s entire side attended Iowa, while his fiancée’s family, along with his own, cheered him on at Pocono.

During the podcast, Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed his pleasure about Blaney’s recent success but was puzzled by one of the sponsors' names, leading him to ask Blaney:

"What the hell is a Wabash?"

Ryan Blaney explained to him:

"Have you ever seen pretty much any semi-trailer that's going on the highway? Yeah, Wabash makes them."

Dale Jr. inquired if Wabash was one of Blaney's sponsors, and the latter confirmed they were featured in his car that weekend. Because of the question Ryan Blaney wondered if maybe Junior hadn't caught the race, and he asked:

"Did you not watch the race?"

Dale Jr. responded with a chuckle, admitting:

"I did watch the race, but the car was able and the sponsor was hard to read. I am sorry. And it was all head-on shots. Couldn't see the word. You all moved the number. I am all messed up."

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Ryan Blaney credits his crew chief for the Pocono win

Starting eighth, Ryan Blaney and his team played their cards early, opting to stay out during a lap 15 caution while most of the field pitted, aiming to gain a strategic advantage later in the race.

Despite giving up on the stage points, Jonathan Hassler's decision to hold off on pitting allowed Blaney to save fuel under green, avoiding the lost time his competitors faced during stage-end cautions. The foresight helped them during the final pit stops with a quick two-tire change that catapulted him into the lead, paving the way for his win.

Reflecting on the strategy, Ryan Blaney shared on SiriusXM NASCAR:

"We kind of made the call early, I think it was the caution at Lap 15, halfway through Stage 1 and two-thirds of the field pitted and we stayed out. Knowing that we were gonna throw away stage points, we were gonna flip the stages, we were gonna take a bunch of gas when we flip the stage, so that we do not have to wait on gas at the end of the race. Jonathan was fantastic on understanding the whole landscape of how the race was playing out and stuck to his plan"

Looking ahead, Ryan Blaney's focus shifts to upcoming races at Indianapolis and Richmond, with a keen eye on the first playoff round at The Glen, Atlanta, and Bristol—tracks where he has yet to claim victory.