"He always denies us" - When Ryan Blaney complained about Chase Elliott ignoring vacation invites after multiple attempts

Ryan Blaney once called out his longtime friend Chase Elliott for repeatedly declining invitations to vacation together. Blaney explained that Elliott playfully gave them a hard time in front of the media, insisting he had never been invited in the first place.

After the conclusion of the 2019 season, Blaney and his friends, including fellow NASCAR drivers Bubba Wallace, William Byron, and Daniel Hemric, jetted off to Turks and Caicos for a sunny vacation. Elliott commented that he hadn’t been invited, creating some banter.

When NASCAR action resumed in 2020, Ryan Blaney clarified that the #9 Hendrick Motorsports driver was invited on the trip but kept turning down their invitations. Blaney suggested that his longtime friend enjoys giving them a hard time in front of the media, knowing that NASCAR fans tend to side with Elliott, the most popular driver.

"He's [Elliott] always invited, he just never wants to come. And then he likes to go to the media and say that we didn't invite him and didn't tell him. He always denies us, denies wanting to come for some reason. I don't know why, I don't know what he's got. I think he just likes riding that train of giving us a hard time of not inviting him and he can spew it out there because everyone's gonna believe what Chase Elliott says," he said in an interview with Andrew Kurland. [1:07 onwards]

Chase Elliott told Kurland that he had been invited to Turks and Caicos but chose to spend the winter months in Georgia, working on a few home projects. Blaney hoped Elliott would join them for a vacation in the future.

"I'm waiting for him to come to one of them. They're a lot of fun Chase, and if you ever want to come, we have a good time and a lot of sunshine and a lot of beers drank out there during that week and a half. I'm waiting for him to come, I hope he accepts my invitation one of these days," he added.

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Chase Elliott comments on his relationship with Ryan Blaney

Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney's friendship dates back to their childhood when they grew up racing against each other and watching their fathers compete in NASCAR. The duo have since risen through the ranks of stock car racing, each achieving the ultimate glory by winning the NASCAR Cup Series championship.

In an interview with Kyle Dalton, Elliott opened up about his relationship with the #12 Penske driver.

"I’ve known Ryan for a long time. I knew him when we were kids growing up around the racetrack with his dad racing and my dad racing at a similar time. So, we kind of always had that relationship. And then ultimately, we had a very similar path to getting here," he said.

"We spent many of our younger years in racing going to the same racetracks and racing the same kind of cars. That was when I feel like our relationship grew because we started to spend more time around each other," Elliott added.

While close friends off the track, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney remain fierce competitors in the 2024 NASCAR playoff season, both competing for their second title.