“I’ve been thinking about it”: Ryan Blaney uncovers the ‘unfortunate’ repercussion of his teammate Joey Logano’s championship reign

Ryan Blaney pulled back the curtain on the "unfortunate" consequence of his teammate Joey Logano's 2024 NASCAR Cup Series title. This comes after Blaney failed to defend his championship this past season following which he was bound to pass NASCAR's Championship Journal to Logano.

The Journal was introduced by NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson in 2010 and has become a tradition for Cup Series champions to pen a message to the next title winner. The noteworthy feature of the diary is that only a champion can witness what his predecessors wrote.

Though the secretive Journal has gone through several hands, the beholder and their families have duly respected the contents' confidentiality.

The honor of holding the traditional diary is such that it became "unfortunate" for Ryan Blaney when the time came to hand it over to Logano. Thus, the Team Penske driver expressed remorse for the repercussions of losing the title fight. He said (via Sportsnaut).

“I’ve been thinking about it through the year a little bit but so it would be unfortunate to let that thing go but I hopefully I would be able get it back. It was a pleasure to read all through it and read the words of some guys wrote down that I really admired growing up and it’s pretty neat. So hopefully, I would be able to see it again sometime,” Blaney said.

It's worth mentioning that Logano deliberately left the Journal at home before the 2023 Phoenix race, as he wanted to know the champion's name before he could pen some words for them.

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"You are an a-hole if you lose that thing": Ryan Blaney expressed his feelings about the safekeeping of champions Journal

Losing the Journal would be a significant loss of heritage and history, as it likely contains unique insights into the driver's personal and professional journey, offering a valuable glimpse into their experiences, thoughts, and emotions throughout their racing career and especially, their championship run.

Ryan Blaney, the #12 Ford driver admitted that losing it would make the driver an "a-hole" and that he secured the Journal in his safe to ensure that he doesn't lose it.

"Can't lose it or you're an a-hole if you lose that thing. I put it in my safe like this is not going anywhere, I know where it's going to be and so I kept it very secure," Blaney said via Alan Cavanna on X.

Ryan Blaney lost the NASCAR Champions Journal by 0.330 seconds. Though he had a comparatively poor start compared to Logano, beginning his run from P17, the #12 Ford rallied up for the pinnacle spot.

Blaney's big surge emerged after the final overtime restart, where he climbed from sixth to contend for the title, and still had over 20 laps to take the lead. However, Logano managed to keep his teammate/rival at bay, earning his third overall and Team Penske's third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series title.