"It's a superstitious kind of thing" - Ryan Blaney on whether facial hair is still a topic with Roger Penske as playoffs unfold

Ryan Blaney, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion, recently discussed a fun tradition he follows during the playoffs. He grows a beard in the final weeks for good luck after staying clean-shaven most of the season.

Blaney, the No. 12 Ford Mustang driver for Team Penske, had a setback after crashing at The Glen last week before completing the first lap. He is now eighth in points and needs to stay in the top 12 at Bristol to move on to the next round.

In an interview with SpeedFreaks on September 19, the 30-year-old explained that growing a playoff beard is a bit of a superstition for him.

"I've gone this far without cutting it this year, so I'll probably just let it rip. The playoff beard started a week ago, so it'll come in nicely, and hopefully, it brings us the same luck it did last year...Once these final 10 weeks start... it's a superstitious kind of thing," Blaney said (00:17).

While some former NASCAR drivers like Tim Richmond and Dale Earnhardt made facial hair a big part of their look, Blaney's team owner Roger Penske prefers drivers to be clean-shaven for most of the season.

However, Ryan Blaney claimed that while Penske used to be more strict about the driver's facial hair, things have relaxed recently.

"Not anymore. I think he's laid off a little bit. He'll let you know though, like getting a little long, but then you take it like okay, I'll shave...I keep it very clean-shaven through the year... so I can have a little bit more leeway when I get to the final 10 weeks," Blaney said (00:54).

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"We just focused on...our speed" - Ryan Blaney on race preparation

In the same interview, Ryan Blaney also talked about how he prepares for races and decides which drivers to watch. He said that he does not focus on a specific driver every week but on road courses like Watkins Glen, he pays attention to strong racers like Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Martin Truex Jr.

He mentioned that for the Phoenix finale last year, he did not watch other drivers much and focused on making his car better.

"I didn't watch anybody. I was so focused on our deal. I didn't really watch any data, like SMT stuff. We just focused on, 'Hey, our speed is close.' All right, so I don't really want to watch anybody. Let's just focus and talk about where we can get our car better, you know? That's all I wanted to focus on," Blaney said (05:06).

Ryan Blaney added that his first championship felt overwhelming because everything happened so fast. He thinks he will be able to enjoy it more next time since he knows what to expect.