Ryan Blaney on mercy of Roger Penske concerning a Sprint Car return to Sharon Speedway

Ryan Blaney recently talked about his chances of running a sprint car race at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio. Blaney said that it depends on his boss and automotive tycoon, Roger Penske. The reigning Cup Series champion spoke to a little fan about the same during the 16th annual "Lou Blaney Memorial" feature at the 8-mile dirt oval race track, owned by Blaney's father, Dave Blaney.

Lou Blaney was a modified dirt track racer and also the grandfather of Ryan Blaney. He passed away in 2009 after battling Alzheimer's, and the "Lou Blaney Memorial" event remembers the Motorsports Hall of Famer (2000), aiming to raise awareness and funds for the Alzheimer's Association.

The memorial event is known to have fielded different categories of race cars, including 410 Sprint Cars, Pro Stocks, RUSH Sportsman Modifieds, and Econo Mods to this day. Ryan Blaney was at Sharon Speedway on Saturday (August 17) as the event unfolded.

During a rain delay at the Sharon Speedway, a little boy asked Blaney,

"I know you raced here as a teenager. Are you planning on racing here today (or) in the future?"

"I ran here when I was younger," Blaney replied. "I ran a race here, like, two years ago; the SRX race, which is a lot of fun. Do I plan on racing here in the future? I would like to, if I can get my bosses to let me do it. That's a work in progress every day. Maybe one of these days I can convince them to let me come back here and run."

According to reports, there was a special purse of $12,000 to win the 410 sprint event. Furthermore, $1200 was awarded to every driver who took part in the race. The entire event was streamed live on DIRTVision.

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Ryan Blaney looks forward to getting Ford their 10th consecutive win at Michigan

Ryan Blaney at the NASCAR Brickyard 400 (Source: Imagn)

Ryan Blaney won his first race of the season at Pocono Raceway and made it to the playoffs. Now, the #12 wheelman has the opportunity to extend Ford's record at Michigan International Speedway to a 10th consecutive win. Furthermore, Blaney is looking forward to delivering Team Penske's 11th victory at the two-mile track, which is near the Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.

The practice of this Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400 was shortened and its qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather. Therefore, the starting positions were decided according to NASCAR's rulebook. Blaney will start the race 8th alongside Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain in Row 4.

"I thought we unloaded with pretty solid pace in our Menards/Dutch Boy Ford," Blaney said of practice (via Speedway Digest). "Just unfortunate we weren't able to get a run in longer than a few laps with the rain but looking forward to seeing what we have tomorrow."

Ryan Blaney has four top 5s (2016, 2018, 2020, 2022), three top 10s (2018, 2019, 2023) and a win (2021) at Michigan.

Fans can watch the Team Penske driver in action on USA and NBC Sports (August 18, 2.30 PM ET). Radio updates will be available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.