Ryan Blaney talks about Josef Newgarden’s leg tattoo of his face after his Cup Series triumph last season - “That was like the coolest thing”

Ryan Blaney talked about the time when IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden got a tattoo of his face on his thigh after betting on a wager, labeling it the "coolest thing."

Early during the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, Blaney turned out to be one of the contenders for the championship. Amid this, he was approached by IndyCar driver Newgarden. The two shared a bet that Newgarden would get a tattoo of Blaney's face on his thigh if he managed to win the championship, which eventually happened.

Much to everyone's amazement, Josef Newgarden uploaded a picture inked with Ryan Blaney's bearded face on his thigh early in December.

Talking about the same recently, Blaney marked that although it was a temporary tattoo, it was "awesome." He told Fox NASCAR:

"No that was a that was a temporary one, but I will say the commitment that guy had to getting it that day and then showing up to our party in Nashville. That was awesome."

He added that it was the "coolest" thing for the Indy500 champion to do.

"That was like the coolest thing. Indy500 champ, you know, Indycar series champ showing up with my face on his leg was the coolest thing fake or not."

Blaney further revealed that he has set a similar bet for this year as well.

"That was the most Josef Newgarden thing to do because he's awesome and I made a bet with him this year that they would kind of come back to him if he did the same thing on his respect inside, so we'll see if he can hold that one up."

Ryan Blaney will continue to drive the number 12 Ford with Team Penske in the 2024 Cup Series championship for the seventh year in a row.

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Ryan Blaney hoping to win the Daytona 500 in 2024

Heading into the 2024 Cup Series season with a high, Blaney is hoping to carry forward the momentum into winning his first Daytona 500.

Although Ryan Blaney has won a total of ten races in his Cup Series career so far, he has remained short of a victory in the Great American Race at the Daytona International Speedway. He came close to winning, finishing in the runners-up spot twice, in 2017 and 2020, and is aiming to win this season with his experience. He spoke in a recent press conference (via Motorsport.com):

"This is my 10th Daytona 500 which is crazy. I've been lucky to have some good runs in it so you just try to get all that stuff you've learned and try to change it. You do all that stuff and you could get wadded up on lap 2, and it goes for nothing."

"But you just try to take all the info and experience you can and then hopefully you're in a spot where you can use it."

The season-opener Daytona 500 is scheduled for February 18.