Why aren't burnouts in Ryan Blaney's victory celebration playbook? Here's what we know

After crossing the finish line, every NASCAR winner performs burnouts, except for 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney. He rarely does burnouts in his post-race celebrations because he respects the car that won him the race and because of a quote from legendary NASCAR crew chief Dale Inman.

Blaney avoids burnouts because Inman once told him to respect the car that got you the win. He did a burnout last year at Talladega Superspeedway after his dramatic win over Kevin Harvock, which surprised fans. He later explained he was so excited that he decided to do one and shared the story behind his reason for avoiding burnouts.

Recalling the story behind his old-school approach, Blaney said in a post-race conference at Talladega:

“Dale Inman pulled me aside one day, and he said, ‘Hey, you don’t see the winner of the Kentucky Derby get off his horse and start beating the s**t out of it.'”

“So, that’s why I don’t do burnouts. I didn’t do a burnout after one race, and he was like, ‘I like how you don’t do burnouts.’ And then he told me that story. And I was like, I am definitely not gonna do [it]. He might be mad at me for doing one and breaking our rule, but yeah, ‘Inman quote,’ yeah.”

Ryan Blaney has done only a few burnouts in his career. His first one came at Iowa Speedway when he won his first race of the 2024 season.

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Kevin Harvick explains reason behind Ryan Blaney’s avoiding burnouts

On the 35th episode of “Happy Hour,” podcast, NASCAR legend Kevin Harvick explained why the #12 Team Penske Ford driver rarely does any burnouts in his post-race celebration. Harvick mentioned that he would love to see Blaney’s more burnouts after winning a NASCAR race.

Harvick said:

“I think a Ryan Blaney that’s just letting loose, I think the fans will just love. I think some of that is just that he’s trying to be respectful to Dale Inman and Roger Penske. Ryan Blaney is a fun guy. He has a very fun side to him and has a great personality. I think if he just let it rip, the fans would just really gravitate and embrace him.”

Ryan Blaney puts in a solid performance in the first round of the 2024 NASCAR playoffs. He finished third, 38th, and sixth at Atlanta, Watkins Glen, and Bristol, respectively. The 30-year-old Ford driver is a strong contender to win back-to-back NASCAR championships. He currently sits fifth in the playoff points table, 14 points above the cut line.