Respect is a two-way street. It is never demanded but earned through reciprocity. This statement remains universal irrespective of the field that the people are working. However, oftentimes, that doesn’t seem to be the case in the NASCAR world.

Throughout this season, drivers, irrespective of their teams, have spoken about and shown their displeasure with the fact that the drivers are being hostile to each other both on and off track. And no one wants to back off when it comes to settling scores. 

Even Dale Earnhardt Jr and his co-host Mike Davis asserted the fact in their latest episode of The Dale Jr. Download. Their guest for the episode, aptly titled “The Drought Is Finally Over,” was 2023 Coca-Cola 600 winner Ryan Blaney. 

Ryan Blaney set the records straight by giving the true account of how respect works among the drivers

While speaking on an array of subjects, the co-host Mike Davis asked the Team Penske driver, “Is there a decrease in respect being shown amongst you drivers?”

Blaney seemed to be in quite a dilemma as he replied, “I don’t know. It’s hard to define what is a lack of respect and what is: ‘You have to really race hard now because that’s just the way it is.’

“I think sometimes maybe it’s a lack of respect. Like, ‘I don’t give a s**t about this guy. I am just going to use him up.’

“But the other times I think it’s just, you know, you have to race hard on the road courses. I always point this out in Indy, COTA, these guys just bowling over you, for no reason, whatsoever.

“And I think some of that is like,  the cars are really resilient. So like, I just use this guy up and pinball off these guys and I can go forward. The cars won’t handle that back before this [Next Gen] one. So that kind of limited to what you can do as far as the aggressive level.”

Highlighting the fact that some drivers often become scapegoats due to the over-competitive side of the other drivers, Ryan Blaney said, “I’m not gonna say I think some guys don’t respect other guys, but that’s always been the case with certain drivers. Like, ‘this driver hates this driver,’ ‘I don’t give a s**t about this guy, I’m gonna use him up.’

“But I don’t know, I’ve always been the kind of driver that gives respect, you kind of just show it to each other. And if you don’t get it back after like a couple of times showing respect, then it’s like, ‘okay, well, this is worthless. I’m not going to show you any.’

“But some guys don’t even show that. Some guys don’t even show you any respect and they will just go out and go over.”

Watch This Story: Sworn Adversaries Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain Join Hands In Calling Out a Common Enemy

1. Kyle Busch shared the same line of thought as Blaney on the issue of respect

The hosts and Blaney also talked about the Denny Hamlin–Chase Elliott incident, where the HMS driver right-reared Hamlin, causing him to spin on the track and end up with a completely mangled car. And though Elliott denied it being intentional on his part, the governing body has slapped him with a one-race suspension. 

Kyle Busch has spoken up on the issue multiple times. He initially vocalized his concern when Denny Hamlin admitted to intentionally wrecking Ross Chastain. 

He showed his displeasure when he was caught in between Ross Chastain’s antics in Kansas and lashed out at him with a string of expletives on his radio. This cost Busch his position and forced him to fall back in position and also to be termed to be out of race.

He had revealed to NBC Sports, “We have completely lost any sense of respect in the garage between the drivers at all […] That’s where the problem lies. Nobody gives two f**** about anybody else. It’s just a problem where everybody takes advantage of everybody as much as they can. We’re all selfish, granted. But there was an etiquette that once did live here. That’s gone.”  

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