Ryan Blaney made history when he won his maiden Cup Series championship this year. It was an incredible moment for the 29-year-old who was not considered a title favorite in most people’s eyes. However, being a champion does not mean that it’s all glitz and glamour. There are a ton of responsibilities leading up to the banquet which the Team Penske star is already dreading. However, former Cup Series champion Tony Stewart has a different view.

Stewart is considered one of the greatest drivers to have ever raced in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner has three Cup Series championship wins to his name. The 52-year-old won his first championship in 2002 when he got a valuable piece of advice from his teammate at the time and a NASCAR legend himself.

Tony Stewart reveals his first teammate’s invaluable advice

Ryan Blaney has made it clear that he is not a fan of the upcoming NASCAR event this weekend. The Team Penske man is quickly finding out about the formal side of being a Cup Series champion and he made his general feelings about the banquet pretty clear. In the final episode of his Glass Case of Emotion podcast, the 29-year-old humorously expressed what he felt about it.

“Whole family’s gonna come, so that’s fun. That’d be a fun time. Usually, the banquet s*cks, right? There’s only one person that wants to be there. Yeah, but, luckily, we get to be the one group that wants to be there, so it’s nice,” the Team Penske man said.

However, for Tony Stewart, being the Cup Series champion is an honor not many people can claim to have. He revealed a valuable piece of advice that his first teammate in the Cup, Bobby Labonte, told him when he won the championship for the first time in 2002. Labonte had become champion a couple of years before him. He had warned Stewart of the pressure of becoming the Cup Series champion. However, he also asked Stewart to enjoy every moment as it is not something that comes too often.

“I think my first teammate in the Cup, Bobby Labonte, said it best. He had won the championship two years before I did. When I won the championship, he told me, the week, championship week is going to be hectic. You’re going to hate it. It’s busy, you don’t get any downtime. They keep you busy the entire time and you’re going to be exhausted by the time you get to the banquet,” Stewart said.

“But he goes, cherish every second of it and every moment of it even though it seems annoying and it seems like it’s too busy, he goes, because you never know when that’s going to happen again. And he goes when it’s over, it’s over and you can’t go back and go, man I wish I would have just relaxed and enjoyed this a little bit. So I’ve always remembered that and I had a blast that championship week.” the three-time Cup Series champion added.

On face value, Ryan Blaney does seem to be enjoying his time as the Cup Series champion. One of his biggest responsibilities will be connecting with a younger audience. Especially for a sport that is gradually losing its popularity. But the Team Penske man welcomes the challenge with open arms.

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Ryan Blaney expresses the urge to make NASCAR more popular

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According to an article in BroBible, the 29-year-old said that it was part of the Cup Series champion’s job to be a role model for the younger audience. Given his knowledge of modern pop culture, this can be a fantastic opportunity for NASCAR to make use of.

“I think back to when I was a kid and I watched all the champions and I wanted to be like them. So now that I’m fortunate enough to have won a championship, you want to be a role model for the younger kids out there, younger racers. So I think it’s part of your job to be that person and we have a good opportunity to cash in on that,” the Team Penske star said.

Will Ryan Blaney be able to be a champion who can pull new eyeballs to NASCAR? Only time will tell.

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