Blaney aims for Indy/NASCAR doubleheader

Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney's is from Northeast Ohio, the heart of IndyCar country, and Blaney has always wanted to compete in the Indianapolis 500.

He reaffirmed that desire on Friday at Texas Motor Speedway.

"I would love to do it," Blaney told AutoWeek. "I have a lot of respect for the people that have done it. That is a tough day of racing — 1,100 miles and the plane rides back and forth. When Kurt (Busch) and Tony (Stewart) did it, I thought that was really neat.

"It is something I have always wanted to do and hopefully I can do it one day. Maybe down the road. The Penske Group is pretty good at the Indy 500, so hopefully I will get that chance. My interest level is really high and I would love to do it to say I was a part of it and able to race that event."

Blaney first expressed a desire to compete in the Indianapolis 500 back in July on a Facebook live fan Q&A. A few weeks later, during a Team Penske teleconference, team president Tim Cindric said he hadn’t realized this was a goal.

"I've got to tune into this Facebook stuff," Cindric said. "I've got to get connected because I missed that one."