It's been a few weeks since Emma's accident as NASCAR is ending the West Coast Swing at Auto Club in a few days. Ryan would fly out in two days to California, while I stayed waiting for the kids to finish the rest of their school week. Ryan picked up a win in Phoenix, locking himself into the chase early, which took the pressure off him and the team.
Tonight, Chase Purdy and Emma (Turner) invited the team over for a BBQ. Since the whole Penske team would be there, Ryan thought it'd be a good time to announce his thoughts about retirement. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and called it good before leaving the house. I grabbed my phone before walking downstairs to grab my shoes.
"Ready?" Ryan looks up from his phone.
"Yeah," I replied. "Let's go Briella!" I called out slipping on some sandals. Peyton was at a sleepover with Taylor Hamlin, Summerlyn and Noah were with Erin, so that left Briella and Jordyn with Ry and I.
| Emma's House |
"Hey guys!" Chase (Purdy) greets us at the door. Emma comes up behind him, Briella sees and runs towards her, hugging her tightly. "Come on in guys." Chase motions us. Within seconds of getting there, Ryan had already disappeared off somewhere.
"Mac!" Brittany smiles.
"Hey Brit, how are you doing?"
"Great, how are the kids doing?"
"Keep me busy as usual, especially this one." I chuckled uncovering Jordyn's face from underneath the blanket.
"How old is she?" Sophie, Emma's replacement, asks.
"Four months now." I smiled. I catch up with the girls, before we all went outside, getting ready to eat. Ryan pats Chase on the shoulder before walking towards me. "What's up?"
"It's time." Ryan sighs moving a piece of my hair out of my face. "Um, can I have everyone's attention?" Ryan says out loud capturing everyone's attention. "Since everyone is gathered here, I feel like it's the right time to tell everyone this." Ryan stumbles over his words. He scratches the back of his head nervously, making me stand up next to him for support. Ryan's eyes teared up, making mine do the same. I readjust Jordyn in one of my arms, while my other runs Ryan's back. "Lately, I've been thinking about retiring."
Everyone's mouths dropped to the ground. Nobody was expecting Ryan to call it quits, well not for a couple more years at least. Ryan was only thirty-four years old, he still had so many years left in him.
"W-What?" Emma questioned.
"You can't, you're our top contributor to Penske. We've won so many races and championship because of you!" Joey almost explodes. Ever since Brad retired, it had brought Joey and Ryan closer. I had a feeling Joey would be the one to speak up. Ryan wipes more tears from his face, taking the reaction harder than he intended to.
"It's alright, no need to cry!" Emma exclaims wrapping Ryan in her embrace. Everyone joins in the group hug surrounding Ryan with support and love. After the news was put out there, we enjoyed a lovely time together eating great food.
| Auto Club Media Center |
"It's been a long process, trying to figure out what's best for me. And these past couple weeks, it's been very clear to me. So, after this season I will no longer be racing full time." Ryan states. "Reason being is, I'm a husband and a father. I wanna be there to watch my kids grow up, and help more with them than I usually do. I know it'd make McKayla's life a whole lot easier, because I know she has dreams and aspirations. I want to allow her to do that without her having to conform her schedule to fit my schedule. I've achieved more than I'd actually attended to in the series. I'm happy where I'm at, and I'm not totally stepping away from racing. I'll still be running Blaney Motorsports, McKayla and I have big plans in the making for that in the seasons to come."
Ryan got bombarded with questions from the media. Ryan did his best to answer all the questions but ran out of time halfway through all the questions.
@nascar: BREAKING NEWS: 8 time Cup Champion, Ryan Blaney announces retirement from full time racing at end of the season.
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Comments: @teampenske: let's make it a great last season! @bryon24fan: bout damn time @jimmiejohnson: us old guys gotta start a retirement club @blaney @dalejr @bradkeslowski
@chaseelliott: make it a great one brother! 📸: @mckaylablaney
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Comments: @blaney: ur turn 😉 @bubbawallace: my two favorite dudes ❤️ @kylelarson: get that damn ship @blaney @kaseykahne: hell yeah 🤙
The race went by quickly, Chase (Elliott) won the race by a landslide, Ryan led most of the race, but slowed down by pit penalties. Ryan ended fifth, adding another top-five to his resume. It's been a rough day for Ryan already his retirement announcement had been bothering him, even if he doesn't want to admit it.
