Ryan Blaney reflects on Bubba Wallace's new fatherhood: 'He's a mushy teddy bear'

For two decades, Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace have been close friends. The two NASCAR drivers have been through a lot. Now that both are married and Bubba has a baby boy, the two are entering a new period in their lives off the track and perhaps on the track.

When Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace were just teenagers figuring out this racing stuff, making the Cup Series likely felt like a dream. Now, both are multi-race winners, Blaney is a NASCAR champion, and it feels like they are both just starting to enter their prime as drivers.

But there is more to these drivers than what they do on Sunday at the track. Wallace was on the post-race show after rallying to a P6 finish. He had a pit road speeding penalty early on that set him back and made his day much more difficult. At the Prime Video desk, the 23XI Racing driver got emotional talking about his son, Becks.

After his win, Ryan Blaney talked about his friend becoming a father. A lot has changed for those two over the last 20 years of friendship.

“Yeah, he’s a mushy teddy bear now,” Ryan Blaney said about his friend. “Yeah, it’s cool. Bubba and I have known each other for two decades, 20 years, raced together, grew up together, live five minutes down the road from each other nowadays, and really good friends.

“Yeah, it’s cool. It’s cool to see kind of — it’s weird when you get to that period of life, whether it’s yourself or your friends are going through big transitions like getting married or having kids and things like that. So it’s great. I’m happy for him. I’m happy for him and Amanda. It’s been a pleasure to just be close to them. Looking forward to seeing Becks on our plane ride home. I’ll fly home with them here in a little bit. They’re probably waiting at the airport for me.

“But yeah, it’s been cool to see — I’m sure it changes you. I can’t speak to that matter. I’m not a dad. But just to see his change and his outlook on life and his attitude about everything, it’s cool to see and I see it a lot because I spend a lot of time with him.”

Both Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace are where they always dreamed they wanted to be. But things are always changing. As the two drivers continue to chase wins, off and on the track, they grow together.