The NASCAR schedule is one of the most demanding as the drivers travel from one track to another almost every weekend. Balancing work with family life can be challenging, and Ryan Blaney has opened up about the same. 

Blaney and his wife Gianna welcomed their first child, Charley, in November 2025. The timing worked in their favour as it allowed them to settle and navigate their new role as first-time parents during the off-season.

However, with NASCAR’s 38-race packed schedule, including two exhibition races, the Team Penske driver does face challenges. In a recent appearance on the "Up and Adams Show", he shed more light on this, saying:

"It makes it hard to leave every weekend, that's for sure. But it makes coming home that much better for sure. And I think the biggest things we learned together was just that you got to have patience. You have to have patience and let them develop and just understand, and you know what it takes, you know, a give-and-take type of thing."

While Charley has given his 2023 Cup Series champion father some sleepless nights, the 32-year-old relishes the time spent together.

"But I learned really good how to change a dirty diaper," Blaney added. "I've gotten really good at giving baths. You're going to lose sleep, that's for sure, but if you lose sleep, that's just more time you get to see your kid, so that's even better."

The way the NASCAR schedule is designed, it barely leaves any breathing space for the drivers. Out of the 38 weeks, the teams and drivers have only two weekends off between February and November. 

The drivers have time and again appealed to shorten the race schedule down to 34 or 32 weeks, as it allows them to rest well and recover. With the packed schedule, leaving little to no space for recovery and family time, drivers have tried to push for more weekends off. 

NASCAR drivers push for a shorter calendar

When compared to other divisions of motorsports like Formula 1 and IndyCar, NASCAR has one of the most demanding race schedules. The calendar features a 36-point paying race while the other two are exhibition races.

Earlier this year, drivers voiced their support for cutting the schedule down to help the driver and crew feel more rested. 23XI's Bubba Wallace was one of the many drivers to voice his opinion about the issue. 

"I think we all are agreeing that it’s too long, but I don’t know if we’re ready to have the conversation of what it’s going to take to condense it the right way"

Part-time driver Martin Truex Jr. also sounded off on the issue as he spoke about how nice it would be to have a few weekends off during the summer.

"Oh, I vote for less every day of the week," he said. "It  would be nice to have a few weekends off throughout the summer."

From now to November, it is a push to the finish line before a two-month break for the off-season.  

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yash Kotak