Dale Jr., Ryan Blaney patch things up at Texas – Nascar

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The chatter of a potential rivalry between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Blaney can simmer down now. Because the two have made up, Earnhardt says.

The duo made amends this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, Earnhardt Jr. mentioned on his weekly Dirty Mo Radio podcast “The Dale Jr. Download” on Tuesday.

“Me and Blaney patched things up in the bus lot this weekend,” Junior said. “We talked about trying to run races without running into each other so we can get back to drinking beer together.”

“The important things,” his wife Amy, who was this week’s guest on the podcast, said with a laugh.

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The first of two on-track incidents came on March 19 at Phoenix Raceway, when on-track action caused Blaney to call Earnhardt Jr. a derogatory term via in-car radio. It continued two weeks later at Martinsville Speedway when the two made initial contact and then again when Blaney’s No. 21 Ford caused Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevrolet to spin out. 

Earnhardt initially denied the 23-year-old’s post-race phone call to patch things up, but told NASCAR.com last week that while he was frustrated, he was “having a lot of fun with it; kind of messing with him a little bit about it.”

RELATED: Dale Jr. denies Blaney’s call | Junior on Blaney: We’ll sort it out

Junior also spoke to Blaney’s recent success, as the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford won Stages 1 and 2 at Texas and led a race-high 148 laps. He’s currently ranked sixth in the standings.

“It’s not surprising for me to see him run good, but I do have to remind myself that he’s in a Wood Brothers car ’cause that’s pretty incredible for that team, that car to be relevant again in the sport,” Earnhardt said. “It’s great for NASCAR.”