“Not a Terrible Thing”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Defends “Short-Fused” Ryan Blaney’s Hand-Gestures

During the championship 4 race at Phoenix, Ryan Blaney, even though he ended up winning the NASCAR Cup Series title, had somewhat of a troublesome time racing behind Ross Chastain. In fact, at one point, Blaney couldn’t hold in his frustrations and showed the eventual race-winner a birdie, an incident Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently commented on.

Speaking on his podcast, Junior addressed the issue of Blaney’s hand gestures as he described, “My man Blaney is easily annoyed behind the steering wheel. I’ve said this on the broadcast a couple of times, especially using the word ‘short-fused’ or the phrase, ‘Blaney’s got a short fuse.’”

However, the Hall of Famer doesn’t mind the gestures or the cursing. “I like it. I like the cursing. It gives us great audio. They play it during commercial. I’m like, ‘Y’all have to put that on air,’ and they’re like, ‘Oh we’re gonna.’”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. opens up on the funniest bit of Ryan Blaney’s in-car tantrums

Further speaking on this subject, Earnhardt Jr. opened up on the funniest bit of Ryan Blaney’s frustrating time inside his Ford Mustang as he rode behind Ross Chastain, trying to pass him while keeping Kyle Larson at bay behind him.

“The funniest part for me is we’re riding along in the car and he’s flipping his hand up. He’s getting so frustrated. And the #1 car is in front of him, just driving the same line lap after lap and Blaney is like flipping his hand in the air,” Junior described. Having said that, he defended Blaney, claiming that he knows more than anyone else considering he is the one out on the racetrack. “He knows more than we do and he knows Chastain is being strategic and tactical im how he’s trying to air block,” he continued.

“But it’s just so funny if you ignore that little part and watch Blaney ride around the track, hands in the air and he’s flipping the bird and he’s having this sort of conversation with himself and Chastain.”

This was something that his co-host Mike Davis aptly deemed as “self-therapy” or “self-medication”. Davis claimed that giving the finger to someone while in the thick of the emotions sometimes makes one feel better.