Following a right-tire blowout during Saturday’s practice session, Ryan Blaney was forced to begin Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at the back of the grid. Despite the setback at the start, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Champion maneuvered his way to the front on multiple occasions throughout the race. Yet, compounding his misfortune, his drive to reclaim a leading position was unexpectedly cut short.
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With 70 laps left in the event, on Lap 195 of the scheduled 267 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Team Penske driver found himself in a four-wide situation alongside Christopher Bell, Noah Gragson, and Bubba Wallace. Exiting turn 2, he was tightly squeezed by the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver, which led to him spinning down the backstretch.
The incident triggered a chain reaction that collected several drivers, including Erik Jones, who collided with Blaney’s rear bumper, Austin Dillon, and Bubba Wallace. Ryan Blaney’s #12 Ford Mustang endured a lot of damage to its front bumper and splitter and was thereafter taken to the garage. The #12 driver, visibly incensed by the event, aired his frustrations over the team radio.
Initially, Blaney sought clarification from his crew chief about who was to blame, receiving a tentative response, “It was tight. I can’t tell. I’ve seen one replay. Looking at it right now, Ryan. We were three-wide. We had two out, one in.” ]
But then exasperating and attributing responsibility to Bell, Blaney retorted, “The f*cking #20 apparently just shoves it through the middle, doesn’t have any regard for anybody … I don’t know. Whatever.”
Nevertheless, after exiting the care center and reviewing the replay, Blaney seemed to reassess the situation, taking responsibility for the wreck himself. His initial anger toward the driver of the 20-car diminished after he had the opportunity to review the incident.
He said, “I think it was my fault. I thought I had two (cars) underneath me and one outside, and I guess it was two outside, and I pinched the two guys in the wall, so I’m sure that’s my fault. … Long weekend for our (team). Thought our car was really good, finally got up into the top five there, and then wrecked.”
In the meantime, Josh Berry of Wood Brothers Racing won his first NASCAR Cup race, edging out Daniel Suarez of Trackhouse Racing and Ryan Preece from Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, who finished second and third, respectively.
