Ryan Blaney’s race took an early turn for the worse at the tail end of Stage 2 on lap 122. After receiving a nudge from Alex Bowman, Blaney’s #12 Ford lost control, spun out, and slammed into the SAFER barrier. The mishap also swept Ross Chastain into the fray; however, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano, who were both caught in the incident escaped with minor scrapes.
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Following the incident, Blaney was overheard on the race scanner dryly remarking, “Go ahead and thank the #48 for me, I appreciate it.” His sarcasm was less veiled during the post-race interview, where his irritation was palpable.
He recounted, “I thought Austin and I worked well together. I had a feeling that the #8 would pull out and help Chevy. He wasn’t gonna help me, obviously, so we got in the middle. I didn’t think it was terrible. We were probably still gonna run fifth or sixth, and then the #48 just drove straight through me in the tri-oval. He just wrecked the f*ck out of me. I don’t know what he’s thinking.”
The #12 Ford driver had started the race in the P5 position and navigated the track, ending Stage 1 in 10th place and Stage 2 in eighth. His performance at Talladega was lackluster, netting him a mere five points and nudging him to sixth in the playoff standings, with a 25-point safety cushion.
Bowman acknowledges the misstep that derailed Blaney’s race
In the aftermath of the race, having secured a P16 finish and 26 points, Bowman owned up to his role in the mishap during the post-race interview. While talking to Bob Pockrass, he reflected, “Overall, kind of disappointed with myself. Made the wrong move a lot. I crashed the #12 which was a sh*tty push…”
“…Just trying to push him to upper lane for the stage and just put him in the wrong spot. Hate that I did that, hate that I made the wrong decisions, I just didn’t do a very good job today… Execution-wise I made too many mistakes and put us into bad spots.”
Alex Bowman took the blame for a bad push on Ryan Blaney. He talks about his day and what happened with Blaney. pic.twitter.com/8LhCrwbeko
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 6, 2024
With their less-than-ideal finishes, Bowman now perches just one point ahead of Blaney in the playoff standings. The duo will face off next in the elimination race of the Round of 12 at Charlotte Roval, where Blaney and Bowman have average finishes of 10.2 and 6.4, respectively.
