Ryan Blaney Clarifies Stand on Not Wrecking Other Drivers As a Retaliatory Tactic

As a former NASCAR Cup champion, Ryan Blaney has more than proven his ability to win and to drive responsibly. But sometimes, Blaney says something that may come across differently than he intended it to.

After last Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway, Blaney took to X to essentially say he’d rather turn the other cheek than to intentionally wreck another driver.

“Maybe it’s because I was raised correctly and don’t wreck people and put the guys who work on this stuff for hours on end in a tough spot,” Blaney wrote. “Yes, I get upset in the moment but it’s a way to vent and let things go. I do wish I wasn’t that way and people didn’t judge me for it but it’s who I am unfortunately.”

A number of fans took Blaney to task, feeling that maybe he just doesn’t have the guts to get revenge upon someone who either intentionally wrecked or committed some other type of racing sin that impacted Blaney.

‌During media availability on Saturday at Dover Motor Speedway, Blaney tried to clarify that tweet from earlier in the week. But the message remained the same: he is not a dirty racer and doesn’t necessarily believe in tit-for-tat. Rather, he has other ways to get his message across to a rival who may have done him wrong.

“I get a hard time for getting a little loud on the radio and speaking my mind and stuff,” Blaney said. “That’s just who I am, it’s how I let things go. If I don’t do that, I store it inside of me and it bothers me for a while. So I just have to vent it out there and then I move on and it allows me to kind of clear my head and go back forward.”

Blaney explains his racing mindset

Blaney has heard plenty of comments in the past week that he’s afraid to extract revenge at times, but he disagreed. “A lot of times, yeah, it’s the ‘I’m going to get back to that guy’, yada yada, and I don’t do it,” Blaney said.

“It’s different from getting back to a guy. You can do it in different ways. The next time you’re around that person and yeah, you might take a little more space. I think a lot of people see it as, ‘Oh, he’s just going to wreck him.’

“But no, there’s very two different lines when it comes to that. I’ve definitely not been afraid of taking a ton of space to the person I’ve had a run-in with. But I’m not going to go out and wreck somebody. That’s just not who I am. I feel like a lot of people are, but I’m just not a fan of it. I just don’t see it. I just don’t like it.

“I wouldn’t say I never get back at people. I just don’t do it to where it’s a highlight reel and you’re wrecking a bunch of stuff and putting a big burden on these guys that put it together every week.”