Reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney recently revealed that Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson are two of the toughest drivers to race against right now. The Team Penske star recently squared off against the 2021 Cup Series champion at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He ended up loosing his calm during the battle and also the chance to win a third race this season.
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The reason why Blaney believes Hamlin and Larson are tough to race against is because they squeeze their competitor as much as possible. If they’re on the bottom lane, both the #5 and the #11 move the other driver up the track, making it extremely difficult for them to navigate the turns. They’ve done it to each other several times as well. The reigning Cup Series champion subsequently told The Athletic that he doesn’t like racing them as a result.
Like Denny (Hamlin) and (Kyle) Larson, they love to try to make you lift. It’s not a bad thing, but they do like taking a lot of space. … Like, if they’re on the inside, they like to do the shove-it-in-there-and-push-you-up-the-racetrack and try to put you in a tight spot,“ the driver of the #12 car explained.
Yung Money currently has four wins to his name this season in the NASCAR Cup Series. Hamlin has three and Blaney has two. All three drivers are considered to be contenders for the championship. It’s usually an intriguing battle to watch if they ever get to race one another on track.
Reigning champion on how tough racing in NASCAR is
It’s not easy holding your own against competition of that caliber. Controlling the car at close to 200 mph is already tough. A lot of people seem to not fully understand how tough it is to control the car even if the drivers are only going left most of the season.
“Anyone can drive a race car, but how the heck do you go faster than everybody else? That’s the hardest part about it, is trying to find that grip and limit. People who don’t race don’t have that experience of actually how difficult it is to be good and successful as a race car driver,” he added.
Blaney had not started the season well but now with a couple of wins, he seems to be one of the quickest drivers on track. Maintaining this form from now until the end of the season will be a big challenge if he wants to defend his Cup Series crown.
