It was a dramatic affair in the rain-delayed race at Michigan. Although the inclement weather tried to throw a wrench in the race, nothing could stop the drivers from putting their best foot forward on Monday afternoon. Truth be told, the third-final race of the regular season was nothing less than high-octane dramatics, especially between two of the best friends on the grid—Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney.

Both the Cup Series champions were on the verge of capping off a top-10 finish; however, a last-lap wreck instigated by the #9 Chevrolet driver turned the tables of the race, and both the drivers lost a handful of points and were relegated back to the field. However, like all best friends, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney did not let any bad blood affect their friendship; instead, they found a scapegoat to shift their blame and clear the air.

The HMS driver had seemingly lost control of his car in the final lap of the race and, as a result, tapped into the front left tire of Blaney. This occurred while both the Cup Series champions were racing three-wide along with Brad Keselowski. Although both Elliott and Blaney were able to ward off a major wreck, they lost their track positions, finishing 15th and 18th, respectively.

Nevertheless, the best friends seem to have let go of the bygones as they shifted their blame to Brad Keselowski for their unfortunate run.

Speaking to Bob Pockrass on the incident, Ryan Blaney stated, “The reason I said ask Chase because he had a better view of me, him being in the middle side. I mean watching the replay I talked we are fine obviously. We were three wide into one, the #6 [Keselowski], the #9, and me and I just got tight, the #6 was out of the line and got tied up with Chase and me. Chase and I ended up getting the worse, but three wide last lap stinks. Neither of us finished where we wanted in the top 5 or 6. Yeah, tight racing into one.”

While Blaney seems to have acquitted Elliott of the incident, the 2020 Cup Series champion is still harboring a bit of guilt in him. Elliott also stated to Pockrass, “I hate it the way it ended up it did. Hated to mess up Ryan’s day too. We were all trying to packing it off in the corner trying to get around there to have a better finish. Like I told, I hated it, certainly it was not my intent. Unfortunately, messed both of our days up. I mean I was just trying to finish the best I could. I mean we were like Sith-seventh somewhere.”

He further added, “So, I am not sure that would have got you to top-5 or anything but certainly everything matters as you are coming down the stretch. Yeah trying to get the best result that I could and ended up making it worse a bunch.”

While both the HMS and Penske driver seemed to have cleared the air by shifting the blame on Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing’s co-owner did not have an ideal race day to boast.

How did Brad Keselowski’s day in Michigan end in disappointment?

The Rochester Hills resident who was trying to earn his second victory of the season and who was also in his hometown ended up with mechanical issues that resulted in him losing his momentum. While entering turn 1, engine issues led Keselowski to slow down and back into Kyle Busch’s car.

As a result, both Kyle Busch and Keselowski were visibly frustrated. The RFK Racing co-owner also shared his frustration, “We just had a couple of issues today with the engine shutting off. It was frustrating, but it was just part of our day. We were probably that fourth or fifth-place car, and the way the race played out, [Reddick] got by us, and he was really fast. He deserved to win the race.”

Nevertheless, with just two more races left in the regular season, it will be interesting to see how matters unfold for these drivers and whether any one of them earns a next victory.