This year’s Daytona 500, and the qualifying duels leading up to it, ensued on a wild, aggressive note. The Bluegreen Vacations qualifier on Thursday witnessed a vicious wreck unfolding on the tracks. Ryan Blaney got caught in it, scoring his third wreck after two crashes in the past eight months. Thankfully Blany hasn’t faced any major physical consequences, and this is something that doesn’t necessarily shock Dale Earnhardt Jr, who lost his dad to a Daytona crash 20 years ago.

After earning his first and last Daytona victory in 1998, “The Intimidator” faced his tragic end only three years later on the same track. Ryan Blaney twice narrowly missed a similar fate as Earnhardt.

Dale Earnhardt Jr tells why he has been confident about Blaney’s well-being all along

Since 2001, NASCAR has come a long way regarding safety tweaks and car modifications. The Next-Gen car came out in 2022 and experienced a slew of complaints about its safety features. But a fair amount of adjustments have made it more sturdy and accident-proof. Ryan Blaney has accrued the benefits of it, as we have seen him race another day after the August accident last year and last week’s duel, both at Daytona.

In a recent episode of Dale Jr. Download, the 49-year-old shared his opinion about Ryan Blaney’s dangerous ordeal at Daytona, twice in a row. He acknowledged Blaney’s ability to handle the massive 55-G hit at the duel “This dude has taken some hits in his career. And he’s smart about it.”

He also pointed out the resistance capacity of the Next Gen cars. “We’ve seen these drivers talk about how hard this car hits, how hard it wrecks. Harvick’s talked about this already as a broadcaster. The Next Gen car hits and crashes harder than anything he’s ever drove.”

Then Junior observed that Blaney had at his disposal quick medical resources. “Blaney, to his credit, got connected with the United Medical Center of Pittsburgh. And he’s connected to a lot of great smart doctors. Very self-aware, very smart about his health. When I see him have these crashes, I’m very confident in his ability to take care of himself.”

This means a lot coming from Dale whose dad, succumbed to his injuries after the crash in the 2001 Daytona 500. He was fourth in the race when he crashed into the wall at 180 mph. At the hospital, he passed away after incurring a basilar skull fracture, broken ribs, a broken ankle, a fractured sternum, and cuts to his chin and scalp.

Last year, Denny Hamlin also talked about Blaney’s fortune giving credit where credit is due.

Read More: “Couldn’t Tell the Difference”- Ryan Blaney Pacified by Team’s Hard Work on Backup Car for the Daytona 500

Hamlin credited NASCAR’s innovation for Blaney’s narrow save

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Last year in August, the regular season’s final race at Daytona saw Ty Gibbs playing the daredevil. He hooked onto Blaney’s right rear and turned him into the wall with a massive 70-G impact. The 12-car crash prompted everybody to pray for Blaney’s well-being. Hamlin waxed praises for NASCAR’s safety improvements that ultimately saved Blaney.

“The HANS being the number one thing. I mean, I don’t know if the HANS or the safer-barriers. I would say probably the HANS.” He further said: “You know, just the head-neck restraint in general has changed the game, and certainly made it more safer, as far as a fatal impact is concerned,” said Hamlin on his Actions Detrimental podcast.

It seems Ryan Blaney has gotten used to being the center of a blood-curdling crash at Daytona or elsewhere. “I don’t ever think about the bad side of this,” Blaney says. “I understood when I signed up for this thing, watching Dad race that there’s dangers.” Could he avoid further mishaps for the rest of this season?

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