Postponed to Monday before reaching the halfway mark, the 2023 FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan treated the NASCAR community to a wreck and caution-filled 74 laps racing spectacle. While the wipeouts of Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Josh Berry gave the NASCAR world much to talk about, Ryan Blaney and Corey Lajoie put on a show of their own.

Pulling into Pit Lane under the yellow flag, Blaney and LaJoie could be seen having a heated conversation after an on-track tussle. With the FireKeepers Casino 400 witnessing a successful completion on Monday, Team Penske’s #12 driver spoke out regarding the incident at LaJoie’s expense.

Ryan Blaney details the Stage 1 scuffle

The 2023 Coca-Cola 600 champ Ryan Blaney qualified in the 9th spot at Michigan. During the race’s initial laps, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch made contact, which resulted in Busch spinning out, ending his race day early. Shaking off the tussle, Blaney charged ahead pulling up beside Corey LaJoie’s #7 Chevy.

With LaJoie on his inside, Blaney attempted an overtake but was blocked off by the #7 Chevy, pushing him toward the outer wall. Unhappy with the #7 Spire Motorsports driver’s actions, Ryan Blaney then responded with a bump to LaJoie’s passenger door.

Catching up with each other after inclement weather that brought out the yellow flags, Blaney and LaJoie had a long heated discussion. Although their words were unclear, Blaney’s frustration was evident. Having earlier avoided commenting on the scuffle, Ryan Blaney on Monday spoke to NASCAR’s Mamba Smith, spilling the beans on Sunday’s incident.

“The one with Corey and I yesterday, yeah we talked it out, and I was upset about it, you know, because I got put up in the junk. And I don’t think what a lot of people saw is, he drove in about five car lengths too deep to get there. You know, it’s one thing if you’re racing side by side into the corner, someone gets loose, you know, that’s just part of racing, I wouldn’t be mad at it.”

He further added, “But in fact he drove off in there way too deep, trying to clear me, and never did, and then he was outside and then we were up in the resin, that’s kind of what I was mad about. But I was over it today, and heck I pushed him on a restart today. So I’m still playing this kickball tournament, but yeah we talked it out for a good bit yesterday and it is what it is. That stuff blows over quickly, and I think we move on really fast. But yeah, not a clean left side but luckily no new marks in it today.”

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While Blaney revealed the cause of his frustration, Corey LaJoie had earlier revealed his side of the story.

“He was mad”: Corey LaJoie puts forth his stance regarding Sunday’s scuffle

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Visibly frustrated by the incident, Ryan Blaney on Sunday refused to delve into the deets of his conversation with the Spire Motorsports #7 driver. Approached by an NBC reporter in Pit Lane, Lajoie, on the other hand, detailed his stance on the on-track scuffle.

“He was mad! Racing the top ten there and I was in this spot where I felt like I could have taken a slide job…I was a little bit late to cover the outside lane and he was able to roll it back out there. I just had a little wobble like I did yesterday in practice…He obviously was upset because we both went up into the weeds, which wasn’t the intention,” Corey LaJoie said.

With Chris Buescher clinching his second back-to-back win since 2009, Michigan offered fans a spectacular yet clean race. With the JGR team pulling a clean one after Pocono, drivers, teams, and fans head to Indianapolis for their 3rd last race of the regular season. With the Blaney-LaJoie Michigan tussle, fans can surely hope the stakes only run higher from here.

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