Denny Hamlin had some words on his podcast about Martin Truex Jr blowing his top during the final lap, making a point to compare his meltdown on the track to Ryan Blaney‘s reactions. Hamlin pointed out that #19 doesn’t usually lose his head like Blaney does. And if you look back at last year’s showdown in Phoenix and the recent one in Richmond, you’ll see what Hamlin’s talking about.
Blaney’s temper flared up big time last year because he felt Ross Chastain wasn’t letting him by, especially with Kyle Larson breathing down his neck. Then this year, he was ticked off again, frustrated by not being able to weave through the pack. And pointless cautions did not help his case.
Ryan Blaney was not too pleased with NASCAR’s officials
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Ryan Blaney had moved up from 12th to 10th pretty quickly right at the start, but then his car started acting up, making it tough to steer, and he ended up dropping out of the top 20 by the first big pause on lap 30. After switching to slick tires during a break, he was still fighting his way through the pack, trying to figure out why his car was so hard to handle.
However, he could only wrap up Stage 1 of the race in P21 and slid further to 26th after getting nudged out of his groove and into the wall at the end of the second stage. Trying to claw back some ground, Blaney was visibly struggling. Over the radio, you could hear his frustration boiling over, “I can’t do anything when they are two-wide in front of me. A F*cking sh*tshow back here,” he vented when he couldn’t find a way past.
And just when you thought Ryan Blaney had enough to deal with, along comes Kyle Busch’s caution that really got under his skin. Kyle Busch barely touched the wall without any serious damage or spin-out, but NASCAR decided to wave the caution flag anyway. Blaney couldn’t wrap his head around it, “Are you f*cking kidding me? Someone touches the f*cking wall and they throw a yellow?”
"He jumped the (expletive) start." Radioactive: Richmond. #NASCAR #RaceHub pic.twitter.com/ROpe0Sy11G
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 3, 2024
That caution threw a wrench for a bunch of drivers, Kyle Larson included, messing with their pit stop game plans. But, true to form, Blaney took it the hardest. When all was said and done, Blaney just summed it up with the fact that he couldn’t make up for the ground he lost.
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Disappointed #12 driver did not call anyone out in the post-race interview
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After Denny Hamlin snagged the win, Ryan Blaney, who ended up in 19th place, was clearly not thrilled. Yet, during the post-race chat, he didn’t point fingers or talk about the “unfair caution” that had him heated earlier.
All he shared was, “Hard-fought night for our 12 team. We just couldn’t recover from losing a bunch of track position during the first run but we were able to get the balance in a good spot in the second stage. There’s only so much ground you can make up over those longer green flag runs. Not our night but we’re looking forward to getting back to Martinsville next week.”
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Martinsville’s up next, and Blaney’s probably got his eyes on the prize there. He’s the last champ from the playoff race there in October, so you bet he’s itching to dominate again and secure his playoff spot as soon as he can.
Read More: Responsible Ryan Blaney Wary of His Words After NASCAR Cup Series Success