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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

In the closing laps of the Daytona 500, Austin Cindric got into trouble en route to his maiden Cup victory. As it turned out, he accidentally tagged Ryan Blaney out of the race. At the time, the Team Penske teammates were running 1-2, when Blaney happened to touch Cindric.

This sent the latter into the wall and sent several others crashing out as well. As his #12 car slithered to a stop, a furious Blaney exclaimed, “I’m going to f***ing kill that kid“. Obviously, this was said in the heat of the moment.

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Interestingly, Joey Logano had his own problems and vented out his frustration. His ire was largely directed at his #22 machine, and he called it a ‘joke of a car’. All in all, it was a mixed day in the office for the Team Penske organization. This is with one driver winning, and the other two drivers either crashing out or having issues.

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Was the Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney contact intentional?

The most obvious answer is no because the #2 driver was merely defending his position, as he is supposed to. Some suggested that Blaney should have made a move earlier, and Cindric tried to block him. Admittedly, the rookie driver hadn’t cleared the #12 car fully, but the contact was fairly light.

USA Today via Reuters

Fortunately, the red mist quickly faded from Blaney’s vision. This was clear when he went to congratulate Austin Cindric for winning his first race, and the Daytona 500 to boot. In the end, all that Ryan Blaney can do is sit and rue what could have been, for a brief while. After that, he will have to pull himself together and have another shot at winning a Cup Series race in the new era. Considering that Joey Logano won at the Coliseum, and Cindric has won at Daytona, Blaney will want his turn in Victory Lane sooner rather than later.

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READ MORE: NASCAR Journalist Clarifies Stance on Ryan Blaney Shunning Daytona 500 Winning Penske Teammate Austin Cindric