In sports, ‘Speak it into existence’ carries weight, and recent events have shown why! Reigning cup champion Ryan Blaney’s pre-race predictions at the New Hampshire track have surprisingly come true. Ahead of the race he had mentioned precisely how he understood the desperate moves by a driver when on the track. He said he could understand why a driver might show such aggression in regards to the fact that the playoffs are going to start soon and drivers are out for blood—desperate to secure that coveted spots remaining in the same.

He commented, “You’re not gonna give up any positions for anybody. I try to understand in my shoes if that does happen, I get it. I’d do the same thing if I was in that person’s position for the win and they need to win and I get roughed up, that’s just part of it. I get it but it is nice to have that reminder.”  However, little did he know he would be on the receiving end of such desperation. In a dramatic turn of events, Ryan Blaney himself found himself getting roughed up on the track. A direct example of the aggressive moves he had anticipated! 

McDowell’s bold move backfires in the race strategy gamble!

Ryan Blaney and Michael McDowell were racing for the second place after the late restart on the Magic Mile. However, on the restart with only nine laps remaining at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Michael McDowell surprised everyone with a daring maneuver. Despite the rain-soaked afternoon, he confidently dove into turn 1 on his wet tires. And then the obvious happened. He slid up the track and collided with Ryan Blaney’s Mustang, causing both cars to skid.

And in fact McDowell did indeed apologize to Ryan Blaney after. But according to Blaney his apology did him no good at all as he wasn’t a cent pleased. Blaney said to Frontstretch, “Yeah he said he’s sorry but he still wrecked me. He just send it off in there and no intention of making the corner and spun both of us. So, a very low percentage move that obviously didn’t work.” 

Further, Ryan Blaney expressed his frustration over McDowell’s maneuver. According to him, it’s common knowledge that it’s wet out there on the track. So obviously, the slides and slips are to be expected. Ryan Blaney felt that maybe McDowell had to be a little calculated in his approach. He was disappointed and said, “It just stinks that we’re at the expense of it. Man, I really thought we had a decent shot to contend.”

Blaney finished in 25th place by the end of the race. In conclusion, although both of them managed to finish on the lead lap, they never got to get into the top 10. As far as McDowell is concerned, he too has expressed a little about his reasoning behind the risky move on track.

Michael McDowell accepts that he just pulled a low-percentage move

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McDowell undoubtedly appeared at fault here, given that he knew the track was slick and attempting such a frisky move would end up in no good. He, however, after acknowledging about having no other choice took time out to apologize to his opponent for the action.

McDowell said, “I hate it for Blaney. I know it ruined his day, it ruined my day too, and I apologized to those guys for that. But I’m at a point in the season where I have to go for it too. You don’t know until you get there, and I was just in there a little too deep.” 

Given that he is still winless, hasn’t made it to the playoffs, and is p22 in the standing, the situation must reign in heavily for him. McDowell is almost 100 points away from the playoff cutoff making every race a do-or-die situation. Now just eight races remain and he just had to push the limits. He said to Bob Pockrass, “I was in a do-or-die situation. I had to go for it. I know it was a low-percentage move, but I had to try.”

McDowell elaborated that he had to go for it because all the guys were going to the bottom lane. And he noticed that on restarts, those who took the bottom lane in turns one and two got freight-trained, so he aimed for the middle. Unfortunately, his left side hit the wet paint, causing both cars to slide through the corner.

After the race, no punches were flying or raging shouts though. Instead, both the drivers engaged in a civil conversation and that’s where he apologized to Ryan Blaney. What do you think about his move? Will Blaney answer back to it sometime this season? Let us know your thoughts below!