“Fu***ing right I hit him on purpose”: Ryan Blaney talks about battle with Ross Chastain at Phoenix

Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney was crowned the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, where Ross Chastain took the checkered flag ahead of the title contenders.

Chastain was knocked out in the Round of 12 but bested the rest of the championship contenders and led a race-high 157 laps in the finale. The #1 Trackhouse Racing driver was also involved in a heated battle with eventual champion Blaney.

In the final stage, Blaney had charged through the field and was jostling for the lead with Chastain, while Kyle Larson and William Byron were chasing him down. After being blocked several times by the #1 Chevy driver, the #12 Penske driver expressed his frustration as he bumped Chastain and flipped him off.

"Fu***ing right I hit him on purpose. I mean, yeah, I hit him on purpose. He blocked me on purpose 10 times. So, yeah, I hit him on purpose," Ryan Blaney said about the heated exchange in the post-race press conference.

"What do you expect me to do? He's backing me up to the other championship guy, and I got to go. We were just racing hard. But do I think he was over-aggressive on the blocks? Yes, very much so. Did I hit him? Yes, I did. That's just part of it," he added.

The 2023 Cup champion said he intentionally bumped into Ross Chastain as he reckoned the #1 Chevy driver was holding him up. However, Ryan Blaney did manage to hold second position ahead of Larson and Byron, which was enough to win his maiden title.

Meanwhile, Chastain became the first non-playoff driver to win the season finale since the latest playoff format was introduced in 2014.

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Ryan Blaney opens up about joining the League of Champions with close friend Chase Elliott

Chase Elliott, the 2020 Cup champion, made his way to the victory lane to celebrate his close friend Ryan Blaney's maiden title. The latter appreciated the move as he recalled going up on the stage when Elliott won his title.

Cherishing the relationship with his competitor, Blaney opened up about the wholesome move by the Hendrick Motorsports driver. He said:

"Yeah, it means a ton. I remember being there and going up to the stage in 2020 when he won his, just being super proud of him, right? Chase and I have known each other and raced each other for a couple decades."

He added:

"It's pretty special to share something like that with somebody, a close friend like that. For him to show me all the support this week was really neat as well for me. Him kind of checking in on me, seeing how I was doing. He's been here a couple times."

Elliott capped off his 2023 Cup Series campaign with a 16th-place finish at Phoenix Raceway but wasted no time to congratulate his friend for winning the title.