“He was just super fast”: Ryan Blaney acknowledges Kyle Larson’s prowess at Iowa

Defending NASCAR Cup Champion, Ryan Blaney, won his first race of the season at Iowa, booking his place in the playoffs. However, until a certain point in the race, he was being challenged by Kyle Larson, who had started the race from the pole.

But after Larson's chances of taking the win took a big hit courtesy of his incident with Daniel Suarez and Denny Hamlin, the Penske driver cruised on to win. Blaney led over 170 laps in the race, making it his personal best in the laps-led category.

This led to Blaney being asked in the post-race press conference how his strategy would've differed if Larson hadn't gotten wrecked.

"I’m not sure. Yeah, he looked really good. He fired off early in that race, drove away. I was kind of riding that time, that first stage. I was like, Man, he’s going really hard. Might blow a right front tire. He was just super fast. I thought we got closer to him. He did come back through the field when he pitted. Yeah, his car was strong. Gosh, he was going to be tough to beat, that’s for sure," Blaney said. [21:15]

Ryan Blaney claimed that in the last two runs of the race, the #12 car got "a lot better" and free enough to roll the middle where Larson could've otherwise beat him.

Having said that, he added that one never knows how such things pan out. Blaney mentioned he got better as the race went on, but acknowledged that Larson was strong.

"They were strong. I don’t know what happened, four cars coming together. He’s going to be a tough one to beat," he added.

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"He's a deserving champion" - Kyle Larson praised Ryan Blaney's 2023 Championship win

After Ryan Blaney won his first-ever Cup Series championship last year at Phoenix, Kyle Larson, the 2021 champion, praised the Penske driver. As per Autoweek, Larson said:

"He's a deserving champion. Him and his team have done an amazing job. It's been fun to kind come up through the ranks with him and see him be a champion, so congrats to Team Penske and their whole team."

The Hendrick Motorsports driver claimed he would try to beat Blaney in the 2024 season. Larson mentioned that Blaney "had to work" to win the championship and that he "definitely earned" his crown.

Larson further revealed his admiration for the Blaney family and their history of accomplished racecar drivers. Ryan Blaney comes from a family with a deep history of racing, with his father Dave, his uncle Dale, and his grandfather Lou.

"I’m a huge Blaney (family) fan. That’s really special," Larson said.

The #5 driver added that Ryan Blaney has taken his family's name to the next level and made it even more legendary with his NASCAR Cup championship win.