“My head was killing me”: Ryan Blaney makes his dire need of painkiller known after getting trapped in Tyler Reddick’s violent wreck

Ryan Blaney's Round of 8 opener in Las Vegas took a painful turn after he got collected in the aftermath of Tyler Reddick's Stage 2 incident. The Team Penske driver radioed in to ask for 'Advil or something' after his #12 Ford's wall slam induced "killing" pain in the head.

Reddick etched the Stage 1 win and eyed lunging ahead of Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr., shortly after Lap 88 restarted. However, the Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing drivers maneuvered upwards, leaving little room for the regular season champion to pass. Nonetheless, the 23XI Racing driver was 'aggressive' in his pursuit and pinned his NextGen car in the outermost lane.

The move backfired, and Reddick got squeezed in the corner and made contact with Elliott's #9 Chevy, following which his #45 Toyota careened on the frontstretch grass and flipped before Reddick steered back to the pits and exited the car.

Ryan Blaney wasn't directly involved in the collision, but the domino effect collected his #12 Ford Mustang. After Reddick's wreck cascaded into Brad Keselowski's #6 Ford, the RFK Racing driver wildly drifted on the infield before returning to the asphalt.

Blaney tried to escape the mess but got into the wall and spun, damaging his right rear toe link. The incident left his head hurting, prompting the driver to ask for a painkiller.

“My head was killing me. When we broke the right rear toe link, flopping all around in there me trying to get back to pit road, and you just get to freakin’ basketball back and forth, back and forth, on the headrest. I was fine until the end and then my head started to kill me again. It helped me a little bit but a long day," Blaney said of his painful outcome via Kelly Crandall on X.

The Team Penske driver finished his race in 32nd place and was eight laps down when the Round of 8 opener at the 1.5-mile oval got done and dusted.

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"Just one of those crappy weekends": Ryan Blaney comments on his disappointing Las Vegas run

Ryan Blaney had a tumultuous performance in the Round of 12. The Ohio native showcased an impressive race at the Kansas Speedway, finishing fourth and cementing his playoff advancement prospects. However, his pursuit was marred at the Talladega Superspeedway after he conceded to a DNF, marking his seventh this season.

Nonetheless, the Team Penske driver rallied to a 10th-place finish, becoming the only Ford driver to advance in the Round of 8. Notably, after Alex Bowman's Charlotte DQ, Joey Logano got reinstated in the playoffs, and his #22 was the second Ford in the title fight.

Ryan Blaney already had a bad day. He started in the rear for using the backup car, as his Ford was damaged beyond repair after a hard crash in the practice. But his day took a worse turn after Reddick's wreck proved costly for the former's Ford.

"Honestly, I couldn't even see Brad in my A-post. The A-post is so freakin' big, I couldn't see him, kind of where he was on the grass. I saw him last second, it was too late for me to take left and I thought I could squeeze on the outside, just got clipped and bent the rear toe links. No good after that, so yeah, long weekend, just one of those crappy weekends," Blaney said via Frontstretch (0:31).

The Las Vegas blow has jeopardized Ryan Blaney's Championship 4 race spot as he now lingers 47 points below the cutline in P7.