Reigning NASCAR Cup champion Ryan Blaney was furious with his fellow competitors after being involved in a multi-car wreck in the Second Duel race at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday night.
On Lap 48, the #12 Penske driver was running fifth in a single file with the rest of the front runners, battling William Byron for the fourth position. Byron blocked Blaney, which allowed Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski to close up on the #24 Hendrick Motorsports driver.
Busch, who was constantly being pushed by Keselowski, attempted to pass the momentum to Byron on the tri-oval. However, the latter lost control and rear-ended the #12 Ford, which sent Ryan Blaney head-on into the SAFER barriers with the car being engulfed in flames.
Although Blaney was unscathed by the incident, he was worn out by the recurring issue of aggressive pushes. He expressed his frustration to the media and told NBC Sports reporter Dustin Long:
"I’m pissed! I’m pissed!, I’m sick of getting right reared here by someone’s awful push. I'm pissed we have a backup car for the 500. Did everything right tonight, and now we have to work our ass off for the next two days to get the 500 car ready. So I'm pissed, and I have the right to be pissed. "
Ryan Blaney was visibly upset after the collision as he was involved in a wreck in his last three visits to the 2.5-mile oval. Speaking to NASCAR.com, he expressed his annoyance saying:
"It comes from awful pushes by people. I mean, three times here in a row awful pushes have led me to getting right-reared. And it’s just guys not being smart, not knowing when to get off somebody. Like, you cannot push in the corner that hard in the tri-oval. I don’t know when guys are gonna get it."
Blaney will have to use his backup car for the Daytona 500 and will be 32nd in the starting lineup.
Kyle Busch explains the crash involving Ryan Blaney
The #8 Richard Childress Racing driver was in the thick of the action that ended up wrecking Ryan Blaney and many other drivers.
Kyle Busch explained that the multi-car wreck was triggered by William Byron losing momentum and Brad Keselowski's consistent pushing on the tri-oval, creating an accordion effect. He told NASCAR.com:
"The big run that the 12 got kind of got the 24 (Byron) shucked out of line. He lost momentum. I’m seeing that lifting, rolling out of the gas, trying not to hit the 24 and I’m getting a little bit of bump from behind from the 6 (Keselowski) also, not really seeing through me what’s going on, and just hit the 24 in the tri-oval where you’re not supposed to and spun them out and caused the wreck. So just an accordion-type deal, but it happens that way."
Kyle Busch will also be piloting his backup car for the Daytona 500 and will line up 34th on the starting grid.