"We’ll all start doing it now" - Ryan Blaney on Ross Chastain's controversial move at Martinsville

While Ross Chastain's last-lap move at Martinsville Speedway last Sunday did look spectacular, several drivers such as Ryan Blaney were not entirely on board with the idea. Blaney, who did not qualify for the Championship 4 round despite a P3 finish in the Xfinity 500 was left wanting for more on the 1-mile-long track that hosted the final Round of 8 race of the 2022 season.

Behind the wheel of the #12 Pennzoil Ford Mustang fielded by Team Penske, Ryan Blaney elaborated on how short-track racing with the newer Next Gen NASCAR remains a puzzle, with difficulty in overtaking and prominent tire degradation. The 28-year-old elaborated on how dirty air from the car in front affects the following car heavily, despite the latter being on fresher, stickier tires.

Eventually, Ryan Blaney was asked about Ross Chastain's move at the end of the 500-lap-long race, which saw the Trackhouse Racing driver qualify for the next round for a bid at the title this year. In a post-race interview, the Hartford Township, Ohio native said:

“I just saw it and I guess I wish I should have done it. I guess we’ll all start doing it now coming down to the end of the race.”

While the move did look spectacular to watch, many fellow drivers were not on board with the idea of riding the wall purposefully at the premier level of stock car racing. Kyle Larson was one such driver who said it did not paint a positive picture of the sport, while he regretted his previous similar actions.

---

Ryan Blaney elaborates on his outing in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500

Team Penske and championship hopeful until the end of Xfinity 500, Ryan Blaney was one driver to have not been able to make the jump into the Championship 4 last weekend.

The 28-year-old described the race at Martinsville Speedway as a struggle for the #12 crew at Team Penske, including himself.

He said:

“It just wasn’t quite enough. I didn’t think we were great to start. We kind of faded at the end of that first stage, but we got better throughout the night, which is good, and found ourselves in second on the second-to-last run and kind of ran the 20 down. There weren’t many passes for the lead tonight and then the last restart I thought I was in a good spot on the bottom. I thought more pandemonium was gonna happen than that and the #20 (Christopher Bell) got down and he was able to kind of go to work and I couldn’t really get going as good.”

NASCAR goes live from Phoenix Raceway next weekend for the 2022 season championship decider.