“You can never really be too safe”: Ryan Blaney reacts to Denny Hamlin’s comments on him being in the playoffs danger zone

Sitting in sixth position on the NASCAR Cup Series drivers standings table, Team Penske's Ryan Blaney is one driver who should be worried about his future in the playoffs, according to Denny Hamlin.

The #12 Ford Mustang driver heads into the final race of the Round of 16 this weekend with a buffer of +25 points over the cut line.

However, according to fellow Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, any driver below P6, which includes Blaney, cannot go easy into the postseason:

"I can tell you as a driver, the people that are nervous is from (Ryan) Blaney (P6) down. I think Blaney +25 and below are the guys that are like 'Man, I can't screw up this weekend.'"

The upcoming Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway will see drivers near the cutoff line ramp up their aggression on track.

It is during these situations that drivers such as Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch cannot afford to get caught up in someone else's wreck.

Heading into the 500-lap-long race at the concrete layout of the 0.5-mile-long track, the 29-year-old elaborated on what he thinks Denny Hamlin actually meant by his prior comments and told speedwaydigest.com:

"We're 25 points to the good. 25 points can go away just like that. I feel like you can never really be too safe. I wouldn't consider myself in the danger zone. I think what he meant by that was you don't have any cushion if you make a mistake early in the race or a wreck or something like that."

Team Penske have already proven themselves as title winners last season when Ryan Blaney's teammate Joey Logano managed to snatch the ultimate prize in Pheonix last year. It remains to be seen how big of a challenge Blaney can mount this year.

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Ryan Blaney on Goodyear's new NASCAR tires coming into the Bristol race this Sunday

Part of a tire test earlier this year with NASCAR's official tire supplier Goodyear, Ryan Blaney recently elaborated on the new right-side tires debuting at Bristol Motor Speedway. Going into a track that has often been limited by the grip of the right front and right rear tires, Blaney gave an insight on what fans could expect this Sunday.

He spoke with FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass, saying:

"I didn't blow a tire at the tire test so that's good but we went through lots of different sets and compounds. There were only 3 of us so we never got off the bottom. But I feel better about it."

The Bass Pro Shops Night Race goes live on Saturday, September 16, 2023, at 7:30 pm ET.