Brad Keselowski explains the restart that sent Ryan Blaney into the wall
Brad Keselowski struggled with speed on the Lap 147 restart during the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway Sunday, leading to a dangerous head-on collision into the wall for Ryan Blaney.
Keselowski, P3 at the time and second in the outside lane, said he got “run over” on the restart, which stacked up the field behind him, causing Blaney to slam into the inside wall that was a non-SAFER barrier.
“The guys behind me had so much power that they ran me over,” Keselowski said of the restart, via Kelly Crandall of Racer. “I got a great launch, and there they go. I just got run over. Got hit so hard it literally knocked it out of gear. They were just that much faster. It’s frustrating, but we got work to do.”
Blaney, who hit the wall nose first, called out NASCAR for not having a SAFER barrier on the wall which tore up his No. 12 Ford.
“I don’t really know what happened,” Blaney said. “Someone checked up on the restart, I guess, and I kind of checked up and got hit from behind. I didn’t know if they were wrecking, and just couldn’t get it straightened out when I got out of the grass. I thought I was going to come back around, and that I’d be OK. But it just never got back right, and I don’t know why there’s no safer barrier there.
“That’s pretty ridiculous, honestly — hardest hit I’ve ever had in my life, so happy to be all right. It sucks for the Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Stinks to go home early.”
NASCAR issues response to Ryan Blaney’s comments
Following the race, NASCAR issued a statement in response to Blaney’s comments.
“NASCAR safety engineers work closely with safety experts on the implementation of barriers around the track,” the statement read. “As we do following every race weekend, we will evaluate all available data and make any necessary improvements.”
Blaney finished P36, his worst finish of the 2023 Cup Series season. Keselowski, meanwhile, rebounded from the lackluster restart to come away with a P11 finish, his best result since the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on May 14.