Ryan Blaney: Alex Bowman ‘wrecked the f*** out of me’ in Talladega crash
Ryan Blaney saw his run in Sunday’s Round of 12 race at Talladega come to an end on the final lap of Stage 2.
Coming through the trioval on Lap 120, Alex Bowman made contact with Blaney from behind in the middle lane, sending his No. 12 Ford into Ross Chastain. Both Blaney and Chastain hit the outside wall hard and sustained significant damage.
Blaney, speaking with the media after being released from the infield care center, said Bowman “wrecked the f*** out of me.”
“I thought Austin [Cindric] and I worked well together,” Blaney said, via Matt Weaver of Sportsnaut. “I had a feeling the 8 [Kyle Busch] would kind of pull out and help a Chevy, he wasn’t gonna help me obviously. So, we got in the middle and I didn’t think it was terrible. We were probably running fifth or sixth and then the 48 [Bowman] just drove straight through me in the trioval. Wrecked the f*** out of me. I don’t know what he’s thinking.”
Ryan Blaney upset at Alex Bowman for Talladega crash
It certainly appeared that way on the replay, regardless if that was Bowman’s intention. Intentional or not, Blaney is clearly upset about it and for good reason. Talladega is the second of three Round of 12 races. At this stage in the postseason, the margin for error is thin.
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Blaney was also one of the race favorites. The reigning Cup Series champion won the fall race at Talladega last season, finished as the runner-up the year prior and took the checkered flag in 2019.
“I thought he would have more sense than that but obviously he didn’t,” Blaney said. “I see him coming, you’re gonna have to lift a little bit. You can’t just run through somebody in the trioval but he did.”
Blaney came into Sunday’s race the No. 2 ranked driver in the playoff field, 28 points clear of the cutline. Obviously, Blaney will likely drop some spots ahead of next Sunday’s Round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.