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Ryan Blaney gives hilarious reason for not moving Chase Elliott for the win late in Clash at Bowman Gray

JHby:Jonathan Howard•about 10 hours•

Jondean25

Ryan Blaney Chase Elliott Clash NASCAR
Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Tonight, Ryan Blaney put on a show for the fans at Bowman Gray Stadium in the NASCAR Clash, but he came up short of the win. With the lead on the line late, why didn’t Blaney put his bumper to Chase Elliott and move him? He wanted to leave the track in one piece.

Ryan Blaney could have rode around and had a fine time out on the track tonight. Instead, he passed almost the entire field, except for Chase Elliott. By the time he got up to the leader, he didn’t have the tire grip he needed to make another pass.

However, there ar other ways to pass on short tracks. Blaney didn’t want to do that to a friend in a race that doesn’t ultimately mean that much since there are no points awarded.

But he did give a funny reason as to why he didn’t move Elliott.

“I think we were pretty evenly matched,” Blaney said after the race. “But, yeah, I just – when I started to go I just didn’t have enough right rear and I’m like, ‘Oh s**t. I’m not going to make this pass,’ right? And I’m not going to just bulldog into him and get chased out of here with pitchforks. So, you know.”

Wrecking the Most Popular Driver likely would have been a bad move. It also isn’t the racer that Ryan Blaney is. Look at his car compared to others. For a driver who started deep in the field, Blaney was virtually spotless at the end of the race.

Besides, by the time a bump and run would have made sense, Blaney was struggling to keep up. Lapped traffic made it more difficult. Chase Elliott was about as flawless as he could be this weekend.

Ryan Blaney comes up short to Chase Elliott

Ryan Blaney tried his best to track down Chase Elliott. Coming back from the provisional starting spot in the back, Blaney didn’t have the tire late to compete. Denny Hamlin led laps tonight as well, but his car wasn’t good enough in the second half of the race.

This was the perfect weekend for Elliott. Fastest time in qualifying, won his Heat Race from pole and then won the Clash from the pole. It could not have gone better for the Hendrick Motorsports driver yesterday and today.

The NASCAR season has started. We will be in Daytona very soon. Then it is a long year of racing until we get to Phoenix in November again. Tonight things started off with a bang at the Madhouse.

If this is Chase Elliott showing what is to come this season, then that is a good thing for NASCAR. The more he wins, the more people tune in. Is this just the beginning of a winning season for the 9 team?