Ryan Blaney reacts to Tyler Reddick flip after seeing it for first time post-race at Las Vegas

During the Las Vegas playoff race today, Tyler Reddick flipped over completely. Ryan Blaney was involved in that incident but missed the flip. Well, the NASCAR media made sure that Blaney saw Reddick’s impressive maneuver.

Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, and Martin Truex Jr. got tangled up in Stage 2. That caused Reddick to hit the grass and it flipped him over on his roof before he flipped back over onto his wheels.

Reddick then drove his No. 45 car to pit road, but there was too much damage to repair. His suspension was destroyed.

After the race, Ryan Blaney couldn’t believe it when he watched the wreck. He was beside himself.

“Holy s**t, the 45 flipped over? Holy s**t. Woah. I didn’t even know it flipped over. Holy s**t. Wow. That’s crazy,” Blaney said, via Kelly Crandall of RACER.com.

Ryan Blaney was wrapping up his interview with me and @zachstur when he saw the Reddick replay on the screen behind pit road:

Blaney: “Holy shit, the 45 flipped over? Holy shit. Woah. I didn’t even know it flipped over. Holy shit. Wow. That’s crazy.”

— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) October 20, 2024

Ryan Blaney did not have a great weekend at Las Vegas. He did end up helping Joey Logano get the win by acting as a buffer between the 22 and Christopher Bell. But his race was very forgettable.

Blaney began the weekend with a wreck in practice. He complained about his head hurting at that point. Then he was in the wreck that took out Reddick. After a while, his head began to hurt in the race and he asked for Advil. Hopefully, this is just a minor issue and not a sign of a bigger issue for Blaney.

After Las Vegas, Blaney is -47 points to the cutline. Reddick isn’t much better at -30. Half of the playoff field is -27 to the cutline or worse. Chase Elliott is eighth overall and he is -53.

Ryan Blaney finishes disappointing P32

While his teammate Joey Logano punched his ticket to Phoenix with a win today, Ryan Blaney struggled. He was in a backup car to start with and after the Stage 2 incident, the car had no speed.

Good news for Blaney, he finished P2 and P1 at Homestead and Martinsville last year to make it to Phoenix. At this point, there are only three spots left in the Championship 4 and the drivers below the cutline are going to need a win or other playoff drivers to wreck or have mechanical problems early.

While this was not a DNF, this is the fifth time in the last nine races that Blaney has finished P29 or worse. That is not how you defend your Cup Series championship. But these are the cards that the 12 team have been dealt.

Ryan Blaney had a miserable day today. But his teammate is now locked in to Phoenix. That is massive for Team Penske as they now have a chance to win their third championship in a row. Can Blaney find the extra gear to make the Championship 4?