Ryan Blaney refuses to talk about Michael McDowell incident after Sonoma
Late in the Toyota Save Mart 350, Michael McDowell put the bumper to Ryan Blaney and spun him out of the top-10. It was a move that Blaney was unable to recover from. After the race, the NASCAR driver was not feeling up to talking about the incident. Like, at all.
This is a strange situation. Both Ryan Blaney and McDowell are seen as two of the nicest guys in the Cup Series. They are not out there looking to make headlines for anything other than their racing on the track.
While we saw McDowell get payback on Ty Gibbs at the All-Star Open, he seemed to just get impatient and spun Blaney out. Road courses tend to bring the bumpers out of these drivers.
When Ryan Blaney was asked after the race about the wreck, he basically refused to answer and definitely didn’t stop to talk.
“He dumped me. Gosh, I don’t know I can’t see it. Stop trying to start controversy,” Blaney said.
Ryan Blaney was running in the top-10 when the spin happened. He would go on to finish P31. The good news is that Blaney is locked into the playoffs with his Coca-Cola 600 win. Bad news is, he’ll be a little sore about this race for a day or two. With the off week finally here, this incident likely won’t be a story moving forward.
Unless we see it happen again.
Michael McDowell charges forward after spinning Ryan Blaney
While Ryan Blaney went on to fall to an abysmal 31st-place finish, it was the opposite for Michael McDowell. The Front Row Motorsports driver has been running strong as of late. He was in the top-5 at times at Sonoma and was vying for the lead here and there. If a caution had gone this way or that, it might have been an upset win for the 34.
The Blaney incident happened when AJ Allmendinger, McDowell, and Blaney were all racing for position. Allmendinger tried to send it into the corner, but it didn’t work. Blaney avoided the 16, but the 34 was unable, or unwilling, to miss the 12. So, the Team Penske driver went for a spin.
Ryan Blaney fell back while McDowell went on to finish P7. This was a race that Martin Truex Jr. led for 51 laps on his way to the win. Blaney meanwhile struggled all day and had to fight hard to get near the front. Sometimes, that’s just the way things shake out. This week it was all Truex, two weeks ago it was all YRB. It happens.
When the Cup Series returns, Ryan Blaney will be at a track he seems to enjoy, Nashville. Can he keep up his winning ways this season? He’ll need to bounce back after losing the points lead and falling to third in the standings.