‘Just a product of running second,’ Ryan Blaney on Denny Hamlin calling out NASCAR for not Black flagging Blaney helping him to win the All-Star race
Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin
NASCAR hit the Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday for the annual All-Star race and fans got the chaos and fireworks they expected as drivers went hard on each other for the million-dollar payday. Team Penske Racing No:12 Ford Mustang driver Ryan Blaney came out victorious in overtime in the mid-season non-point race taking home the prize money.
Team Penske dominated the finish with 3 of their 4 drivers finishing inside the Top 4 with Denny Hamlin finishing second. The early race exit of big-name racers such as Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch were among the factors behind Ryan Blaney’s win. But the overtime finish wasn’t as convincing per NASCAR rules as Blaney missed the final caution and started opening his widow net. He was only able to get back to a small area after he find out he has restarted the race.
NASCAR dodged the safety rules allowing Ryan Blaney to finish without getting the black flag which might have seen him giving away the lead to Denny Hamlin who was at P2. But it didn’t happen and a frustrated Denny Hamlin was quick to call out the inconsistent decision-making from NASCAR saying “I’m just frustrated that we have a rule. It can’t be a convenience rule…It’s just frustrating because we just have no consistency in our officiating,“.
Now Ryan Blaney who has seen efforts discrediting his win has come forth claiming that he understands how Hamlin feels and suggested that it was just because he came second.
Find out what Ryan Blaney said
Ryan Blaney acknowledged that he will also be frustrated if he was in the position Denny Hamlin was in Texas. He went on to say that if you are running second and the race leader puts his window net down you will obviously expect the lead to be given to you according to the rules as the leader will get black flagged. Ryan Blaney went on to say that he is not frustrated about the black flag situation as it worked out for them at the end with the best car of the night and pointed out the fact that he was obviously 3 seconds faster than Hamlin at the final caution.
“I’d be upset too if I was in position. You’re running second, and the guy makes a mistake and puts the window net down, and you expect it to be handed to you if the leader gets black flagged. So, I can understand his frustration for sure. But obviously, I’m not going to say I’m frustrated about it. It worked out for us; we had the best car all night. We were leading by three seconds before the last caution,” Ryan Blaney said.
Ryan Blaney went on to add that he can understand where the frustration is coming from for Denny Hamlin but suggest that it is just the product of coming in as P2 compared to winning as he expects Hamlin to be over the moon if he was in his position and won the race whereas he will be on ticked off if Hamlin got the win.
“I can understand where he’s coming from. But that’s just a product of running second compared to winning. He would be over the moon elated if in my position if he won the race, and I’d be ticked off just like he was if I was second. So, it just depends on the spot,” Ryan Blaney added.
Justin P Joy
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