Ryan Blaney, the reigning champ of the NASCAR 2023 Cup Series, found himself in the thick of two major pile-ups last year. Despite the ramp-up in safety protocols since then, those close shaves often come with their share of knocks to the head and a whole lot of aggravation. But when quizzed recently about whether these scrapes were wearing him down, Blaney brushed off the concern with ease. Growing up with a racetrack for a playground and watching his dad burn rubber, he knew the score from a young age and what he was signing up for.

Ryan Blaney brushes off the notion that track tumbles are getting to him

During the NASCAR Cup Series’ return to the Music City, luck wasn’t riding shotgun with Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney. During one of the restarts, the #12’s Ford Mustang kissed the wall at Nashville Superspeedway, bowing out of the 400-mile race. Then, come September at the Coke Zero Sugar 400, Blaney went nose-first into the tri-oval’s barrier at a heart-stopping 190mph, marking it as the toughest hit he’s ever taken. But the rough ride didn’t end there; recently at the Daytona 500 qualifying race, Blaney’s chariot was clipped and sent spiraling into the wall, enduring a bone-jarring 55-g impact.

In just eight months, Blaney has been the unfortunate star of three accidents at Daytona and Nashville. While the Daytona dramas left their mark physically, it was the Nashville crash that played mind games with him, setting an unwelcome trend for Team Penske of finding themselves in the eye of the storm at Daytona and Talladega.

Reflecting on the ordeals, Blaney conceded, “I feel like the Nashville hit was by far the hardest hit I’ve ever taken,” Blaney says. “Mentally, I was way more messed up after Nashville than I was after these two hits at this race track [Daytona].”

Yet, recently, when faced with questions about the mental scars from such harrowing experiences, Blaney stood firm, dismissing any talk of mental wear and tear. At a recent press gathering, he laid out, “It’s more than I’d like to take but uh it’s part of our sport. […] And it’s just what we do it’s understandable like I don’t ever think about the bad side of this. So all you try to do is find out how to win the race and you understand when you sign up I understood when I signed up for this thing watching dad race that there’s dangers of it. And uh things are going to happen. I mean, I don’t really see that taking a toll on me personally.”

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Despite being on the receiving end of some unwelcome shoves on the track, Blaney’s not an angel himself. He’s been known to give as good as he gets, though he’s quick to add that he looks out for his fellow racers when the chips are down.

#12 admits to pushing his rivals

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At 30, with a NASCAR championship tucked in his racing suit but the Daytona 500 still on his bucket list, Ryan Blaney, the man behind the wheel for Team Penske, shed some light on the art of bump drafting that’s become a staple on the speedways. According to speedwaymedia.com, he shared that giving a nudge has become part and parcel of the racing strategy, more so now than ever, except perhaps during the heyday of tandem racing.

Back then, cars were practically glued to each other, but with today’s rounded bumpers, it’s a whole new ball game, often sending cars into a tailspin. Yet, Blaney gets it; pushing the envelope is part of the thrill. He admitted, “I’ve pushed people hard, but I try to take care of people. As the pusher, you are responsible for the guy in front of you. You have just as much responsibility to make sure that you don’t shove the guy in front of you through somebody and you have to understand where you have to let him go.”

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“Pushing is a huge game and I’m fine, you can push the hell out of me, but you’ve just got to be smart where you do it and how you get on somebody, and you have to be knowledgeable of what spots are good to do it and what spots are bad to do it,” Blaney added, emphasizing the need for smart, strategic bump drafting on the racetrack.