Getting attacked by NASCAR and NASCAR’s favorite team in the postseason has to sting. Ryan Blaney seems to be in such a situation after the Talladega race. A few weeks ago in Watkins Glen, Blaney mysteriously spun out in the first lap and was unable to move. NASCAR ruled that the end of the race for him citing a controversial rule, and he angrily protested. Now, two Hendrick Motorsports drivers got in Blaney’s bad books.

The day was going fairly smoothly for all Team Penske drivers, as per their superspeedway strengths. But Ryan Blaney was the first to fall among the trio. With a top-five finish well within his sight, one HMS driver bumped into him – but a NASCAR expert believes by no fault of his own.

Ryan Blaney’s shots may be misplaced

The defending Cup Series champion had a bright outlook for Sunday. Talladega Superspeedway marked his launch into the final championship run in 2023. Starting in the 5th spot, Ryan Blaney lingered around the top ten for both stages. But doom was imminent as the 2.66-mile drafting beast bared its fangs on lap 120. At the end of stage 2, HMS driver Alex Bowman pushed the No. 12 Ford which then spun out and hit the SAFER barrier. Kyle Larson was right behind and did not help either. So Blaney breathed fire post-race: “Just wrecked the f-k out of me.”

Although Alex Bowman publicly apologized, Ryan Blaney must still be quite furious. However, this fury might be misplaced, as NASCAR expert Eric Estepp explained. Although he empathized with Blaney’s emotions, Estepp pointed out that both Bowman and Larson tried their best not to ram into the 12. “The 48 and the 5 slowed their momentum as they came up behind the 12. So no, he didn’t just floor it and drive straight through Blaney. They were trying to give him some space, let him catch it…They weren’t trying to hit him too hard.” 

Estepp blamed “a combination of factors” that sealed the Yellawood 500 race for Ryan Blaney. “The problem was where they caught Blaney was in the tri-oval where these cars are notoriously light on their feet. It’s sketchy through there. Any bump draft through that part of the track could send someone spinning.” Estepp added, shaving further blame from Rick Hendrick’s duo, “Coming to the stage finish, everyone’s being aggressive. Blaney’s going slow at this point. Bowman and Larson have a full head of steam. They tried to slow down a little – happened to hit him in the tri-oval, maybe the worst spot outside of entering turn 3.” 

Despite the HMS drivers’ good intentions, Ryan Blaney has enough reason to be upset. Especially because his entire team slipped up in Talladega.

Penske bore the brunt of Talladega

Running four-wide at 200 mph just a few inches from each other – drivers risk a lot at Talladega Superspeedway. So a lot depends on sheer luck at this drafting behemoth. Lady Luck did not look kindly at Team Penske this time, as all three drivers got caught in wrecks. At first, things looked smooth – amid 66 lead changes, Penske drivers paced the field 19 different times. Austin Cindric led a race-high 29 laps and won Stage 2, his fourth stage victory of the season on a superspeedway.

But then, things started getting awry after the second stage. Ryan Blaney sustained irreparable damage on the lap 120 wreck, and the colossal lap 183 wreck – the biggest in NASCAR Cup history – claimed the other two drivers. Joey Logano and Cindric joined 23 other drivers in a smoking wreck. Logano said, “We had the bottom working fairly well and my timing got a little bit off, off of [Cindric] from what we had been doing. Got pushed from [Harrison Burton] that transferred to [Keselowski] that transferred to [Cindric]. Bad angle.” 

Leaving Talladega, Blaney has a 25-point buffer over the cutline. His teammates, Logano (-13) and Cindric (-29) are not so fortunate. Although the overall team’s fortune was bad, Ryan Blaney can look forward to protecting that buffer in the next race. Let’s see if his streak of bad luck snaps there or not.