EchoPark Speedway turned up the heat for the Quaker State 400 on June 28, 2025, delivering a race that had it all—rain delays, red flags, and two massive wrecks that left fans buzzing. Some are calling it the best show of the year, with 46 lead changes and nonstop action, even after a 23-car pileup in Stage 2 took out half the field.

The chaos shook up the inaugural In-Season Challenge, busting brackets left and right as top seeds like Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and William Byron got sidelined. Seven of the 11 race winners this season were knocked out in that Stage 2 mess, opening the door for a new face in victory lane. Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, the Hendrick Motorsports duo, played the draft to perfection, teaming up to outmaneuver RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski on the final lap.

Ryan Blaney, though, wasn’t celebrating. Caught in the Stage 1 wreck, he slammed the wall and finished dead last, a bitter pill made worse by a cheeky social media jab from Spire Motorsports. The poke sparked a fiery response from the 2023 champ, proving he’s not one to let a slight slide.

Ryan Blaney fires back at Spire’s social media jab

On the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Ryan Blaney didn’t mince words about Spire Motorsports’ taunt. “I saw that and I wasn’t really in a mood. I was like it’s Speedway racing whatever and then I saw that in the plane. I was like well now you’ve pissed me off a little bit,” he said.

Blaney’s season has been rough with six DNFs in 18 races, compared to seven all last year. At Atlanta, he was an innocent bystander in the Stage 1 wreck triggered by Christopher Bell’s spin after contact with Kyle Larson. Austin Dillon’s spin clipped Blaney’s Ford, sending him hard into the wall for a 40th-place finish, making it his worst in five years. Spire’s post rubbed salt in the wound. Spire’s X post, “Thanks for accepting our trade, @Blaney,” took a jab at Blaney’s loss to their driver, Carson Hocevar, in the In-Season Challenge bracket.

Blaney fired back: “So that social media person is going to have to explain when something happens to the 77 car. I hope they’re proud of themselves for that. I do still owe him. He wrecked me at first Atlanta this year, and I haven’t done anything about it. Now just resparked me. Now you just reminded me.”

The “trade” taunt hit a nerve, referencing Hocevar’s earlier wreck with Blaney this season. Although Hocevar scored his career best finish, P2 during the spring race, Blaney was among the long list of drivers who were roughed up by him. Post race, the Penske star had a chat with him. “He should know better than to hit me in that spot. Like, you can’t just run into my bumper as I’m running into the corner. Like, I’m gonna wreck. So, I just told him, you’ve got to calm down, you’ve got a lot of talent, but you got to be a little easier in certain moments and be a little smarter,” Blaney said after that race.

However, since then, the Spire Motorsports driver has gone on to wreck Ricky Stenhouse Jr. twice, and he had a payback pending. Especially after Stenhouse admitted that he would return the favor after the Mexico crash. Not a good spot to be in, right? Yet, many fans expect, Carson Hocevar will continue with his antics, be it on track or off-track.

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Ryan Blaney Explains Spotters’ Crucial Role in Chicago

As the Cup Series rolls into Chicago for the Grant Park 165 on July 6, 2025, Blaney’s got his eyes on redemption, and he’s counting on his spotter, Tim Fedewa, to navigate the tricky 2.14-mile street course. “I think the biggest thing for spotters at a place like Chicago—it’s a little bit of helping us out if someone is diving in there. But we can see a decent amount with the cameras. It’s more like blind exits. You can’t see that. That’s the biggest thing. It’s kind of a safety thing,” Blaney said on the podcast.

The course’s blind corners, especially Turn 5, are a nightmare, and Blaney knows spotters are key to avoiding trouble. But Chicago’s setup isn’t spotter-friendly. In 2023, spotters were stuck in a frontstretch suite with lousy sightlines, and Kyle Busch didn’t hold back: “I don’t think any of the spotters are going to be doing much of anything. It’s just so hard to see.”

Blaney and Fedewa, who’ve had strong races together this year, will need to lean on their chemistry to conquer the course’s tight turns and limited visibility. With Blaney’s season already battered, a clean run in Chicago could cool his feud with Spire and allow him to rack in more playoff points.