The season finale race has been dominated by the Championship 4 contenders ever since the introduction of the elimination rounds in 2014. For the first time in a decade, the limelight of the title winner was stolen by a non-playoff driver. Although the 2023 champion Ryan Blaney was visibly frustrated by race winner Ross Chastain at the Phoenix Raceway, the racing community refused to endorse his ire. After all, Chastain had won the race fair and square. In the last episode of his podcast, the Team Penske driver clarified his stance on the contentious issue.

Ryan Blaney comes clean on hitting Ross Chastain on purpose in Phoenix

From Kevin Harvick in 2014 to Joey Logano in 2022, every Cup champion won the final race along with the season’s trophy. But this year, Trackhouse Racing Team’s #1 driver Ross Chastain led 157 laps of the tri-oval track to break the longstanding tradition. Ryan Blaney wished to follow in his teammate Logano’s footsteps and made several attempts to best Chastain throughout the race. But the #1 driver never wavered in his resolve to grab the checkered flag. Blaney was forced to settle for a runner-up position along with the season’s championship. However, the #12 driver’s obvious annoyance with this situation became a matter of furious debate in the racing community.

Many called out the show of entitlement displayed by Ryan Blaney who seemingly wanted the race leader to step aside for a Championship 4 contender. Blaney’s admission of hitting the #1 driver on purpose only added fuel to the fire. In the final episode of Glass Case of Emotion, the Team Penske driver opened up on the heated sentiments at play during those crucial moments. Blaney insisted, “I didn’t expect him to get out of the way. That’s not what I was upset about. I was more upset about the extent that he was going. He was going out of his way to scr*w me over.” 

Blaney reflected upon the tense battle during which his team and all of his fans urged him to not lose control of the situation and focus on the bigger picture. But the #12 driver was worried about being pushed back into a fast-approaching Kyle Larson. Blaney explained, “It’s like, ‘All right man I don’t mind you racing me hard, take my line away, run whatever lane I’m running but don’t switch three lanes getting in the corner to f*ck me up even worse and back me up.’ I even saw he said he was trying to back me up to the five [of Larson] so it’s like now you believe me that this is why I was racing him so hard. It’s like I wasn’t doing it for just for sh*ts and giggles.” 

Thankfully, for all his racing fans, the exhilaration of his win replaced his previous anger by the time Ryan Blaney met Chastain after the race.

Watch this story: Ryan Blaney’s 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Victory: A Triumph of Skill and Strategy

Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain found humor in their season-ending battle

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Later on, Ryan Blaney wanted to assure the racing community that the entire incident was blown out of proportion. There was no bad blood between the Cup racers. In fact, the #12 driver made light of the situation when he eventually met up with Ross Chastain during the post-race press conferences. 

Confirming in his podcast, Blaney recalled, “He [Chastain] and I actually saw each other outside the media center. I was heading in and he was leaving and we actually laughed about the whole thing. I told him why I was pissed and he told me what he was doing and we just laughed about it and just went on.”

Ross Chastain won the race and Ryan Blaney won the series and the two of them seemed to have reached a common ground with this mutually favorable outcome. With preparations in full swing for next year, perhaps the possibility of diverse outcomes would increase viewer interest in the final race next season. 

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