NASCAR’s first race of the season sparked controversy involving Toyota cars. The Daytona 500, which unfolded last Sunday, showed the typical elements of superspeedway racing. There were frequent caution flags caused by unforeseen wrecks. And more importantly, there was intensive fuel-saving, something that got on Ryan Blaney’s nerves. After highlighting Toyota’s Sunday shenanigans, Blaney has reiterated his opinions.

Ryan Blaney slams cumbersome strategy

“I hate that that’s a thing and a topic that we talk about, ’cause it takes away from the racing aspect of it. At that point, we’re not really racing. It feels like riding in a line and waiting for the green-flag stop. And you hope you save more than the others and execute it more than the other guys,” Ryan Blaney said on Sirius XM NASCAR.

“It sucks in my position because I was in the back, and when I got to the roadblock three-wide, you really can’t go anywhere.”

The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford was looking forward to 2026. After encountering eight DNFs in 2025, Ryan Blaney was hoping for a clean slate. But hardly anything was clean as Blaney ran up against a massive crash on Lap 124. Even as he recovered from that debacle, the Toyota bandwagon’s wave of fuel-saving strategy hindered his path.

The 23XI Racing cars of Tyler Reddick, Riley Herbst, and Bubba Wallace were in this fray. They dominated all three lanes at one point. That three-wide posture while running an ultra-slow 52-second lap on the final stage was Ryan Blaney’s bone of contention. The Penske driver had vehemently called for action on that fuel-saving strategy after finishing 27th.

After the race, he had said, “Spent some time fixing our car after the stage two cautions. Then we started in the back and then just kind of got trapped with the Toyotas running 52-second laps and road blocking the whole thing…Toyota has three cars and just blocked the whole field, and unfortunate.”

However, Ryan Blaney acknowledged that in the absence of a better car and rules, the drivers have no choice. “Unfortunately, it’s just part of the game, like that’s what you have to do. If everyone else is doing it, you have to do it. It’s not like you just end up going because everyone picks the pace with you. They’re also saving more gas than you, so they can jump you if there’s a green-flag stop.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. proposed a solution to this hampering strategy. He urged NASCAR to reinstate the bonus points provided for drivers leading a lap or leading the most laps. “That is one small thing in a big pie, one small slice in a large pie that would push the teams back toward pushing harder throughout the event,” he said.

Denny Hamlin also had an idea in terms of spreading out the field and reducing drag.

“These cars are just too planted into the racetrack… The reason they have so much drag is that we have one of the biggest spoilers we’ve ever had… we have these big spoilers because we’re running more horsepower…In my opinion, we should reduce the horsepower slightly,” proposed Hamlin.

As Ryan Blaney seeks to move on from his Daytona troubles, his prospects look bright.

An upcoming victory for the champion?

With Daytona in the rearview mirror, the focus now shifts to Atlanta. The following weekend, NASCAR heads to EchoPark Speedway, and a few predictions are already on the table. Ryan Blaney is a top pick to win as he scored +1000 odds on DraftKings.

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion finished 4th in Atlanta in February 2025. Ryan Blaney also won the pole in qualifying (30.91 seconds). However, during the June race at the same track, Blaney crashed out in stage 1, marking his 6th DNF of 2025.

So, Ryan Blaney may be looking for redemption on Sunday, both for his June 2025 debacle and the Daytona mishap. Atlanta also features big drafting packs, very close-quarters racing, and extremely high speeds. So witnessing Blaney’s drive will certainly be thrilling.

Looking ahead, Ryan Blaney can devise effective strategies for the remainder of the season. Let’s wait and see what he does next.